We just love to make things hard for ourselves.
“I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do…”
Finally, Lewis gives in.
“He was seriously pissed. We had a fight over it, which I won—obviously.” He jerks his head at the tree. “Okay. Hang on tight, because I’m about to climb this thing with my bare hands.”
I was expecting a white-knuckle ride, but it turns out there are steps laid into the back of the trunk.
“That’s cheating!” I say when he lowers me down onto the solid floor.
Lewis unlocks the door, shepherding me into a living room that feels pared back but cozy all the same.
“I’m not great at interiors,” he admits, shutting the door behind me. “My mom keeps begging to come help me out with the furnishings.”
“Your parents have never visited?”
He shakes his head. “My dad is all about the detail—I’m not letting him see until it’s done and dusted.”
“So, I’m the first person to be admitted into your man cave?”
“You are.”
I smile. “Why me?”
“Think of it as my masterstroke. I bring you here, and when you find out you’re the first person to set foot in this place…” He shrugs. “Let’s just say, you realize I’m amazing and you fall madly in love with me. Then we ride off into the sunset, and stuff.”
“Wow. Seems like you’ve got it all figured out.”
He smiles.
I wish I could tell him that his fantasy is just that—fantasy.Maybe…
Lewis opens the shutters, before drifting back over to me and taking my hands in his.
“I know you can’t wait to rip my clothes off and make love on the fur rug I bought especially for this moment, but I need to make one small thing clear.”
He stares deep into my eyes. I’m getting the sense that whatever he’s about to say is a Big Deal, but my mind is stuck on the first part of his sentence. I want him—and I want to move on from these shitty past few weeks.
“Amy Hitman—will you be my girlfriend?”
“What kind of fur rug?” I ask.
He takes a deep breath in. “Hey, I’m trying to have a serious moment, here!”
“Except when you phrase it like that, it makes me want to stick pins in my eyes.”
“How ’bout you try a little tenderness—just this once?” he pleads.
I nod. “Okay—Lewis Conley, yes I will. That better?” I raise an eyebrow at him. “Can we get naked now?”
“I can’t believe I was so obsessed with staying single.” A sexy smile spreads over his face as he pulls me into his arms. “How ’bout we kiss and make up?”
“You scare me, you know.”
“Don’t tell me the Hitmans don’t do kissing—because Iknowthat’s a lie.”
