“To ask about Drake? Curious if he was my great love?” She fingers her napkin, cutting her gaze to the floor. “He wasn’t. Turns out, I never really knew the man. I was in love with something he created, I suppose, because the real Drake isa monster.” Her voice cracks on the last word, her face crumpling. “I wish I’d never met him.”
No way, not going down this mine laden path. She’s had enough sleepless nights, beating herself up over circumstances beyond her control.
I drop down in front of her and rest my forearms on her knees, reaching for her hands. “Don’t you dare go there. From what I’ve heard, no one knew. Stop beating yourself up because he deceived you. You believed him to be a better man than he was. That doesn’t mean you’re stupid. It means your heart is beautiful.”
Kiki forces a smile through the tears slipping down her cheeks.
“The next time you fall in love,” I say, my voice steady, “it’s going to be with a man who is who he says he is, who does what he says he’s going to do, and who treats you the way you deserve to be treated.”
She sighs, pulling her hand back to swipe at her eyes. “I love that thought, Eddie, but let’s be real. No man like that is going to want me.”
The pain in her voice claws at my guts, and all I want to do is protect her from any future onslaught.
I shake my head, determined to argue that notion to the death. “That’s not true. The right man? He’s absolutely going to want you.” I lean in, swiping my thumb across her tear-stained face. “Because you are spectacular, Kiki Wilder.”
Sparks of hope glint in her dark eyes as she studies me, searching for any sign I’m lying.
But I’m not. She does something to me, something deep inside that threatens to flood my thoughts and overtake my entire being.
Something I’ve never felt before. Something?—
Kiki throws her arms around my neck and for a second, I freeze. Yes, we’ve hugged before but not like this.
She tucks her face into my neck, her sigh warm against my skin. “Can I keep you around 24/7? You are so very good for my ego.”
“Happy to be of service,” I murmur, the faint scent of her lilac shampoo tickling my senses.
She lifts her head, dusting her nose ever so slightly against mine. “You’re really good for me, Eddie.”
I try not to read into it, but that thought is increasingly difficult with every passing moment.
She’s right there, mere inches from me, her arms still slung around my neck, her fingers dancing idly through my hair. It’s so slight I’m unsure she’s aware she’s doing it.
And then she drops her hands and straightens, breaking the moment. “I’m sorry.”
But I’m not.
Because now I’m very aware of her. Of everything.
The way her lips part slightly. The curve of her cupid’s bow. The fullness of her lower lip, and the way she worries it when she thinks she’s said too much.
I know she’ll taste like wine and tomato sauce… but I’m craving her softness, desperate to know if I can coax those breathy gasps from her again.
Sunshine mixed with a little hurricane, and God, I want to drown in her.
For one suspended second, the entire world narrows to a solitary, all-encompassing thought.
I could kiss her.
And I want to.
God, I want to.
But not like this.
Not when this could be her reaching out for comfortinstead of… reaching out for me. I’ll wait, until there’s no doubt and not kissing her is no longer an option.
But this isn’t that moment.
