Page 43 of Need You To Choose Me

I stop in my tracks, my gaze darting to the door.

I wait for a heartbeat, thinking I might have imagined it since nobody ever comes here except for Mrs. Maxwell, and she has a key when I hear it again.

Somebody was definitely knocking.

Making my way to the door, I unlock it, only to come to a stop when I see the person standing in front of me.

“Blondie?” My brows pull together. “What’s wrong?”

My eyes scan her body, thinking I’m imagining it, but no, it’s her, here in the flesh. And she looks… fine? Better than fine, if I’m being honest. Her cheeks have a healthy flush to them, and her dress is hugging every single one of those delicious curves?—

“My porch isn’t creaking.”

Well, fuck.

I guess there went the hope that she might not notice. I’m surprised it took her this long to figure it out in the first place, still, I play along.

“Your porch isn’t creaking?” I repeat, tilting my head to the side.

Savannah grinds her teeth. “No, Blake. My porch isn’t creaking. Do you have any idea why that might be?”

I shrug, making sure my expression stays impassive. “No clue whatsoever.”

“Bullshit.” She moves closer, jabbing her finger into my chest. “You fixed it, didn’t you?”

“You’re imagining things, Blondie.”

She lets out a frustrated huff. “You can’t keep fixing things for me, Blake.”

“I can fix whatever the hell I want.” The words are out before I can think better of them.

Great, just great.

“It’s my house!” she protests.

“Exactly.” I take a step forward, closing the distance between us. The soft, flowery scent reaches my nostrils, sweet and sexy and so much like her. I want to lean down and try to find the source of it so I can bury my head there and inhale it deep into my lungs. Inhale her. “Since you’re the one who’s demanding to live there, I get the right to insist the place doesn’t fall apart, and you don’t get hurt. Would you rather I pay somebody else to do it? Because I will.”

“What? No.” She shakes her head. “Absolutely not. You’ll not pay anybody for anything.”

I cross my arms over my chest and give her a pointed look. “Then I’ll fix it.”

Her fingers curl into fists by her sides. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?”

I let out an unamused laughter. “I’m the stubborn one? Out of the two of us, who’s the one who’s refusing any sort of help?”

“Ugh, fine.” She stomps her foot, and before I know it, she’s spinning on her heels and marching back to her house. “Do whatever the hell you want.”

She was fine, alright.

“I plan to,” I call out, unable to resist it, the corner of my mouth twitching upward.

Savannah shoots me a death glare over her shoulder, and it takes all of me not to burst into laughter. I don’t think she would appreciate it.

I don’t know what it was about this woman that made me want to act like a freaking teenager, all so I could get a reaction out of her, but she did.

I stay on my porch, watching her until she’s safely inside her house, before turning around and going inside myself.

I’m just locking the door when I look up and spot Daniel standing on top of the stairs, watching me with a contemplative expression on his face.

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