Page 68 of Taylor

They turned to her.

He gave Alice a grin, and she wanted to die.

“Leave it alone,” Kate said to Wes.

Alice was grateful for that. They hadn’t yet talked about telling people.

The elevator doors slid open, and they all made their way out. Kate and Wes stopped at the door in the middle of the hallway, while Alice made her way down to the one at the end.

“Bye, Alice,” Kate said with a kind smile, while Wes wore a silly grin.

Closing her eyes, she took a centering breath, then knocked. While things felt much better after last night, uncertainty still lingered. She gave the door three good knocks and waited.

After a moment, the door opened, and there stood Taylor. He looked more like the Taylor she had become so fond of in their little cabin. He had on his white socks with the gray toes, black athletic pants, and a Magic hoodie with his name and number and his hair fell around his face. Last night, he was in a suit and his hair slicked back, but standing in front of her, he looked so cozy.

“Hi, come in,” he said quietly. Reaching for her bag, he took it from her and set it down.

She bent to get out of her boots and then he took her coat and hung it up in the closet. The entryway was pretty standard, butshe was interested in seeing his place. She could always tell so much about a person by how they lived.

Everything was made of sleek, modern lines. An exposed brick wall in the great room towered behind a big sectional and bookshelves. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen with black counters and stainless-steel appliances. Off the kitchen was a set of spiral stairs leading to an upper floor, covering half the space. Under that was another door she was willing to wager was his bedroom.

“Are you thirsty?”

“Yeah,” she said, still taking it all in.

“I have wine, water, and root beer.”

“What kind of root beer?” she asked.

He pulled a glass bottle out from the fridge and showed it to her.

“That’s my favorite,” she said, taking it from him.

“I know,” he said, stepping closer to her. “That’s why I bought it. I remembered you said it was your favorite.”

As she looked at him, her mouth fell open. The corner of his mouth cocked up on one side, and, damn, was her heart swooning at the sight of him. He was so handsome, but uncertainty about him still loomed.

He popped the top and handed it to her, and she took a sip. She’d had sex with this amazing man multiple times, but she was tongue tied.

“Do you want to have a seat?” he asked, guiding her to the living room, a muted hockey game flashing on the big screen.

“Is that who you all play tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Taylor said as he sat on the couch. “I was just watching it. I like to watch the game the night before, then figure out what clips we’re going to be shown tomorrow.”

He put his arm on the back of the couch like he was waiting for her to climb in next to him, and she did just that. “But we can watch something else if you want?”

“No, this is fine,” she said, unmuting the TV.

She settled into his side and looked up at him, his warm body next to hers calming her. He had a way of centering her she had not experienced before. His eyes were fixed on her.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly, merely inches from his face.

A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest as he smiled back at her. Then he bent his head ever so slightly, inviting her to close the space in a kiss, and she did just that. It was a sweet kiss, and she couldn’t help the satisfied sigh that left her. His hand came up, cupping her face as he slightly deepened the affection. Before pulling away and smiling at her. Just like that, the nerves she’d been feeling all left and gentle contentment was all that remained.

“I’ll be right back,” she said as she quickly got up off the couch. Coming back from her bag, she had her tablet. “I wanted to show you something. I hope you don’t think it’s creepy.”

When she got back to the couch, his arm was still on the back of it, waiting to pull her close. The way he needed her touching him warmed something deep inside of her. Even after he came to her house last night, she wasn’t sure if she could trust it, but here, everything felt good. It was easy like it was at the cabin.

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