Page 54 of Keeping Eveline

Wait.

Was that a lie?

Dammit, it was.

“Forget I said that. I love Thai food. Especially chicken pot stickers. They’re the best.”

Kyle didn’t move. Didn’t say anything.

Crap, I’ve messed this evening up.

Even though she’d been trying to have a little fun with him. Attempting to lighten the mood between them.

Kyle reached across the console and hooked a finger under her chin, turning her head until she was facing him. “Baby, I knew you weren’t being serious,” he said softly. “There’s a difference between someone teasing and someone flat-out lying. I knew which one you were doing.”

Her breath caught at the sincerity shining in his blue gaze. Ones that she could drown in if she let herself.

“How?” she whispered.

“Because your beautiful eyes were sparkling.”

He closed the gap between them, brushing his lips against hers.

Finally.

For so long, Eveline wanted this to happen again, and she was going to savor every second of this kiss in case it was days between kisses.

She cupped the back of Kyle’s head, keeping him in place. Her mouth opened beneath his, and she moaned when his tongue darted in. Everything in her wished they were anywhere but in his car. Eveline wished they were back at the apartment where his bedroom and king-sized bed were.

Kyle broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “I wish we were anywhere but here.”

“Did you read my mind?” she asked, mirth bubbling up from her deep in her. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Dammit, baby.”

Baby.

So many times, he’d called her that, and each time her insides did a little wobbly dance—no matter how much she told herself that the pet name annoyed her.

“Do we want to get takeout and eat it back at home—um I mean your apartment.”

Geez, why was she staking a claim to Kyle’s place?

It wasn’t hers, and she was merely a roommate at best. What she should do was start apartment hunting and finding her own place. She’d put in a claim with her insurance company and prayed that they would accept it so that she would have some money to buy new furniture.

“For as long as it needs to be, it’s your home,” Kyle said, as he brushed the back of his knuckles along her neck.

A fresh wave of awareness flooded her. “Thank you.”

He pulled away, and immediately, Eveline wanted to pull him back close to her.

“As much as I love the idea of getting takeout, by the time we get home, it’s going to be cold. But I promise you the service is prompt, and you won’t regret eating inside.”

He was talking about food, but she picked up on the underlying message—he was saying she wouldn’t regret trusting him and staying with him.

Kyle didn’t need to worry. Eveline had no regrets. Hadn’t had any since she’d taken the risk and turned up at his office unannounced.

Chapter Nineteen

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