Page 70 of Starting Over with You
She eyes me, but she can’t hide that little smirk. “You’re doing too much.”
“Or not enough.” Her lips part, and I have to ignore the way myhand that’s resting on my thigh is so close to her ass that it’s itching to grab her. “What’d you do while I slept?”
“Worked,” she answers, her eyes locking with mine. “I had a bunch of things to do for the Ice Thistle and the Reindeer Rumpus Ranch. I went to check in on Big Seb too.”
I love her heart. “That was nice of you.”
She shrugs. “I was worried. Brought him some cookies from Noelle’s, which Sebastian’s girls devoured.”
I chuckle lightly. “They’re sweet, aren’t they?”
She smiles as she nods. “Yeah, and Big Seb was doing great today. I came home and then went to sit on the porch.”
I will not get a hard-on because she called my place her home.
“On the swing?”
Her eyes are bright. “My favorite spot.”
I smile, proud that she likes it. It was rotted to shit when I moved in and I almost tore it down, but I remembered how much she loved sitting on it with the girls. It was always a sight to see when the breeze would blow her hair as she swung with no cares in the world. I would act like I had to chop wood for my grandma just to be out there with her.
I feel a need to tell her that, to blurt out everything I’m feeling as I stare into her gorgeous blue eyes. I want her to know how fucking good it felt coming home to her standing in my kitchen. How I tossed and turned, knowing she was in my house and not in my arms. That she might think the porch swing is her favorite place, but the moment she’s in my bed, she’ll never want to leave.
I want to admit everything. I want to lay my heart out for her to take or smash—and regret nothing.
Instead, I suggest, “Maybe we can have a cup of coffee on it in the morning?”
Her eyes dance with mine, and I love how she doesn’t look away. I know it drives Sadie and Missy nuts since they feel like she’s always trying to look into their souls, but fuck it, look into mine.
See how it’s yours, darlin’.
“I’d like that,” she says, both shy and sure at the same time. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, her flirty eyes dropping to my mouth before moving to her drink in her hands. Now she sounds unsure as she says, “It’s a date.”
A date?
My whole body goes on alert, my cock comes to life, and I feel tingles running through me like little red ants. I can’t resist; I reach out, cupping her chin between my thumb and forefinger. My thumb sinks into the little divot of her chin before I guide her gaze back to mine. Her blue eyes are wide, surprised, but her lips curve in what can only be called a sneaky grin.
“A date,” I say, with such finality I know she feels it in her bones like I do. Her lips curve even more, her dimples flashing as I stroke my thumb in and out of the divot. “Surely I’ve told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
She preens but pulls out of my grasp, her brows knocking together as her lips form a pout. “Not even once.”
My body shakes with a silent laugh as I lean in, my nose touching her ear. She smells like Fireball, apples, and all things Kenni, a scent I want to roll in and hope it never leaves my skin. She bites her lip as I say, “Surely my eyes told you.”
“They’ve been on my tits and ass.”
I chuckle, and she smirks as I slide my hand along her thigh. “Sure, I admit I’ve memorized all the curves and angles of this perfect body.” I squeeze her thigh, and she jumps a bit, a breathy moan leaving her lips. Her skin is soft, squishy, and I revel in the feel. “But you know the truth?”
She looks over at me, our noses brushing as our eyes meet. “What?”
“You walk into a room, and it’s like the world recalibrates. And I try—fuck, I try real damn hard—not to stare. But damn, Kenni…you’re beautiful.” I slowly brush my thumb along her thigh. I know it looks intimate, I know I shouldn’t be this close, but I can’t stop. Our gazes are an inferno, and I want to burn for this woman. Only for her. I don’t even know the words I’m speaking. They’re coming from my heart, and I can’t stop them. “Not the kind that fades or gets filtered. The kind that hits a man in the chest and makes him forget what he was thinking five seconds ago.”
Kenni’s lips part, her eyes widening, and she takes a sharp breath. “Dean?—”
“If I can have your attention.”
Kenni tears her gaze from mine, leaving me breathless, and shit, is the moment over? She looks back over and winks like the sultry cutie she is. I beam at her, and she pats my hand before we both look over to where Matt stands with Sadie’s hand in one of his and a mic in the other.
Well, at least Sadie doesn’t have a mic.
