Page 58 of The Secrets She Keeps

“Doubt what?”

“I know you. You are probably standing right here, wondering if I’m only interested in something with you now because of this baby.” His hand covered her stomach, sending heat blazing right through her. “Well, if that’s what you are thinking, forget about it. It’s more than that. Far more than that. I am the one who kissed you first in Wyoming. I am the man who wants you more than I want air. I still want you more than breathing, Powell Melissa Barratt. And I have, since the moment you kicked me in the shin all those long months ago.”

That was not a day she would ever forget.

“But…why? We’re nothing alike, for one thing.”

“So the hell what? Who says we have to be? Would you sayJakeand Shelby are alike? I sure don’t think they are.” His hands were around her waist now. Pinning her. She was pinned against the island. Captured. Powell seriously fought melting right now. “But that works for them.”

If he lifted her to the island, she could wrap her arms around his neck and just pull him closer. Kiss him again. Right there in the kitchen she had redecorated to be moreherthan any other room in the house. She had a cleaning staff for the house, but the kitchen was hers. Just like her mom had always claimed their kitchen growing up.

She could see if the kisses in her memories were just flukes or something.

As if he read her mind, he did just that. Lifted her right off her feet. Like he had before. Like she weighed nothing at all.

Powell hated beingsmall.She mostly thought it had something to do with having to compete with her brothers and her cousins her entire life—and they were all behemoths. Not one of those Barratt boys was under six two.

Exceptshewas.The onlygirlin the batch.

Gunnar was the same size as Mac, or pretty close to it. But she liked how she felt when Gunnar was holding her. She didn’t feel small at all. She felt almostcherished,or something equally unlike her. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and hold her all night and tell her things were going to be okay, that they would figure this out together.

Thatshewouldn’t screw it all up somehow because she wasn’tgoodat this kind of thing. Romance, relationships,babies?Her?

She had both a law degree and an MBA. Powell had worked hard to make those goals happen. She was good at that, not romance.

The idea of being a mother terrified her, really.

That wasn’t something she had ever anticipated. At least not since she’d hit puberty and somehow ended up more fascinated by business than by makeup and boys. She’d been the weird girl in school—sometimes she hadn’t felt like agirlat all. It had taken her a long time to realize that.

Powell had never fit in with the other girls around her. She had always been aware of that fact—since about early junior high. She wasdifferent.

She had never fit in with the otherwomenaround her, either, except maybe her mom and aunts. She had been in college before she’d had a real, deep, lasting friendship with another woman. And that had been because she and Haldyn were stuck together as roommatesfirst.

They’d hated each other on sight, after all. But some random quirk of fate had paired them up—they hadn’t become friends on their own. It had just happened.

So where was she supposed to have figured out all of this?

“I really don’t know what to do right now.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.

“About me.”

Her parents had always raised her to tell the truth. She made herself a promise then—no matter how hard it was, she would always tell him the truth. Even if it hurt. Or scared her. “Yes.”

“Well…we’ll just have to figure it out. But remember one thing. I am not going anywhere.”

Then his mouth was on hers, and Powell was just kissing him because it felt right. Like what she was supposed to do at that moment. Like it was the perfect thing to dointhat moment.

Maybe it was.

She could stay right there and let him kiss her forever and be perfectly happy. No matter what.

Powell had never felt this way about anyone before. And that scared her more than anything ever had.

But she held on tight.

She didn’t let him go until his stupid phone rang, and he pulled away with a curse.

The TSP was calling him. Again.

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