Page 37 of I've Got You

Davis nodded. “It’s why he’s in my life so deeply. He’s one of the good ones, family.”

I bobbed my head in understanding.

“And upstairs. The kiss?”

With a loud swallow, I zeroed in on his mouth. “The kiss.”

His lips quirked, and my gaze lifted to his eyes. Amusement danced in their depths. “You okay with what happened, what I said to Tanner?”

“I—” I clammed my mouth shut before restarting. “I want to do it again. A lot.” He beamed at me as I continued. “The whole defending me was hot.” I shrugged, aware my face was hot, and I felt awkward as hell. This telling the truth shit was hard freakin’ work. I didn’t know how he did it so effortlessly.

“That’s good. Go on.”

I held back from rolling my eyes and attempted to form words I knew I was more than capable of, despite behaving like an awkward teenager around him. And I would never admit it to anyone, but all of those broken cups and plates were all directly linked to Davis distracting me in some way. This was what he did to me, and more often than not without him even realizing it. “I didn’t know how to handle everything you were saying at first. Yeah, it was seriously sexy, but then I couldn’t help thinking of Libby and about the bigger reality of us doing… this. When you said you were unsure about us too, what we were, I was able to breathe again. It’s a lot.”

“Too much?”

I shook my head. “No, not that, just a lot. I don’t want to mess this up. Having Libby in the mix changes everything, and do I sound like a complete idiot if I say I don’t want to let her down?” I certainly felt like it for saying those words aloud. She wasn’t even one, so none the wiser, but still, getting close to her and then somehow screwing this up… the possibility didn’t sit well with me at all.

Davis glanced over at his daughter, who’d crawled over to the small play area set up in the corner of the dining area. She seemed content picking up and playing with, sometimes throwing, her toys. When he returned his focus to me, he said, “I need you to not worry about messing up. Sometimes relationships work out; sometimes they don’t. As long as we keep telling each other what’s going on, we’ll figure it out.” He took hold of the bottom of his tee I wore and stepped right into my space. He lowered his voice. “And I’m relieved as fuck that you want more.” He shook his head as though contemplating something. “I’m so aware being openly gay is new and scary as shit, and part of me knows jumping into something with you when you’re not sure—”

“I am sure.” I was. What I felt was real, right. It didn’t mean I had everything worked out just yet, but I refused to ignore my attraction to Davis.

“Okay.” His hand gripped my waist. “But I need to be really clear. If we’re going to see where this goes, I don’t share. I don’t mess around.”

I nodded emphatically. “I wouldn’t—”

With a press of his lips against mine, he cut me off, and I breathed him in. Happily allowed him to take control of the kiss, aware Libby was a few feet away. I reached up and touched the stubble on his chin, and goose bumps dotted across my skin. After a few small kisses, he pulled away.

“So no screwing around, no overthinking, not quite casual, but no labels just yet?”

My heart stuttered as hope pushed its way to the surface, desperate to break free and take a big, gulping breath. While a dull knot swirled in my gut that we weren’t ready for more, for labels and everything that entailed, acceptance bloomed. “Sounds doable.” I sealed our agreement with a brush of my lips against his.

When he stepped away, I lost his heat but gained something far better.

Contentment.

I really was going to figure my life out. This was the next major step.

Chapter Thirteen

DAVIS

A week later,I was in the kitchen preparing tomorrow’s baked goods while Katie was up front serving and Scott was running the register. It had been a week of stolen kisses between working, parenting, and life, and a whole week of Scott not destroying a single thing. I took it as a win.

“Hey, boss.” I lazily looked up at Scott, not so secretly loving when he called me that. I would take any moment of time I could get luxuriating in the extra time with the guy, even if it was in these small moments at work. The reality was he wouldn’t be here for much longer. We’d already briefly chatted about him returning to the clinic, and while he tended to change the conversation, I saw a longing in him that he didn’t seem ready to admit to.

I picked up a towel and wiped my hands. “Hey.”

“It’s kinda quiet out there, so I was wondering if you needed a hand.”

I didn’t even bother to glance to check. Instead, I called him over with a nudge of my head. “Get your hands washed, then get your ass next to me.” He grinned and did as asked before moving to my side. His arm brushed against mine, and I threw him a wink. “Grab those apples for me and get chopping.”

“Yes, sir.” He mock saluted, looking far too pleased with himself. It looked good on him, this lighthearted side that I’d seen more of recently.

With a raised brow, I gave him a once-over, deliberately taking my time. When a hint of pink made an appearance on his neck and traveled higher, I grinned. I couldn’t deny I made it my mission whenever I had the chance to get him hot under the collar. “You know,” I leaned into him, “I could get used to you saying yes to me when I ask for something.”

His breath hitched before his jaw tightened, and I watched, amused, as he pulled himself together. “You know,” he leaned into me this time, and I didn’t fight my grin, “perhaps you need to start asking questions where myyeswill be mutually beneficial.”

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