Page 34 of Temporarily in Love

Oh. Oh Shit.

“Why?” I asked.

She sighed. “Because the CEO of my company was my fiancé.”

“And you caught him cheating on you.”

She nodded. “Did I mention it was in his office? He was fucking her on his desk during lunch.”

I cringed. “Oh, Lila, I’m so sorry.”

She shrugged. “Honestly? I’m not. I kept putting off the wedding date. I didn’t want to marry him. I didn’t love him. Or the last one.”

“Last one?”

She sighed, and a pained look came across her face. “It wasn’t the first time I was engaged.”

Oh.

“You think I’m a terrible person,” she said. It was a statement, not a question.

I never thought that about her. I understood why she broke up with me back then. She had been right; long-distance relationships never worked. But nothing else ever worked for me either. Maybe if I got her out of my system, I could let her go. If all she could give me was a couple of weeks, I would take it.

“Declan, I—”

I didn’t let her finish that thought. I grabbed her face and kissed her instead. I kissed her in one of her favorite places, trying to show her it didn’t matter to me. She slid her hands up my chest, resting them on my polo shirt, but she didn’t push me away. She opened to me, letting me slide my tongue inside her mouth. I threaded my hands into her silky brown hair while we pressed our lips together.

I pulled away when I bumped my glasses against her face. “Sorry.”

She shook her head with a laugh. “S’okay.”

“I don’t want to stop kissing you, but I also don’t want us to go back to you pretending I don’t exist every time you come back into town.”

“What are you suggesting?” she asked.

“Let me spend time with you while you’re here.”

“Declan, I can’t give you forever.”

I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of her wrist. “Then just give me now.”

She nodded, but she still seemed unsure.

I linked my hand with hers. “Come on girl, let’s go get you some apple cider donuts.”

A smile spread across her face. “They’re my favorite.”

“I know.”

We walked over to the market stall, bought her a donut, and I got myself a coffee. I was beat from how late we had stayed up last night, but it had been worth it. We found Kelsey and her nieces at one of the picnic tables. Kelsey smiled when she saw us.

I sat next to Lila and put my hand on her thigh while she ate her donut and I drank my coffee.

“Aunt Lila, will you help us carve pumpkins?” Cora asked.

Lila smiled. “Of course, sweetie. As long as it’s okay with your mommy.”

Kelsey nodded and gave us a ‘please’ look. She looked tired, which made sense if she was in the early stages of her pregnancy. Avery had been like that when she first found out she was pregnant.