Page 82 of Personal Foul

Hope snaps a few more. “Of course. I’m happy too.”

Grace hops out of her chair and jumps at her mom’s side. “Lemme see, Mommy!”

Bending down, Hope shows her the pics while Dylan and I divest ourselves of our accessories and take them back to Grace’s room.

He follows me, and when I turn to leave the room, he’s blocking the door. Reaching for me, he places his hands on my hips and dips his head for a kiss.

Not a long one, but that’s more due to his control than mine. I could easily lose myself in his kisses.

“I’ve been dying to do that since I got here,” he murmurs.

I pat his chest. “Good thing we’ll be heading out soon. Then you can do that all you want.”

His eyebrows jump. “AllI want?”

Laughing softly, I slip out of his hold. “I mean, we do still need to do homework and eat, but after that, yeah, pretty much.”

He’s grinning as he catches my hand and follows me out the door. “Sounds good to me.”

We say our goodbyes, and Grace is so sad it’s time for us to go. I crouch down and give her a hug. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“‘Kay. Can Dylan come back too?”

I glance up at him watching us with his hands in his pockets. He gives no indication one way or another, so I give the best noncommittal answer, “We’ll have to see, okay?”

Then I stand and move to the side so she can say goodbye to Dylan.

Hope pulls me into a tighter than normal hug, but then I get it when she whispers, “Holy crap, Char, he’s hot!”

With a laugh, I squeeze her back. “Thanks.”

“Get it girl!” she whispers before ending the hug.

We all say our goodbyes, and then Dylan and I are out the door. He walks me to my car, stopping me for a kiss when we get to the driver’s side door. “Do you need to go home still? Or do you want to just head straight to my place? I can cover your parking if you need.”

I shake my head. “I need to get some books from home. Why don’t you just meet me there, and you can drive me to your place like normal?”

He kisses me again. “Sounds good.” And with one more lingering kiss, he pulls away and heads to his car, grinning at me over his shoulder.

Hope’s right. He really is hot.

And with the way he acted with my niece, I think I might be really falling for him.

Sucking in a breath, I climb into my car, my heart pounding at that realization.

He’s done everything possible to prove he’s a good guy deep down. But somehow trusting him, falling for him, feels dangerous.

Am I getting in over my head with him after all?

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Dylan

When Charity finally declares that it’s time to be done with homework, I practically pounce on her.

Tossing my book onto the coffee table, I grab her and drag her across the couch and into my lap. Even though she’s been here every night this week, she still sits on the opposite end of the couch while we’re doing homework. I don’t know if it’s habit or because she doesn’t want to risk me distracting her with kisses or caresses if she sits closer. Either way, I’ve spent way too long with her without her body pressed against mine.

She lets out a whoop of surprise as I manhandle her into my lap, turning her so she’s straddling me. A grin spreads over her face as she brings her lips to mine, and I let out a contented sigh. “Fucking finally,” I murmur against her lips.

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