Page 79 of Don't Let Me Fall (Don't Let Me 1)

I stare at it for a solid five seconds.

Kate asks, “Do you want me to get it?”

With a soft shake of my head, I push myself up and walk to the door. “I got it.” I swing the door open and say, “Hi.”

“Hey.” There’s a grocery sack hanging from one of Colt’s arms and a pint of Half-Baked ice cream in the other. His dark, wavy hair hangs over his forehead, and he gives me a smile that makes my stomach tighten as his warm gaze flicks over me. “I believe I owe a group of ladies some junk food for letting me crash their girls' night.”

“Damn straight!” Mia yells from the couch.

Colt chuckles and pecks my cheek like it’s the most natural thing to do as he comes into the townhouse. I bite my lip to keep from grinning like a loon at the simple yet toe-curlingly sweet sign of affection as whatever condescending voices plaguing me since we hooked up are wiped out with a quick brush of his lips. He tosses the pint of Mia’s favorite ice cream to her. “M’lady.”

“Sir,” she returns with a grin.

“Miss Kate,” he adds, digging out the Brownie Batter ice cream I’d mentioned.

“Why, thank you.”

“Two down, one to go,” I note, folding my arms.

“You’re really gonna make me guess your favorite flavor?” he asks, giving me the side-eye.

“Consider it payment for letting you crash our girls’ night.”

He grins. “Playing hardball, huh?”

I lift my brows but don’t back down.

“All right. I’ll play, Sunshine.” Colt opens the grocery bag and walks to the table as I follow behind, peeking around him to get a glimpse of what’s inside. “I grabbed every flavor they had at the store, except the plain flavors, ‘cause if you’re gonna go with Ben & Jerry’s, you’re gonna want all the stuff they add to the ice cream. Let me see.” He rummages through the bag a bit more. “All right. You didn’t sound too thrilled about Cookie Dough or Tonight Dough, but how do you feel about”––he retrieves a pint and shows it to me––“Oat of this Swirled?”

I snort and shake my head.

“Okay, okay.” He sets it on the table and takes out another pint. “Maybe a little Chubby Hubby? Eh? Eh?”

I shake my head again.

“Ooookay. Let’s see what else we have in here.” He dives in for another pint. “How ‘bout some Chunky Monkey?”

“Wrong again!” Mia calls from the couch, clearly enjoying her entertainment for the evening.

“All right, last guess,” Colt concedes. “And not because I didn’t buy four more flavors, but because I’m pretty confident about this one.”

“Oh?” I challenge, a slow smile spreading as I wait for Colt to fall flat on his handsome face.

“Mint Chip,” he announces, unveiling the pint of ice cream from the grocery sack like it’s the grand prize on a gameshow. “It’s creamy. It’s refreshing. You get those nice little chocolate chunks.” He pinches his finger and thumb together to prove his point. “It’s not too out there or overloaded with stuff you don’t need. It’s simple yet satisfying. Am I right?”

Kate and Mia slow clap and push to their feet, giving Colt a standing ovation.

“Bravo, Colt!”

“I’m officially impressed!”

I bite back my grin and motion to the pints of ice cream littered across the kitchen table, refusing to give in no matter how adorable the guy is. “You really think all of this is going to fit in my freezer?”

One of Colt’s arms snakes around my waist as the other offers the mint chip pint for me to take. “Nah, but I think we can make a pretty decent dent in the stash.”

“You think?”

He leans in and kisses me again. Nothing over-the-top, but somehow more sweet and affectionate than I ever could’ve expected. Even when he pulls away, his taste still lingers on my lips, making me crave him even more than if he’d never kissed me at all.

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