The need to get back to my space.My routine.My life.I wasn’t the girl who stayed put.I never had been.
I pushed myself to my feet slowly, steadying against the mattress for a second before I reached down and grabbed my sweatshirt from the foot of the bed.
Pulling it on was another whole process, but I managed it without swearing this time.
Progress.Again.
I made my way down the hallway, each step careful but more confident than yesterday.
The house smelled like coffee and toast.
And then I hit the kitchen doorway and stopped.
Swift stood at the sink, finishing a cup of coffee.My eyes locked onto the movement of his throat as he swallowed.His Adam’s apple bobbed once, slow and deliberate.
And my brain—my very tired, slightly scrambled brain—went:Sexy.
I blinked, trying to figure out where that thought came from.
He set the empty mug in the sink and turned slightly, catching me standing there.“Morning, sugar.”
“Morning,” I said, maybe a little too quickly.I stepped into the kitchen.“Ready to leave suburbia and get back to State Street?”I asked.
He chuckled, low and easy.“Gonna do the same thing here that I’m gonna do there.”
“Yeah, but the scenery and social scene are so much better on State Street,” I pointed out.
His mouth curved just a little.“Not wrong there.”
We moved toward the front door together, the rhythm of it easy in a way that felt… natural.
Too natural.
Swift grabbed his keys off the small table near the door and checked the lock before opening it, stepping out onto the porch first like he always did.
Scanning.Watching.Then he motioned for me.
I stepped outside and saw Tempi’s car sat in the driveway, but Tempi was nowhere in sight.
I frowned.“Where’s Tempi?”
Swift moved ahead of me, opening the passenger door.“She’s at the bar,” he said.“Finishing cleanup from the fire and getting ready to start ripping shit out.”
I pointed at the car.“Then how did this get here?”
“She drove it here last night,” he said.“Twister followed her.Didn’t think you’d be up for riding on the back of my bike yet.”
I quirked my lips.“Yeah,” I admitted.“You’re probably right.”
I carefully lowered myself into the passenger seat, moving slower than I would have a week ago.
Swift leaned in.
Close.Too close.
The heat from his body wrapped around me instantly.My heart kicked up.
Stupid.
