Page 54 of Love Out Loud

Jane was right. “So is my job. Please bring the next patient in.”

With a chuckle, Addison left the room, and Fiona sagged against the wall. He’d invited them to his apartment. She almost bounced with excitement. Maybe she’d cut out early today. Yeah, she’d for sure cut out early. Hairball cat was the last scheduled appointment. No need to hang out until closing. Not today. She grinned. She had something much more important to do.

…

“Wait a minute,” Fiona said when Jake took her in his arms and kissed her silly before he even closed his apartment door. He didn’t want to wait. He’d finished his magazine article right before she’d called saying she was home from work, so he was ready for a celebration. He’d been waiting for her to arrive for half an hour, and it had been torture.

“I hate waiting,” he said, biting her earlobe.

“Be a gracious host and lighten up for a minute,” she said, pushing him away. “I’m not even officially inside yet.”

“Neither am I,” he said with a grin, giving her a theatrical leer.

She crossed her arms over her ribs and rolled her eyes.

“Okay,” he said, palms raised in surrender. She was right; she was only halfway in the door, and the dogs were still in the hall. “Let me fix that.” He snapped his fingers, and both dogs entered, then he pointed at the rug, and they both sat, just like they did for Fiona. He arched a brow at her, and she chuckled.

“You are so powerful,” she said.

“Let me show you just how powerful.”

She waved a dismissive hand. “Down, boy. I want to check out the lair of the all-powerful Jacob Ward.”

For some weird reason, his heart kicked up at that. He’d never been nervous to have someone in his place before, and it made no sense right now, considering how comfortable he was with her. Maybe it was because he liked her so much…no, helovedher. He wanted to impress her, and this place was not impressive. It was functional. He looked at the furniture. It was all nice, but not matchy-matchy like Fiona’s place.

He thought back on that time when she’d dropped that toy in the revolving door while hefting those bags of cat food. He had pictured her place decorated with green shag rugs and cats everywhere. So wrong. He’d been wrong about so much about her. He gestured to the apartment behind him. “I’m a lot more interesting than my apartment.”

“No doubt,” she said. “But I’ve seenyoubefore.” She raked a gaze over him that made him instantly hard.

She walked by him into the kitchen. “I’ve never seen your place. Indulge me.”

He knew what she saw. A tiny, closed-off kitchen with a state-of-the-art espresso maker and a microwave that he used way more than the oven.

“You can see why I prefer to spend time in your apartment,” he said.

“With your schedule, I figure you’re hardly ever here. You have exactly what you need,” she said, emerging from the kitchen and wandering by the leather sectional and TV. After encouraging the dogs to settle down and relax on the soft rug in front of the coffee table, she went into his bedroom. He followed to find her in his closet, where she took a deep breath through her nose.

“You’re smelling my closet?”

“Smelling you.” She turned and smiled. “I love your smell.”

He loved her.Tell her.His palms started to sweat like when a big dog was nearby. What if it wasn’t reciprocal? He’d wait. He’d tell her when the time was right. Maybe after they’d visited his bed, which would be good right about now, as far as he was concerned.

She crossed the room and ran her fingers over his pillow. “I’ve imagined your bedroom many times.”

“Does it live up to expectations?”

She grinned. “Not yet.”

He took several steps closer, and she closed the distance between them. As always, the energy between them when they touched was off the charts. They were naked and living up to her expectations in no time. And then living up to them again.

Tell her, he ordered himself when they had fallen back, panting from exertion.Tell her now.

She rolled to her side and wrapped her leg over him.

“Fiona, there’s something I need to say.”

“Mmmph,” she said against his neck. He could tell from her rhythmic breathing she was about to drift off.

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