If only I could think in her presence.
She says I put my kids first, but hooking up with her is a time bomb.
When it explodes, I won’t be the only one mangled in the wreckage.
Sophie, she’s already on her way to worshipping Margot Blackthorn and her talents. Dan, he’s brighter than ever with a woman around who listens, taking his jokes in stride and throwing them back.
Theylikeher so much they’re welcoming her into our little family unit without question.
Hell, Sophie even went to her alone and asked if she could help with her deepest, darkest fear.
Not me.
Margot.
What the fuck am I doing?
I don’t even know if I’m cut out for another relationship.
I thought I’d spend years licking my wounds after finalizing the divorce, and I swore off women entirely. Everything was easier that way.
Now?
Now, I’m the asshole making it hard.
She feels the way I tense and she leans back, looking up with questions in her pretty eyes.
We’ve never talked about what this is, what I’m doing with her, and those words feel crushing.
But I also feel her studying me, asking without uttering a single word.
I wish I had answers.
I’m just as stranded in the dark as her, stumbling around.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I admit roughly. “Even if it’s just for another week or so.”
“Hey, me too!” Her fingers graze my cheek, gentle enough to make me shiver.
Neither of us needs to mention what happens after that.
Prowlers or not, we already know.
We have lives to get back to.
Lives too complicated for a random wildfire that can’t keep burning forever.
Goddammit, though, I don’t want to put it out.
I don’t want her with any man who won’t cherish her like gold.
I don’t want her to settle for another fuckboy—or worse, an arranged marriage based on money or status or value proposition.
She smiles up at me, soft and reassuring, breaking through my haze as she stretches on her toes.
I sweep her closer, pinning her against me as I kiss her so reverently I try to forget the fuckery that’s happened today.
Here, there’s only room for two beating hearts.
