Page 61 of Protected By the Grumpy Single Dad
***
I feel my heart thud as we walk back into his house, Asher right behind me. Something is going to happen. I don’t know what, but something is going to happen and sweep me right off my feet.
“I don’t know how much I can thank you,” I say, turning as he shuts the door.
“Ah, well. I was off duty today anyway.” He slides his hands into his pockets casually. “Just glad I used it for something useful.”
“Aren’t we all?” I say, then wince. “Also … sorry about everyone assuming we’re together.”
He smiles. “I mean, we were together.”
“No, like—together together. They thought—” I see the laugh gathering in his eyes. “Wow.”
“I have never seen you this flustered,” he says, delighted, and I feel my cheeks flame. If Riley were here, she’d faint from secondhand vindication.
“Somehow,” I say, stepping closer, “even after doing a really good thing, you still manage to piss me off.”
“Oh, come on.”
“Come on what? It’s like a staple.”
“I wonder why.”
He takes a step closer. The tiny hairs at the back of my neck stand up.
“You did the same thing with those robbers,” I say. “Took them down and wouldn’t take a simple thank-you.”
“I was doing my job.”
“Well, you’re terrible at receiving compliments.”
“And you’re bad at giving them.”
Another step. My knees soften.
“I didn’t mind it,” he says, voice suddenly nearer.
“Didn’t mind what?”
“That people thought we were together.”
What?
“What?”
“I’m just saying you don’t need to apologize.”
“That’s not what you’re saying.” I can hear my pulse in my ears. “That is not what you’re saying.”
Silence swells. I turn to go, brain short-circuiting—then his hand closes around my wrist. He pulls me gently toward him. Our eyes lock. Then our lips do. The world blinks away. The kiss deepens, and a sinking, soaring feeling hits me: this is right. Like fate bookmarked this from the moment he cuffed me and shoved me into his car. He pulls back, eyes hunting mine.
“Um—” I say, eloquently.
I knew it. I knew this was going to happen.
***
Something feels off the next morning when I part the blinds and spot a black sedan idling across the street. It could be anyone. It should be anyone.
