Page 83 of Twisted Hearts

She laughed, and while we ate our dinners, I told her more. About Carlton. My parents. I told her about my friends, Jordan who used to be a professional baseball player. Ryan and Andy, both friends, one of which served on the force with me there and was still pissed I left. We’d all been friends since grade school, and I had no doubt he’d eventually get over it.

“And?” Addi asked once our plates were clear and I had her giggling over ridiculous stories like the drunken bonfires in our fields, the pranks we played in high school, my friends’ wives. “What about you? Any women? Broken hearts you left in Carlton?”

Two, three months earlier, it was possible my answer might have been different. But in truth, I’d barely thought about Lauren since moving, and definitely not since meeting Addi. Which meant, I thought, that it hadn’t been the love I’d always thought we could have had.

“No. No broken hearts.” I hesitated. Too long, because Addi’s teasing smile flattened.

“But there was someone.”

Perceptive. I hadn’t talked about Lauren in so long I wasn’t even sure what to say. She was a woman I’d liked. A woman I had wanted to get to know. A woman I had thought could be perfect for me, and then I’d waited too long to show my interest because I was so focused on being around for everyone else, helping my family, I didn’t think I had the time to focus on a relationship.

“She’s engaged to be married to someone else, Addi. Yeah, I thought I could have loved her, but in the end, we were friends, and she has a great life ahead of her.”

“And…you didn’t want to stick around to see it happen?”

Goddamn she was smart. I pointed my fork at her and said just that then expanded. “That might have played asmallpart in leaving home, but it wasn’t all of it. What I said to you that first night I walked you home was all true. I want the wife and kids someday. I want the family and a woman to love. I also wanted to experience more of life than our corner of the Midwest. I’m not brokenhearted over it, if that’s what you’re wondering. I’m not pining over a woman I can’t have. I’m enjoying getting to know the woman in front of me.”

“Shawn…” She breathed my name like it may be her last breath, and that sound shot straight to my groin.

“How about we get out of here?”

Her answering smile was as blindingly beautiful and seductive as the rest of her.

* * *

Addi’s sweet,beachy scent drove me to distraction while I drove us home. Dinner had been one of the best dates I’d ever been on, and it wasn’t just because I was falling fast for this woman. It was everything about her.

I knew she’d been raised with a silver spoon in her mouth—hell, hers had probably been gold or platinum—yet she never once carried herself as if she thought she were better than anyone else. She didn’t look down her nose at people, and she’d been genuinely interested in life on a farm and what it entailed.

She was one of the most down-to-earth women I’d ever met, and it made me desire her that much more.

My hand held hers on her thigh as I pulled into the alley. We’d made out in my truck after dinner, and it’d taken a herculean effort to pull away from her.

“You’re not driving fast enough,” she muttered next to me.

“Nice to know I’m not the only one anxious to get upstairs to your bed.”

She gripped my hand tighter in hers. “Who said anything about making it as far as the bed?”

Damn, she knocked me off my feet.

I turned off the truck and shifted toward Addi, bringing our clasped hands together and kissing her knuckles. Giving her my most devilish expression, I said, “I’ll race you upstairs.”

Her grin went wide. “You’re on.”

She hopped out of the truck, and I met her at the door. I’d let her take the lead for now, but as soon as we got inside, I’d be the one taking charge.

Something snagged my attention, and I gripped Addi’s arm.

“Stop.”

“You can’t cheat,” she teased, trying to shrug out of my hold. “I’m not letting you win this.”

I was past the point of playing around.

“Addi. Game over.”

She read my tone perfectly and stepped back. I let her go, but she didn’t let go of me. Instead her hand wrapped around my wrist. “What is it?”

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