Page 44 of Sliding into Home

Was it fine? Was she as attracted to him as he was to her? Kia’s tongue darted out, and his eyes followed the movement as she wet her lips. Bad idea.

He stood up. “I need a refill. What about you?”

“It’s late. I should probably get going.” Kia pushed the blanket off her lap and stood up.

“You sure?” It was probably a good idea if she left immediately, otherwise he’d be really tempted to press his luck and forget why it was a bad idea to keep his distance.

“Yeah. Thanks for the wine and everything.” She gestured to the blankets piled on the sofa.

“Of course. Thanks for coming in clutch with Pickles.”

“You know it.” Kia winked. “Mom for the win.”

“It was a thing of beauty.” He chuckled. Pulling open the deck door, he stepped back to allow her to precede him inside.

Following Kia to the front door, his gaze dropped to her jean-clad ass and the way her hips swayed with each step. Jesus, he had it bad.

She stopped at the door. “Now that it’s been mentioned, I’m taking you up on the offer of breakfast. So you want to pick me up?”

“You bet. Nine o’clock?”

Kia grinned. “I hope you don’t think you’re sleeping in tomorrow morning.”

“Picking you up at nine is sleeping in?”

And damn if she didn’t start laughing. Kia patted him on the chest. “Oh, you have so much to learn.”

Christ, just how early did the kid get up? “Do we need to make it earlier?”

Kia pulled open the front door. “Nope, you already said nine. No take backs. I’m going to enjoy sleeping in. Have fun,” she called over her shoulder.

Well shit.

Chapter Twelve

Thebreezeofftheocean blew her hair away from her forehead. Kia scanned the area around her and didn’t see any sign of Austin yet. She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her face. Man, she hoped this conversation went well. Breaking up was never easy. But if the past few weeks had shown her anything, it was that Austin wasn’t the right guy for her. If he was, she wouldn’t be so drawn to Jeff.

After a couple of minutes, she opened her eyes and glanced to her left. Austin wandered toward her down the walkway, skirting past people on the sidewalk. A smile spread across his face when he saw her, and he lifted his hand in acknowledgment. Shit. This was going to completely blindside him.

Kia’s shoulders tightened. She pasted a smile on her face and waved back.

Austin strolled up and leaned down to kiss her. At the last second, Kia turned her face slightly, so the kiss landed on her cheek.

Austin’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Um, yeah. You want to sit, or do you want to walk?” Kia looked back out at the ocean. Afraid that if she made eye contact with him, she’d just blurt out she wanted to break up rather than easing into it more delicately.

Austin sat on the bench beside her. “What’s going on, Kia? You seem tense.”

Shifting her weight, Kia slid on the bench and brought her knee up so she could turn and face Austin properly. “Um… So we need to talk.”

His face fell. “You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

“I’m sorry.” She winced. “I just don’t think this is working anymore.”

Austin stood up. Waves of anger pulsed off his body. “Why? Because you have a fancy meal ticket now?”

Pissed, she jumped to her feet. “Are you kidding me?” How dare he imply she was a gold digger! She worked her ass off for everything she had. That was one thing they both had in common. He knew how important it was to her to pave her own way.

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