Page 136 of Renewal After Dark

“You want me to go away and leave you alone?”

“No.”

“Then I’m afraid you’re going to have to talk to me so we can figure out where we go from here.”

“That night… During the storm.”

“That was a great night.”

“Yeah, it was.”

“Are you freaked out about what happened that night?”

“I’ve thought about it a lot.”

Niall took a step into the room. “So have I. I’ve thought about it nonstop, actually.”

“Yeah, me, too.” John looked directly at him. “It got kind of intense.”

“Yep.”

“I’m not sure how to feel about that.”

“You should feel good about it. This kind of connection doesn’t come along every day, you know.”

“I do know that.”

“Are you not ready for it?”

“I’m not sure.”

Disappointment filled him with a sinking feeling. “How about you let me know when you figure that out, huh?”

“I just need some time.”

“Fair enough.”

“Thanks for coming by.”

“No problem.”

As Niall turned to leave, he wished he hadn’t sought John out. It was much better not knowing what he was thinking than to hear he might be pulling back from the best thing to happen to Niall in, well, ever.

Chapter28

Was it possible to float through a day? If so, that’s what McKenzie did after the lovely wakeup at Duke’s house. Once again, he’d insisted she use his truck while he took the bike to work. If her bookkeeping business continued to grow like it had this week, she’d be able to afford a car of her own in no time.

After Eric had walked away from her and the baby she was expecting, she’d sold her car to cover a few additional months of rent when she wasn’t able to work as much due to relentless morning sickness. By the time that unpleasant phase had passed, she was already low on money and had made the painful decision to move back to her mother’s house temporarily.

Talk about a worst-case scenario: abandoned by the man who made her pregnant and forced to live with the mother who drove her crazy.

But she’d done what she had to for Jax.

He was buckled into his car seat in the passenger seat of the truck as she drove toward her first stop of the day at Sierra’s massage studio to drop off the banana bread she’d made for her. She also wanted to get a sense of whether Sierra was going to be a problem for her with Duke.

She found Sierra at the reception desk when she entered the studio, carrying Jax. “Morning.”

“Hey, what’s up?” Sierra asked with a guarded expression.

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