Page 74 of Forgotten Desires

Then I think about his eyes as he stared at me when he made it seem like it was no big deal. But it was to me.

It was everything.

All of the things start to pile up around me. The ball, the house in OBX, the coop, the things he says and how he looks at me.

What if I gave in? What if I . . . could have one night with him? I can handle the hurt, can’t I?

Crew knows my past. Hell, he’s part of that past. In just a few weeks, I’m going to have a major surgery where I’ll spend weeks recovering, and I don’t know what happens after that. I may never meet anyone else who makes me feel this way.

I pace the bedroom, waiting for him to come in after he finishes his business call. We got Layla down with no issues. She’s really the sweetest kid ever and she’s come alive on the farm, just like I hoped she would.

“Hey.” Crew’s voice causes me to jump.

“Hey.”

“Did I scare you?”

I shake my head.

“I have something for you,” he says with his hands behind his back.

“You do?”

“I do.”

I try to peek around him, but I can’t see anything. “What is it?”

“Oh, you want this?”

“You said you had something for me, so of course I’m intrigued now.”

Crew grins. “I think you promised me treats . . . didn’t you?”

I laugh and cross my arms over my chest. “So this is a quid pro quo?”

“No, just asking.”

Pursing my lips, I lean against the mantel. “And what kind of treat are we thinking here?”

“Just a kiss.”

I move toward him, kiss him very briefly, and step back. “Now, what’s behind your back?”

He pulls a brown paper bag from behind his back and lifts it to read the name on it. “Hmm, I recognize this name.” I’m going to grab that bag in about two seconds. I move to lunge for it, but he lifts it above my head. “Maybe you aren’t going to get it now.”

“Crew,” I say his name pleadingly. “Please let me see what is in the bag.”

I really hate this part of me. I hate surprises and yet I love them at the same time. I hate the anticipation of not knowing what’s coming, but then love getting presents. I’m the worst at Christmas. My brothers absolutely hated shopping for me. Not only because of the obvious reason that they hate shopping, but because I was infamous for snooping to find the gifts.

This is even worse, having the damn thing dangling in front of me.

He opens it and puts his hand in, then pulls his hand out without whatever is in the bag.

“You’re being very rude,” I tell him. “I thought you subscribed to the happy wife mantra.”

At that he laughs and shakes his head. “Now I see why you were a lawyer, you have an angle for everything.”

I shrug, but then the blessed man hands me the bag. I open it immediately and find a cinnamon sugar donut. I gasp. “Is this the same one from our wedding?”

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