Page 118 of Really Truly Yours

“Yep.”

Her cheeks fire up. Her nose wrinkles adorably. “I’m sorry.”

I shrug my good shoulder. “Eh, she’s not that bad.”

Sydnee swats her pretty hair back. “Gray.”

I laugh.

Her thumbnail finds its way back to her teeth. “Another doctor?”

I bob my head. “Told you they were all smart.”

The blaze on her cheeks deepens. “I’m sorry. I saw her name pop up a couple times, and…”

“Hey, I’m not sorry.” The sofa groans as I remove my weight. I sidestep the coffee table. “I like to think it means you care. That maybe you’re—dare I use the J word?”

We’re almost toe to toe, her body heat mingling with mine. Her throat wobbles. “Don’t even think it.”

I run a lock of her hair through my fingers. “Oh, I’m thinking it.” And my hopes are taking flight.

Her pink lips weren’t built for the frown she tries to deliver. They quiver around the edges. I let go of her hair and put my hand out, rolling my palm up, willing her to take it.

She does.

I can’t breathe. I want to hold her.

Kiss her? Oh yeah.

On the mound, my emotions are in a lockbox. In the real world? They drag me into trouble. But I can’t afford to mess this one up.

She lays the other hand on my arm. My chest unwinds. I lower my head and whisper against the wispy strands floating by her ear. “Will you kiss me, Sydnee?”

I hear her inhale. Her nod brushes my cheek.

I graze my lips along her jaw before teasing the boundaries of her mouth.

My heart hammers as I stake my claim and make the soft flesh mine.

Sydnee wilts in my arms, melting into me. My knees turn to jelly. Against the window, the storm’s fury and the rush of rain mirror the glorious tumult inside me.

The way she melds and molds exceeds my wildest dreams.

A crack of lightning jars the house, and everything goes black.

“Gray.”

I adore the rasp of my name on Sydnee’s lips—less so the pressure of her palm on my chest.

“Gray.”

I relent, retreating into misery, the place I’ll languish until I can kiss her again.

My sense of space is off, so I don’t know what bumps the wall when she pulls away. My hand slides along her arm, to her smooth wrist. I want to see her face.

I need to see her eyes.

“This is crazy.” Her voice shivers.

---