Page 91 of At the Edge of Surrender

A riptide of confliction.

He set her onto the island countertop where he was chopping something, and it was then I noticed the scent infiltrating the air.

Onions and garlic and spice.

My stomach growled.

God, I hadn’t been able to eat in days, and now my stomach was going to pipe up?

“Well, that might be true, but sometimes we have to work up to things. We just want to make sure you don’t go bonkin’ your head.” He poked her belly when he said it.

She giggled like it was hysterical, grabbing at his finger to guard herself as she sang, “I’m not going to bonk my head, Mr. Kane. I’m a professional. I took a lesson andeveryfing.”

“What? A lesson?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, it sounds like we’re going to have to get you some more of those lessons.”

“They got dance here?”

“Oh yeah,” he said, back to chopping. “There’s this really coolplace in town called Tiny Toes. They have dancing and tumbling. My nephew goes to the tumbling ones, and now he’s a tumbling machine.”

“You think he’s gonna get a gold medal?”

The slow slide of his rumbling amusement billowed and bashed, and my stupid heart flailed at the sweetness.

“He just might.”

“I better go with him then if he’s gonna be my other best friend. I been needin’ to learn some bigfwips.”

“That sounds like a plan. I’ll make the call tomorrow.”

Inhaling a steadying breath, I peeled myself from the wall and stepped into the rambling, open room.

A casual living space was on the right, an oversized couch facing the television that hung on the wall above the fireplace mantel.

Off to the left was the kitchen. An L-shaped countertop ran just below the big windows that had the same view as the bedrooms upstairs, and a giant island was in the middle with six stools tucked into this side.

Kane and Maci were on the other side of it, Maci facing away from me.

But the man…his attention lifted. Those shocking, magic eyes gulping down the sight of me.

An electric shock streaked through the air and pierced through my defenses.

Weakening my knees and speeding my heart.

“Hey, there,” Kane said in that low, mesmerizing voice.

I swore, the man was made for seduction.

Possessing the power to strip you of every reservation.

“Hey.”

Brilliant response, I knew.

But how the hell was I supposed to form a coherent thought when twilight hugged him from behind, his brown hair glinting like he was surrounded by a halo, his teeth tugging at his plump, bottom lip?

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