Page 95 of 1 Last Shot

“Ready to go?” he asks.

“Umm, kind of,” I stammer, trying to reorganize my brain cells after his kiss. “I had planned to push you back into your apartment when I opened the door, but you’re entirely too distracting.”

Kane quirks an eyebrow. “My apartment? Why?”

“Because you’re always in mine and I’ve never seen yours.” Gathering the rest of my courage, I add, “Plus, I thought maybe we could… spend the night together after dinner. And I wouldn’t want you to leave Oscar, or uproot him from where he feels comfortable, so I thought we could sleep at yours. If you’re okay with that. If not, that’s totally okay. I just thought, with last night, that maybe we—”

"Isabella," Kane interrupts, his voice vibrating with amusement and warmth. "Can you stop talking long enough to let me give you an answer?"

"Yup, I can do that," I blurt awkwardly.

He's hesitating, clearly thinking, and the pause lasts for so long that I come embarrassingly close to filling the silence with more of my babbling. Thankfully, he starts talking before I can do that.

"Do you actually want to come over, or are you just trying to be polite?"

That makes me frown. "Do Iseemlike the type of person who would do something she doesn't want to do, just to appear polite?"

"Yes," he says with a chuckle.

My frown deepens. "Okay, fine, that's fair. But have I ever come off like that withyou?"

The pause is Kane's this time. "Touché," he finally admits. “Okay. My place it is, then.”

I can’t smother my excited smile as I quickly check the time on my phone. “Can you give me the tour before dinner? I really want to see it, but also I secretly miss Oscar.”

Kane’s lip quirks with a smile as he puts some space between us and takes my hand. “All of this is just a ruse to spend more time with Oscar, isn’t it?”

“Guilty.”

Kane barks out a delighted laugh, and at the sound, my heart fills so completely with joy that I think I might burst.

Is it possible for things to be this perfect?

He leads me out of my apartment and into his. But before I can take in the apartment itself, a huge smile is breaking across my face and I'm dropping to my knees.

"Hi, baby," I coo, greeting Oscar with the same excitement he meets me with. His tail is wagging so hard it sounds like a baseball bat is banging against the hardwood floor. His tongue is lolling out the side of his mouth, and he looks about two seconds away from rolling over for a belly rub.

"You better be more of a guard dog than this if anyone else walks in," I hear Kane grumble from behind me.

I giggle at that, scratching Oscar under the chin one last time before standing up. When I turn to face Kane, his usual stone-cold expression has already slid back onto his face.

But I know him. I can see the nerves underneath it.

I turn in a small circle, taking in the space around me. The apartment layout is identical to mine, so I take in the furniture and décor, instead. Kane's put in a single couch and coffee table in front of the mounted TV, and a small makeshift bar counter next to the tidy kitchen. There are no decorations anywhere, but also no clutter. Even without seeing the bedroom, I can tell the entire apartment is very minimalist.

VeryKane.

I turn my attention back to where he’s still waiting for my reaction. He only quirks an eyebrow when I focus back on him.

"I love it," I say with a warm smile. "It’s perfect for you."

He doesn't look entirely convinced. He jerks his head stiffly toward the couch and says, "Sorry there's not more places to sit. I never have people over, so it's never been a need before."

"You mean you don't host house parties on weekends? I'm shocked."

He chucks me under the chin, the whisper of an amused smile finally appearing on his lips. "Smartass," he murmurs.

I glance back at the couch and add in a serious tone, "I kind of like that there's only one couch to sit on. Just means we'll have to cuddle up to make the three of us fit."

---