mouth
gently. No passion, no heat, just a tenderness I didn’t know I had
in me. She brought that side of me to the surface, and I feared I’d
never be able to shove it down when she left.
Wrapping her arms around my waist, she
nodded. The concession came with a price. In her eyes, I found the
same shattered reality and fruitless hope I’d been battling. No
words needed to be said. We seemed to be able to read each other
without speaking, a silent language all our own. Right then,
holding her in my arms, I never hated my fucking circumstances
more.
She was falling, too.
Real love couldn’t possibly move at this
kind of warp speed, could it? I’d never given much thought to love
at first sight, but she had impacted me from the moment I’d set
eyes on her all those months ago. But love? No. It never came into
play until I got to know her. Having never been here before, I
still wasn’t sure if this was jacked up lust, infatuation, or the
real deal.
I went to help Liam with his homework—I did
not miss third grade long division in the slightest—and when we
emerged from my office, she was curled up on the couch, reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy .
And fuck me dead. I fell the rest of the
way. It felt a lot like going splat on the pavement after
freefalling ten stories. If the sight of her reading one of my
favorite books didn’t do it, the way she was around Liam would
have.
She kept the conversation going during
dinner, encouraging my nephew with compliments and laughing at his
jokes. She was cool under pressure. The woman was kind, funny,
smart, sexy, and beautiful. Oh, and a good cook. The enchiladas
were a fucking mouth orgasm. A part of me always figured once she
lost her mysterious quality, once I really got to know her, the
allure would wear off. That didn’t happen. Not even a little. Lily
only got more interesting the longer I was in her orbit.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t like shrimp and her
feet are always cold.” So there. Flaws. She wasn’t perfect. I’d
discovered after sleeping together the past few nights, her feet
were in a perpetual state of arctic. Didn’t seem to matter how
thick her socks were or how many blankets we piled on the bed.
Hell. I didn’t mind. I found even that adorable.
I looked up to find Liam and Lily’s gaze on
me. Twin sets of confusion.
I sighed, realizing I’d said my thoughts
aloud. “Good cornbread, Lily.”
I really needed to start emotionally backing
off, but panic tore at my chest when the thought emerged. Only two
more days. It didn’t matter what my feelings were, I couldn’t keep
her. I would have to let her go. Why not enjoy the time we had
left? I’d deal with the fallout later.
Before I took Liam home, I dragged Lily off
to the side and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be back late.” I had
to stay until close to eleven when Aiden’s manager was good to
bartend alone after the rush. “Please be wearing the apron when I
get here. Just the apron .”
Her sly, knowing grin was answer enough.
Truth be told, I’d loved my nephew to the
moon and back from the first moment I set eyes on him in the
hospital. But I’d never had a night drag through eternity like
tonight. Worse was after Liam went to bed and I had to wait for
Aiden to get home. After solitaire and being unable to find decent
television programs, I texted Lily.
Me: Whatcha wearing?
Lily: I’m walking around the apartment
naked .
Great. Now I was hard at my brother’s
house.
Me: Groan. Where’s the apron?
Lily: Can’t seem to find it. Wait. There
it is. I’m bending over now to get it...
Did I say hard? I meant granite.
Me: Vixen.
Lily: I’m now wearing the prerequisite
outfit aforementioned. Want a picture?
Sweet Christ. Even her vocabulary was
groan-worthy.
Me: That’s not a legit question. Fuck,
yes.
I waited five minutes until she sent a
photo. I stared a good long beat before I busted out laughing. In
the shot, she was lying on my bed, dark hair
gently. No passion, no heat, just a tenderness I didn’t know I had
in me. She brought that side of me to the surface, and I feared I’d
never be able to shove it down when she left.
Wrapping her arms around my waist, she
nodded. The concession came with a price. In her eyes, I found the
same shattered reality and fruitless hope I’d been battling. No
words needed to be said. We seemed to be able to read each other
without speaking, a silent language all our own. Right then,
holding her in my arms, I never hated my fucking circumstances
more.
She was falling, too.
Real love couldn’t possibly move at this
kind of warp speed, could it? I’d never given much thought to love
at first sight, but she had impacted me from the moment I’d set
eyes on her all those months ago. But love? No. It never came into
play until I got to know her. Having never been here before, I
still wasn’t sure if this was jacked up lust, infatuation, or the
real deal.
I went to help Liam with his homework—I did
not miss third grade long division in the slightest—and when we
emerged from my office, she was curled up on the couch, reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy .
And fuck me dead. I fell the rest of the
way. It felt a lot like going splat on the pavement after
freefalling ten stories. If the sight of her reading one of my
favorite books didn’t do it, the way she was around Liam would
have.
She kept the conversation going during
dinner, encouraging my nephew with compliments and laughing at his
jokes. She was cool under pressure. The woman was kind, funny,
smart, sexy, and beautiful. Oh, and a good cook. The enchiladas
were a fucking mouth orgasm. A part of me always figured once she
lost her mysterious quality, once I really got to know her, the
allure would wear off. That didn’t happen. Not even a little. Lily
only got more interesting the longer I was in her orbit.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t like shrimp and her
feet are always cold.” So there. Flaws. She wasn’t perfect. I’d
discovered after sleeping together the past few nights, her feet
were in a perpetual state of arctic. Didn’t seem to matter how
thick her socks were or how many blankets we piled on the bed.
Hell. I didn’t mind. I found even that adorable.
I looked up to find Liam and Lily’s gaze on
me. Twin sets of confusion.
I sighed, realizing I’d said my thoughts
aloud. “Good cornbread, Lily.”
I really needed to start emotionally backing
off, but panic tore at my chest when the thought emerged. Only two
more days. It didn’t matter what my feelings were, I couldn’t keep
her. I would have to let her go. Why not enjoy the time we had
left? I’d deal with the fallout later.
Before I took Liam home, I dragged Lily off
to the side and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be back late.” I had
to stay until close to eleven when Aiden’s manager was good to
bartend alone after the rush. “Please be wearing the apron when I
get here. Just the apron .”
Her sly, knowing grin was answer enough.
Truth be told, I’d loved my nephew to the
moon and back from the first moment I set eyes on him in the
hospital. But I’d never had a night drag through eternity like
tonight. Worse was after Liam went to bed and I had to wait for
Aiden to get home. After solitaire and being unable to find decent
television programs, I texted Lily.
Me: Whatcha wearing?
Lily: I’m walking around the apartment
naked .
Great. Now I was hard at my brother’s
house.
Me: Groan. Where’s the apron?
Lily: Can’t seem to find it. Wait. There
it is. I’m bending over now to get it...
Did I say hard? I meant granite.
Me: Vixen.
Lily: I’m now wearing the prerequisite
outfit aforementioned. Want a picture?
Sweet Christ. Even her vocabulary was
groan-worthy.
Me: That’s not a legit question. Fuck,
yes.
I waited five minutes until she sent a
photo. I stared a good long beat before I busted out laughing. In
the shot, she was lying on my bed, dark hair
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