Page 48 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“What?”

“I shouldn’t have come on to you like that. I’m supposed to be keeping you safe, and instead I took advantage of your trust and hospitality—”

“Hospitality is a strong word,” she said, smirking. “Considering I didn’t invite you to stay in the first place.”

Her tone was playful, teasing, but it actually made him feel more like a douche.

“I still shouldn’t have done it.” Kaylee stepped closer, studying him with intense scrutiny, and he shifted from foot to foot. “What?”

“Did you lie to me?” she asked.

“About what?”

Her expression was earnest. “About wanting me?”

“What? No!” This time, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching for her, but she stepped back.

“Then, when you said I was yours and if another man even looked at me, you’d tear him to pieces, that was all bullshit?”

He didn’t let her escape him, trapping her in his embrace. “I meant every fucking word.”

“Then stop apologizing,” she said harshly. “If you want another agent to be my keeper because you feel some type of way about us, fine. But when you apologize, it means we did something wrong, and we didn’t. I’m a consenting adult who enjoyed several intense orgasms with a single— You are single, right?”

“Yes,” he said, fighting a smile.

“Another single adult. So what about that is wrong?”

“I can’t think of a thing.” Rick leaned down as if trying to kiss her, but she turned her head, placing both hands against his chest.

“Uh-uh, not so fast! Now that we have that out of the way, I have some conditions about my testimony.”

“What are they?”

“I’m not going anywhere until after Christmas. I’ve signed up to bake cookies for the Christmas dance, and I’m not bailing on Dana and the rest of the town. Besides, I have a bunch of things I want to do over the next few weeks in case something happens to me, so even if your powers that be come back and say Bring her in, I need you to promise me you will wait.”

Rick realized he was a goner when he didn’t even hesitate to say, “I promise.” If his bosses took issue, he didn’t mind telling them to calm the fuck down. It was becoming painfully clear that despite everything that happened in the past, he’d do anything for her. “What are these things you need to do?”

She paused, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She unfolded it slowly and said, “I made a list.”

Rick took it from her and read the first line. “Go ice-skating.”

“I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never been and always wanted to learn.”

“Why haven’t you gone before now?” he asked.

“We didn’t have a rink near us, and life kind of got in the way.”

His eyes skimmed over the paper, hiking a brow. “This list is pretty simplistic. No trip to Paris or desire to swim with sharks?”

Kaylee grimaced. “I actually have no desire to travel anywhere, and sharks scare me. And besides, I only have a few weeks while maintaining a low profile.”

“You don’t want to travel?” he asked.

“No,” she drawled out, and he laughed. “Why is that so shocking? Haven’t you figured out I’m not the adventurous type? My favorite time of day is being able to come home, change into loungewear, and binge-watch or read something.”

“Most people have at least one spot they want to see on their bucket list.”

“I do. I want to see the view from the top of a mountain. I’m afraid of heights, so I’ve always been too scared to, and I don’t want to ski or snowboard. I could get hurt.”