Page 38 of Needing You

He laughed, holding out his hands. “It was a big change from the girl I remembered.”

“Yeah, well, I was very young.”

“We both were. But”—he reached across the table and took my hand in his, squeezing it—“I have to say, I could get used to this new, more experienced version of the Kate I knew back then.”

I snorted. “Ha. Not quite.”

The lazy circle he’d been making with his thumb halted. “What?”

“Nothing.” I looked down at our joined hands. Why had I even sat down? I should’ve just gotten back to work. And where the hell was Jackson?

I popped my head up, hoping to see him wandering back from the bathroom. Instead, he’d stopped to chat with one of his friends who was sitting with his parents in another server’s section.Great.

“Kate,” Will tried again, giving my hand a little tug so I’d look at him. “What do you mean,not quite?”

With a sigh, I braced myself for what would probably be more laughter. “I meant that I’m not exactly more experienced,” I told him—again, keeping my voice as quiet as possible. “Older, yes. More experienced?Not quite.”

He didn’t laugh, but he did shift in his seat and swallow hard enough that I could see his Adam’s apple bob. “Okay, so you’re just more comfortable. You’ve learned what you like.”

Another snort escaped before I could stop it.

“Hang on,” Will said, leaning closer again, “are you saying you haven’t been with anyone since we were together?”

Pursing my lips, I shrugged, unable to manage an audible reply.

Will let out a long breath and sat back in the booth, letting go of my hand in the process. “Holy shit.”

“I’ve been busy.”

His brows went up, but this time it was his turn to not have a good response.

“Anyway, that’s why I wanted to apologize. I can’t claim to know what the hell I’m doing, and clearly, I didn’t do the right thing since you were so quick to put a stop to it. So, I’m sorry for getting all handsy, and it won’t happen again.”

At this, his grin reappeared. “I’d say I was the one who got handsy.”

A shudder ran through me, and I squirmed in my seat, coughing slightly to hide my body’s reaction to both the memory and his sultry tone. “Not the point.”

“Well, whatever your point is, I need you to know that I didn’t slow us down because you did anything wrong. I wasn’t lying when I said I liked it.”

“Then why did you?”

He ran a hand through his tousled waves and sighed. “Because I don’t want to screw this up. Whateverthisis.”

“How would being with me again screw this up? It’s not like it’d be our first time.”

“No, I know that. But itwouldbe our first time in a very long time, and even before I knew you haven’t been with anyone since…” His words faltered, and I didn’t miss the sudden flash of heat in his dark eyes. He leaned in and whispered, “Fuck,Kate. You realize I only want you more now, right?”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Yes. Because the only thing I want more than you is to be a good manforyou. I care about you, and I care about Jackson, so I don’t want to rush into something only for it to blow up in our faces.”

“I see.” It was a far cry from the boy from the past, and an even bigger contrast to the man I’d seen pawing at two women in New York or heard about sleeping his way through the city for the last decade. But maybe Ellie was right. Maybe it was just… sweet.

“Good. So you see why you’ve only made my job harder by telling me I’m the only one who’s been with you.”

My mouth went dry, and my gaze flicked back to Jackson. He was still with his friend, laughing and chatting like the world was right-side-up and there was nothing monumental going on between his estranged parents.

Tilting forward in the booth, I decided to embrace whatever it was that he liked about this less-shy version of me. “No, that part’s still a little foggy. Why does it make you want me more to know I’ve only been with you?”

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