Page 117 of Her Maine Reaction

“That’s all Ally. He was a grumpy ass for years until she came along. She brought me back my brother, and I’m forever grateful. She’s good for him.”

“And he’s good for her. He makes her so happy. I’ve never seen her like that.”

“Speaking of happy,” he says, circling my waist with his arms, pulling me close. “You make me happy.”

Smiling, I smooth my hands up his chest and around his neck. “You make me happy, too.”

Kissing me long and hard, I moan into him, raking my nails against the nape of his neck, pouring all of my emotions into this kiss.

Groaning, he pushes me back against counter, his hot tongue tangling with mine–sweeping, tasting, claiming, owning.

He owns me, body and soul.

Pulling back, he rests his forehead against mine. “Ashley, I want you to stay. Here. With me.”

“What?” I ask, breathless.

“I want you stay here, with me.”

“In your house?”

“Yes.”

“How would that work?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are you asking me to move in with you? Stay here, in Pine Cove, with you?”

“Yes.”

“But–”

“I asked Bill Jenkins, the lawyer in town, about a job today. And he said that Mrs. Grady, his current paralegal, is retiring at the end of the month and he’s looking for a replacement.”

“What?”

“But if you don’t want to work there, you can do whatever you want. I just happened to run into him. Whatever makes you happy, you can do.”

I’m stunned. “You’re asking me to move in with you, and saying I have a job at the law office if I want it?”

“Yes.” He nods.

“Yes?”

“Ashley.” He smiles. “How are you not getting this?”

“Not getting what?”

“I love you.”

What? How was I supposed to get ‘I love you’ from that? Speechless, I just stare at him.

“I love you, Ashley. I haven’t stopped thinking about you since that night in the woods. The way you felt, the scent of pine and flowers on your skin, how you responded to my touch. So open, ready, and willing. So beautiful. You were fire in my hands.” He brushes his fingers across my cheek. “But it was the look in your eyes that captivated me. It felt like you could see into my soul. Past the surface.

“I’ve closed my eyes thousands of times since, and saw your eyes there–staring, willing me to come to you. But then you came back, and the second those gorgeous hazel eyes met mine again, I was fucking gone. Done. It was like a punch in the gut. And then you brushed me off”–he smiles–“and I knew, right then, that you were perfect.”

“What?”

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