Page 74 of A Reclusive Heart

“You already have me, Jamie,” Nick swore, turning his head to press a kiss against her palm.

“In that case, I’ll take a double shot of hot fudge,” Jamie said with a satisfied sigh.

He chuckled as he leaned down and kissed her. “It’s a shame that I lied about the milkshake.”

“I really do hate you,” Jamie said, sighing as she brushed her lips against his.

“Too late, Jamie. I already know that you love me.”

“Do you love me?” she whispered against his lips.

He moved back just enough so that he could look into her beautiful eyes. “So much that it hurts, Jamie.”

“I think you should prove it with chocolate.”

“I just bet that you do,” Nick said, chuckling as he leaned in to cut off her protests with a kiss that probably wasn’tappropriate for a hospital room, but he couldn’t help himself. The little recluse set him on fire, and holy hell, did he burn for her.

CHAPTER 35

Three months later...

Ten miles outside of Hershey, Pennsylvania

“Is my surprise a visit to heaven on earth?” Jamie asked, sounding hopeful. All she knew was that he better not have brought her this close to Hershey Park and not bring her there.

Nick chuckled as he raised their entwined hands and pressed a kiss against the back of her hand. She noticed that he did that a lot, kissing her, that is. He couldn’t seem to be around her without finding an excuse to touch or kiss her.

After four months, they were still going strong. It surprised her how well they were doing. Even more surprising was the fact that they seemed to be living together. It wasn’t something that they discussed. It just kind of happened. After they finally released her from the hospital, she’d been too weak to go through the hassle of looking for a new apartment. Thankfully, Nick told her that there wasn’t a rush and that she could stay with him until she was ready.

When her doctor announced that she was able to return to work, well, go to the office instead of working from Nick’s bed, neither one of them brought up moving. They’d fallen into a routine of making love in the morning, having breakfast together, driving to work, where she spent most of her time working on his couch. Some nights, they managed to have dinner together, and other nights, she ignored the notes he taped to the cabinets and refrigerator imploring her to eat something healthy and indulged her sweet tooth. No matter what they did during the day, they always ended the night making love.

Life was perfect.

“Did you really think that I’d bring you this close to the motherland and not take you? You’d smother me in my sleep if I did that,” Nick said, smiling in that way that drove her crazy and made her consider asking him to pull over so that she could check a certain item off her list again.

“Then, what are we doing here?” Jamie asked, turning in her seat to look at him.

“It’s a surprise,” Nick said with a teasing smile that had her eyes narrowing.

“Is it a good surprise or a bad surprise?” Jamie demanded as she debated all the possibilities in her head.

“I’m hoping that it’s a good surprise, Jamie,” he said after a slight hesitation.

“Should I be worried?” she asked, wondering what kind of surprise would require them to take a few days off during their tour to come to Pennsylvania. Maybe he was bringing her to a Hershey’s outlet store and was going to let her fill the car with chocolate?

She could hope, at least.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Nick promised as he pulled into the parking lot of a 50’s era diner with a sign that boastedthe largest dessert menu on the East Coast, something the sugar addict in her was more than willing to look into.

“Why don’t we grab lunch?” Nick suggested as he parked their rental car.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Jamie said, wondering if he was going to count that donut she’d devoured earlier against her. The man was so damn stubborn when it came to her sugar intake, but in a sweet cranky sort of way that actually made her smile.

That is, when he wasn’t coming between her and sugar.

She watched him loosen his tie as he walked around the front of the car and nearly sighed. The man was a sight to behold. He was handsome, charming, and so damn sexy that sometimes it was a struggle not to tackle him to the ground and have her dirty little way with him. By the time he made it around the car to open her door, she was focused on what was important, the huge dessert menu calling her name.

He leaned down, taking her hand in his and brushed his lips against hers before they made their way to the diner. The delicious aroma hit her before they made it to the front doors, making her stomach growl. Perhaps she’d eat lunch before perusing the dessert menu, Jamie decided as they walked into the diner and she nearly tripped over her own feet when she got her first look inside.

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