Page 77 of Swinging for the Deep End

“Wow,” Cutter says.

Maryanne goes inside.

I jump at Cutter and touch his left arm.

He looks down at my hand, then into my eyes.

I pull my hand away. “Sorry about her. I should have warned you. She means well.”

“You own this house?”

“Yeah… why?”

“I don’t know. She told me that she rents from you. You’re kind of a secret badass, aren’t you, Piper?”

“A secret badass? Hardly. Look at me, Cutter. Scrambling. I can’t believe the way today-”

He closes in on me and touches my face. “Don’t ever doubt yourself, sweetie. You’re doing an amazing job. That kid in there? He’s a really good kid. Polite. Well mannered. Respectful. He listens. He practices really hard. It shows.”

Okay, this whole telling me how awesome I am as a single parent thing… it’s starting to work a little. I’m starting to fall for it.

I have to pull back.

“I really appreciate you coming through for me with this,” I say. “You were my last call. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t around.”

“I don’t want to be your last call next time, okay?”

I’m not even sure what that means or how I should take it but oh my does it open a cage of butterflies in my stomach.

I end up stepping backward to my front door.

I open it and step inside.

Without thinking, my right hand grabs at Cutter’s shirt.

He comes toward me.

I jump up to my toes and he leans down and next thing I know we’re kissing right there in the front doorway to my house. And this isn’t just some little peck on the cheek or lips either. Our tongues collide like two prized sword fighters in the battle of a lifetime.

It goes from zero to sixty in a second.

I spread my hand as much as I can across his muscular chest and I push myself away.

Again, without the ability to properly think, I just say the first thing that comes to mind.

“I want to fuck you, Cutter.”

He’s surprised but he doesn’t seem to mind.

Why would he?

That’s when I realize what’s happening.

I push Cutter back - or I just push myself back into my own house.

And I quickly close the door. And lock it.

I listen to Cutter walk off the porch.

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