been a teenager or in college. Wasn’t that an excuse to be crazy now?
“This is me,” she said, pointing to the apartment complex that was only a few yards down the street from the hospital.
She was tired of her life being that hospital, of being Dr. McArthur. She wanted her life to be at least partially something else, too, which meant she had to make that happen. She had to make the choices.
Maybe she wouldn’t sleep with him tonight, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sleep with him some other time. That didn’t mean this couldn’t be the beginning of something, and if he ended up being Dean and this was a trick to throw her off the scent… Well, at least she’d have a couple hot kisses out of the deal, and she’d find out for sure and be able to tell Jess. So…
So, she had to be an adult and in charge of her life— her life, not a McArthur’s life—and make the choices to get her there.
“I want to invite you inside, but I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”
He pushed the truck into park and then slowly turned his head so she could see all his features and expression. He looked vaguely amused and she found herself matching his smile.
“What would the wrong idea be?” he asked, still with the low, gravelly note to his voice that continued to send shivers up and down her spine.
Lina had been accused of being too abrupt and too straightforward her whole life, but as much as she wanted to change, that was one thing she didn’t know how to change. Abrupt and straightforward was just…who she was. There had to be some middle ground between who she was and the different person she wanted to be.
“I want to invite you up because I would like to explore more of what we were doing in parking lot. But I’m not sure I want a sort of…full exploration.”
“Full exploration?” he questioned, still amused, still smiling.
“Yes, that is what I’m calling it,” she replied primly.
He chuckled, but she didn’t feel silly. It didn’t feel like a mean chuckle. She had been on the opposite end of a few of those from her father and eldest brother, and she knew what they sounded like, the feeling they imparted. She didn’t feel silly or angered, she felt like laughing right along with Ace.
“I have never met anyone who talks like you, Lina.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
He laughed again and leaned over the console, his fingers finding her face, tracing her cheek, her jaw, and then her lips. All of it came under the careful glide of his fingertips.
She liked that the gentle way he touched wasn’t… She didn’t know how to explain it, probably her lack of experience speaking, but he really seemed to be…exploring her. Discovering her.
She was probably setting herself up for a lot of heartache, but she’d never had any heartache—not the romantic kind. She’d never ached over someone, physically or emotionally, and she thought maybe it would be good for her. It would be good for her to not get some things she wanted. It would be good for her to feel as though something was out of her reach. She needed to learn not everything could be just fine with hard work and the McArthur name.
That wouldn’t be such a bad thing to learn, especially if the lesson came at the end of his fingers.
“So, what you’re saying is…” His fingers continued to touch the curves and angles of her face, of her neck. She leaned into every time his fingers found some place new they hadn’t discovered yet. “That you would like me to come upstairs and make out with you, but that’s as far as it will go?”
“Make out,” she repeated, not sure what to do with that word. Make out. She’d never even kissed a person before his very successful ending of that drought in the parking lot, and he was saying words like make out to her. Like she had any clue what she was doing. The hysterical giggle rose up in her chest and she tried to fight it, but she lost.
“Do I want to have any idea why you’re
“This is me,” she said, pointing to the apartment complex that was only a few yards down the street from the hospital.
She was tired of her life being that hospital, of being Dr. McArthur. She wanted her life to be at least partially something else, too, which meant she had to make that happen. She had to make the choices.
Maybe she wouldn’t sleep with him tonight, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sleep with him some other time. That didn’t mean this couldn’t be the beginning of something, and if he ended up being Dean and this was a trick to throw her off the scent… Well, at least she’d have a couple hot kisses out of the deal, and she’d find out for sure and be able to tell Jess. So…
So, she had to be an adult and in charge of her life— her life, not a McArthur’s life—and make the choices to get her there.
“I want to invite you inside, but I don’t want to give you the wrong idea.”
He pushed the truck into park and then slowly turned his head so she could see all his features and expression. He looked vaguely amused and she found herself matching his smile.
“What would the wrong idea be?” he asked, still with the low, gravelly note to his voice that continued to send shivers up and down her spine.
Lina had been accused of being too abrupt and too straightforward her whole life, but as much as she wanted to change, that was one thing she didn’t know how to change. Abrupt and straightforward was just…who she was. There had to be some middle ground between who she was and the different person she wanted to be.
“I want to invite you up because I would like to explore more of what we were doing in parking lot. But I’m not sure I want a sort of…full exploration.”
“Full exploration?” he questioned, still amused, still smiling.
“Yes, that is what I’m calling it,” she replied primly.
He chuckled, but she didn’t feel silly. It didn’t feel like a mean chuckle. She had been on the opposite end of a few of those from her father and eldest brother, and she knew what they sounded like, the feeling they imparted. She didn’t feel silly or angered, she felt like laughing right along with Ace.
“I have never met anyone who talks like you, Lina.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
He laughed again and leaned over the console, his fingers finding her face, tracing her cheek, her jaw, and then her lips. All of it came under the careful glide of his fingertips.
She liked that the gentle way he touched wasn’t… She didn’t know how to explain it, probably her lack of experience speaking, but he really seemed to be…exploring her. Discovering her.
She was probably setting herself up for a lot of heartache, but she’d never had any heartache—not the romantic kind. She’d never ached over someone, physically or emotionally, and she thought maybe it would be good for her. It would be good for her to not get some things she wanted. It would be good for her to feel as though something was out of her reach. She needed to learn not everything could be just fine with hard work and the McArthur name.
That wouldn’t be such a bad thing to learn, especially if the lesson came at the end of his fingers.
“So, what you’re saying is…” His fingers continued to touch the curves and angles of her face, of her neck. She leaned into every time his fingers found some place new they hadn’t discovered yet. “That you would like me to come upstairs and make out with you, but that’s as far as it will go?”
“Make out,” she repeated, not sure what to do with that word. Make out. She’d never even kissed a person before his very successful ending of that drought in the parking lot, and he was saying words like make out to her. Like she had any clue what she was doing. The hysterical giggle rose up in her chest and she tried to fight it, but she lost.
“Do I want to have any idea why you’re
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