Page 30 of Into the Shadows

Chapter 18

Lottie

“Oh, shit.” I jump out of my desk chair, my heart pounding when I realize what time it is. I race out of my office as a knock sounds at the door. I grimace. This is not how I wanted the evening to go.

I veer to the right to answer the door instead of going upstairs. “Hi…” My voice trails off.Wow, he’s gorgeous.“You look amazing.”

“And you’re not ready.” Teddy grins as his eyes roam over me.

I look down. The men’s boxers I love wearing around the house are threadbare, and the ratty T-shirt from high school completes the ensemble.

“I can’t say I hate this look.” He chuckles, giving me a heated once-over.

“Sorry. I got caught up in research and lost track of time. Come in; I’ll get ready as fast as possible.”

When he steps over the threshold, I notice the flowers in his hands. They’re a gorgeous spray of purples and whites artfully wrapped in brown paper and a bow. Teddy holds them out to me.

“They’re beautiful,” I murmur. “Thank you.”

Teddy gives me a small smile I’ve never seen on his face. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was shy. “I wasn’t sure if you were a flower kind of girl, but I stopped at Blooming Beautiful anyway. Ryan put that together for you.”

“I should’ve guessed. His mom, my aunt Hope, makes amazing arrangements, but Ryan’s are on another level.”

“I liked him.”

“That’s also not a shock.” I laugh, grabbing Teddy’s hand and leading him upstairs. “Ryan’s the most genuine person you’ll ever meet.”

I walk into my bedroom and gesture for Teddy to sit in my wingback chair in the corner. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“Take your time.” He looks down at me with deep blue eyes filled with longing. “We don’t have reservations, which possibly was an error on my part. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not very good at this. I haven’t done it in a long time.”

I grin. “That’s okay. We can always go to Jones’s and get shakes.”

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he whispers, palming my cheek.

I want to kiss him with everything in me. So I do.

Something about Teddy makes me bold. He gives me the confidence to be myself without fear of repercussions. He knows me better than anyone. I never held back in my emails, yet he stands here, wanting me more than ever.

Teddy takes over the kiss, his fingers sliding back into my hair to hold me in place. His mouth devours mine with every swipe of his tongue. My hands fist his shirt to bring him closer, pressing his chest against mine. He wraps his free arm around my waist, removing any remaining distance between us.

I moan at the contact. My entire body feels overheated andout of control. I want nothing more than to drag him to my bed and let him have his way with me.

He won’t stay if you do.

The insecure little voice in my head tries to ruin this moment. I’m not very experienced. I’m not experienced at all, actually. What if he can tell? How obvious will it be when our clothes begin to come off?

As much as my body is telling me to find out, that shitty voice in my head is too loud to ignore. I won’t run the risk of ruining this before it even begins.

I slowly pull away from him, my chest heaving with a lack of oxygen. We stare at each other, not quite ready to break the moment.

Teddy is the first to step away. He nods toward my open bathroom door. “Go get ready. I’ll wait out here for you.”

The lobbyof Jimmy’s is filled with families and couples waiting to get a table. Teddy and I are cuddled in the corner to give the rest of the patrons room. It’s too loud to talk, which I don’t mind. I keep glancing up at him to remind myself that this is real.

It feels as if he’s done a one-eighty overnight. The memory of him being an ass the first day I went to his house still haunts me. What made him change his mind?

I’m not complaining. I’m glad he did, but it’s still a puzzle I’d like to solve.

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