Page 97 of Always Knew It Was You

“Yeah. It’s funny, isn’t it?”

I shake my head but crack a smile. It may not be funny right now, but from the outside looking in, it is kind of a funny situation.

She chuckles a little more wiping the tears out of her eyes, and then she wraps her arms around my neck. “Okay. So are we good now?”

She trails her finger down my chest and gives me a come-hither look. I shut my eyes trying to block out the images she sends storming through my brain.

“Actually, we need to talk about something first.”

“What is it?” she asks.

“Carly I… shit, I’m not good at this.” I take a deep breath. “I’ve just… I guess I’ve just recently realized that I care about you. A crap ton. And I wanted to let you know that before we have sex. This isn’t... what we have isn’t just regular sex to me. I’m not really sure what it is, but it’s not like anything I’ve ever felt before. I care about you, Carly. I really do. I’m a selfish man by nature so that might rear its ugly head here and there. And this whole might fall apart at any point, because who the fuck even knows what we’re doing? But whatever happens, just remember that I do care about you. Okay?” That’s what I want to tell her. I wanted to tell her that before we have sex again, so she wouldn’t think I was doing the same thing as all those other men, those idiots who used and tossed her aside.

Idiots like I used to be.

She doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me for a long time with a fathomless look in her eyes that I can’t decipher. Annoyance? Sadness? Pain? Humor? I don’t know.

But then she gives me an even more mysterious sad little smile and then cups my face pulling my lips back to hers. This time I don’t stop her. I can’t even if I wanted to.

We take it slowly this time. I break off the kiss so I can safely navigate us to a bed. And then I lay her down like the princess she is. I take her lips again, teasing her tongue into a gentle unhurried dance. And then I pull back and kiss her closed eyelid, the tip of her nose, and her lips.

I care about you, Carly.I try to instill that thought into every touch and every embrace.I really,reallydo.

What happens next isn’t the wild and furious sex we usually have. It’s the exact type of sex that I would see in movies and roll my eyes at because it was just so unrealistically sappy. I would even call it boring.

But nothing is boring about what’s going on here. The two of us are filled with so many emotions, and we try to communicate them with tender touches, and kisses, and sucking, and loving.

Our bodies express everything our mouths can’t do properly. We don’t stop when we orgasm. We don’t even know when the waves rise and fall. All we know is finding pleasure in each other and a mutually assured connection.

A connection is all I can call it now because I don’t really know what I feel for her.

But the depth of it scares me.

Declan and I finally have our talk the next morning. It turns out that he’s about to make me a job offer.

“My father wants me to restore a series of national buildings back in New York. I want to enlist you as our lead architect on the project. Or if you’re ready we can take on your entire firm.”

I widen my eyes when he tells me. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” he says. “I wouldn’t tell you if I weren’t serious. Are you not interested?”

“No, I am. It’s just something of this scale… I mean you realize that I’m just getting the firm off the ground again, right? And you haven’t even seen my portfolio.”

“Well, I heard you talking about it the other day to Hal and you seemed to know your stuff. Besides, I know you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Is he going to give me the role just because he knows me? That doesn’t sound like Declan.

But it turns out that’s not what he meant at all.

“I know you’re too arrogant to do something you’re not good at and put this much effort into it. It’s why you destroy all the businesses that you only had middling success in and those you have no interest in too, just for shits and giggles. Because deep inside, you hate being mediocre at anything. For you to put all your effort into reviving an architecture firm despite the obstacles in your way indicates not only passion but talent.” He cocks his head. “Or am I wrong?”

I nearly fall over. I’m surprised that Declan managed to read me so well. Especially since he still doesn’t think we’re friends.

“No,” I tell him. “No, you’re not wrong. But Declan I had no idea you were paying such close attention to me. You do care after all.”

“The nature of the job means you’ll have to do the planning with me in person.” He completely ignores my words, moving straight back into business. “Which means you’ll need to be in Laketown because I don’t plan on leaving my pregnant wife and daughter alone.

“I don’t mind staying here for a few more months,” I answer quickly, too quickly because Declan gives me a knowing look.

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