Page 13 of Drunk Dialing My Enemy

“You’re right. I don’t think I want to know.”

“So…you’re really going to rebuild my princess bridge?”

“If that’s what you want. Yes. However you want it.”

“Can we paint it, too?”

“I assumed painting was implied,” I reply. “But I don’t even remember what the original paint looked like, do you?”

“It was pink,” she says confidently. “It’s a princess bridge, after all. Oh – this time, we could match the shade to the sign on my store!”

“Whatever you want, firecracker.”

She blushes.

“I missed your nicknames.”

I walk around the counter, taking the teddy from Katie’s hands and pulling her close to me. Her breasts push against my chest and I know she can feel how hard I am right now, my cock pushing into her soft belly.

“I missedyou, firecracker,” I whisper. “And now that I know I have a chance with you, I’m not going to leave you alone. I hope you know that.”

“I don’t know.”

I nod. I want her to know that I’m not going anywhere. But she doesn’t trust me. The last time I kissed her and made her a promise, I broke it. This time, it’ll be different.

My lips crash into hers. My tongue parts her lips as I pull her tight into my body, kissing her in the way I wish I’d had the guts to kiss her years ago. Not just a kiss but a claim to this woman.

I’ll be the only man to kiss her this way. The only one to be inside of her body. To plant my seed inside of her and watch her belly swell with my child. I’ll protect her from harm, provide for her, make sure the rest of her days are the best days.

She’smine.

CHAPTER 7

KATIE

Darren getsto work right away, which I wasn’t expecting. I mean, he owns several buildings around here, not just mine. Plus his carpentry business keeps him pretty busy all year.

But it seems like as soon as he confirms the specifications of the bridge that I want, he gets to work. First he makes a trip to the lumber yard. When he returns with his truck loaded down with tools and wood, he also has a paper cup of coffee for me.

“You still like white chocolate mocha?” he asks me, handing me the warm cup.

As crazy as it is, I almost burst into tears over the kind gesture.

“Yes,” I manage out. “It’s still my favorite. Thank you.”

He nods, turning around and walking out the door to return to his truck. I look at the cup in my hands, a coffee brought to me by the man who, until yesterday, I thought couldn’t stand me.

Now it’s like everything has flipped around. Could it be that we’ve been misunderstanding each other this whole time?

I’m aware that I’m in serious danger of falling in love with Darren all over again. And that means I’m in danger of being heartbroken again. I’m not sure I can go through all of that again, but I don’t think I have a choice. If Darren wants to bewith me, I’m going to say yes. I’m going to give this a try, because Darren is the only man I’ve ever loved.

The store isn’t too busy today, but that’s no surprise. Sundays tend to be pretty slow, and that’s good because my hangover is still faintly pounding between my ears. I’m unpacking new inventory in the backroom when the chime of the front door alerts me to someone entering. I walk out, expecting – or maybe hoping – that it’s Darren. Instead I see Dot.

“Hey!” I say brightly. The pitch of my voice is a bit too high. I don’t know why; it’s not like Dot knows anything is going on between Darren and me. Not yet, anyways.

Dot narrows her eyes. They’re blue-green, like Darren’s. But hers are brighter, lacking the ring of navy blue around the irises that gives Darren all of his smoky intensity.

“Hey?” she repeats, putting a hand on her hip. “What the hell, girl? You haven’t texted me back all day!”

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