Page 47 of Ace

He smiled and turned into his parking garage. “I’m sure I was. Why don’t you tell me what I was thinking?”

She studied him. “I’m not sure I want to take a guess at what led you to where you were.”

They climbed up the stairs and into the elevator. “Well, I’ll tell you. Insight into the way Dex thinks. You can tell me if I’ve changed much.” They exited out into his apartment.

“Whoa, wait. You have the penthouse?”

“Yes I do.” He switched on the lights and tried to see his space through her eyes. He knew she’d love it for about five minutes. And then she’d start talking about making donations to her nonprofit.

“Where do you want me to put this?” she asked.

“Your room is on the right. Office in between.”

“Gotcha.”

He moved to the kitchen, put some water on to boil, threw a bag of popcorn in the microwave, and grabbed some waters to drink.

Then he followed her down the hallway. A hint of her perfume lingered. Her door was closed. His feet kept walking, though every other part of him wanted to stop in front of that door and ask if he could enter. He hadn’t forgotten the feel of her lips on his. Holding her close on the dance floor had heightened his awareness of her, and watching her interact with the power in that ballroom had just excited him. Gianna could hold her own with anyone. He snorted. How could she not, with a father like hers?

Yet she was vulnerable. He wondered if anyone else knew her insecurities. Were they as obvious to others as they were to him? Did anyone else know that she secretly trembled when having to speak in front of a group like that? Did they know she had a soft spot for the underdog? Did they know she wanted to run from confrontation? You’d never know it, given how much she went to battle for the causes she felt passionate about. But every time someone disagreed, she groaned inside.

He threw on a pair of gym shorts and a tight shirt. He shaved again, just in case. And used that as an excuse for just a tiny bit of cologne.

When he arrived back in the main living area, he knew he was going to need about another four water bottles, his mouth was so dry. And his lower back was tingling. What was that? He rubbed it and flexed his muscles to try and normalize everything, but nope. She was doing things to him, things he’d be better off ignoring.

But when he saw her little toes tucked up under her, her legs sleek and tight in a pair of leggings, and her lithe frame enveloped by his old football sweatshirt, he asked himself why he was resisting.

“I’m not.”

“What?”

“Oh, just something else I’m thinking.”

“I suppose I won’t get to hear the lead-up conversation to that comment either?”

“No, I’ll share it all. Better yet, I’ll show you. But first, do you have everything you want? Water? I’ve got a fridge full of everything. Tea? I think I have some donuts in there too…”

“What? This is great. Popcorn is my love language.” She stopped, her eyes widened. Then she choked. “Or whatever.” Her cheeks colored.

“Hey, that’s cool. It’s my love language too.”

She popped a handful into her mouth. “Excellent.”

He laughed at her effort to speak with a mouth full of popcorn. And then used the remote to pull up all the movie choices. They chose an action film they’d both seen, and then he settled into the corner of the couch, wondering if she’d sit beside him.

Chapter 17

When Gianna turned back around toward the couch, ready to relax into a fun action movie with Dex, just like they used to, she was unprepared for her amped up emotions.

He sat in the corner with one leg up on the couch, one leg down, his chest open and welcoming. There was that little space that seemed made for her to lean back against his chest. She remembered what it felt like to be there and wanted his arms around her.

She froze. Gone was the casual, relaxed boy next door, and here was something else entirely.

But what was this?

His t-shirt stretched across his abs; his broad shoulders rippled as he adjusted his arm along the back of the couch. His thighs were thick and strong. She’d seen a lot of military guys and was no stranger to muscles, but when they belonged to the man she’d loved her whole life, and they were sitting on the couch in front of her like they wanted to scoop her up and never let go, that was something else entirely.

She swallowed twice. Then grinned. Maybe if she pretended everything was normal…

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