Page 43 of The Way We Win

“I watch highlight reels… I think about my parents.” My honest answer slips out unbidden.

“Really?” A warm smile crosses her lips, and she steps closer to my side. “What about them?”

My shoulders tense, but somehow I can’t stop answering her. “They did all this together. This restaurant, this family… but the only thing Dad cared about was her. When our mother died, it was over for him. I don’t know what that’s like.”

But I want to know…

She touches my arm gently, her voice softer. “To love someone that much?”

A churn is in my stomach, but I can’t stop myself. “To be loved by someone that much.” My defenses start to rise, and I take a step away. “Sorry, I’m just… It’s late, and I’m tired. I’m not trying to bring down the mood.”

“Don’t do that.” Her fingers curl on my arm, holding me. “I want to know the things you think about. It doesn’t bring me down.”

My brow lowers, and I need to stop this. I’ve never talked to anyone this way. I’m always in control.

Except…

“My parents were like a fairytale, but they didn’t have a happy ending.”

Her slim brows pull together. “I wouldn’t say that. Your parents made this big family they loved so much, and they left a legacy of good people who help each other and so many others. That’s a beautiful ending. Everyone dies, but not everyone leaves so much love behind.”

A gust of wind hits my face, and I turn my cap around. “I guess I’m too close to see it that way.”

“You could have it.” Another step closer. “You’re too good a man to be alone.”

The ache in my throat persists. “You don’t know that.”

“I know you deserve to be with someone who loves you that much, who dreams of you at night… who wants to take care of your needs.”

It’s that door again, wide open.

I should turn and walk away. I shouldn’t go through it, but when she reaches up, my control slips.

It’s a mistake, but I let her touch me. I don’t pull away when her thumb lightly traces the line of my jaw. “Why not me?”

Reaching down, I do what I’ve wanted to do for so long. I put my hands on her soft cheeks, sliding her hair back from her face.

Her eyes are round and deep, and her full lips part. Desire races below my belt, and I lean down to seal my lips to hers.

A whimper slips from her throat, and her hands grip my wrists. Her mouth opens, and our tongues slide together, and oh, fuck. I tilt her head to the side, so I can kiss her deeper. She tastes like sweet vanilla ice cream, and I want to devour her.

Another little noise comes from her, and I’m so hard. If we were inside, I’d press her against a wall and lift her off her feet. Instead I move one hand to her back, drawing her soft body flush against mine.

“Oh, God,” she gasps, and I know she feels my erection.

Sliding my hand lower, I cup her ass, moving my fingers between her thighs and lifting her to me.

“Jack…” Both her hands are on my chest, and her fingers curl in my shirt.

She pulls the thin cotton higher on my stomach, and her hands move lower. They pass over my stomach, and my muscles tense.

“I want this.” She looks down to where she’s touching me. It feels so good. “I’ve done this so many times in my mind.”

She looks up at me again, but we can’t do what I want to do here. “If anyone sees us, it’ll make all the rumors true.”

“They won’t see us.” Rising higher, she presses her lips to my throat.

My hands move to cup her breasts over her T-shirt. I feel her nipples hard through the fabric of her bra. Lifting and squeezing, I want to take them out and pull them into my mouth, between my teeth.

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