Page 21 of It Just Feels Right

He doesn’t like it, that much is obvious, and he puts voice to his displeasure, shaking his head. “No, I’m not going to act like we’re doing something wrong and we need to hide it. I want the whole damn town to know we’re together.”

I’ve never known a man to be so vocal. Not ever. He knows what he wants, and he’s not afraid to go for it. But even though I appreciate how possessive he is of me, I know what I should do. “Baker, listen to me. When we break up, I don’t want it to mess with our family. We need to be able to be together without any more pressure than necessary. We need to just see where this goes.”

He shakes his head. “You’re already breaking up with me?”

“I’m not. I’m just saying there’s a really small chance this is going to work out between us, and there’s no sense letting it completely mess up our future family Christmas celebrations or birthdays or anything else. We try this and just see what happens.”

He searches my face, and it’s obvious he wants to argue with me. He blows out a breath. “If that’s the only way I can get you to agree, that's fine. We’ll try it your way. But you need to remember that it was your idea to hide this and keep it a secret, Cass. If it was up to me, everyone would know.”

I clap my hands on my legs. “Okay, so what does this mean? How we going to do it?”

He scoots back on the couch and lies down. “That much is easy. Any free time we have, we’re going to be together. I’m going to date you… well, as much as you’ll let me. I guess with your big ‘secret dating’ idea, we can’t go out in town?”

I smile at him. “I don’t know. Can you keep your hands off me if we do?”

He shakes his head. “Absolutely fuckin’ not.”

I laugh and smack him on the leg. “Right. Well then, yeah, we won’t be going on dates in town.”

“Okay, so you’ll come here.”

I nod, letting out a breath. “Okay. And maybe we should do a few rules or something.”

He nods and points to the space between him and the back of the couch. “Okay. Come up here, and we can talk about it.”

I shake my head. “I’m not going to fit—”

He cuts me off. “Woman, are you going to argue with everything I say? You’re going to fit perfect, right next to me on this couch. Now come here.”

I point at the small space. “You want me there?”

He grabs my hand and tugs me until I’m falling across his body. I giggle as I slide to my side. He positions me as if I weigh nothing at all and my head is cradled on his shoulder. His leg is fitted between mine, and my breasts are pressed against his chest. I stretch my body and snuggle closer to him. “Is this good?”

He puts his hand at my waist and pulls me even closer. “This is perfect.”

“Okay, so rules. I think while we’re doing this, we should probably not be dating anyone else.”

I hold my breath, waiting for him to disagree. He leans down. “Baby, you’re crazy if you think I’m even going to look at another woman. It’s not happening.”

I can’t help but think about my whole life. The number of men my mom has had in the house, the times she’s cheated on her husbands or they’ve cheated on her. Hell, Baker’s right, I wouldn’t know what a healthy relationship looks like if it was right in front of my face. “Okay, but if you decide you want to—”

He cuts me off with a kiss. It’s way too short, but he gets his point across. “It’s not happening.”

I nod. “Okay.”

His fingers are underneath the hem of my shirt, stroking the bare skin of my belly. I can barely form a thought, but I want to go ahead and get it all out. “Also, there’s something else you should probably know.”

We’re so close I can’t look away. The only thing I can see is him. “This is embarrassing, Baker. Don’t freak out.”

He tenses, and it worries me a little. Is he going to react how Chloe did the other night? Or is he going to kick me out and tell me he’s changed his mind? There are so many things I’m thinking I’m second-guessing if I really need to tell him or not.

“Tell me.”

I gulp. “You know what. Maybe now's not the best time to talk about it. Just forget it.”

He leans in and rubs his nose against mine. “I’m not forgetting it. You’re not getting out of it that easy. Tell me.”

“I, uh…” I let my voice trail off. “This is so embarrassing.”

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