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He opened the door with one hand and carried me inside. Over the threshold. Like a bride.

Not that I was thinking about marriage. Or weddings. Or what Damon would look like in a tuxedo.

Although, for the record, the answer was “devastatingly handsome.”

Once inside, I glanced around and noticed that instead of a couch, he had a single chair. A fancy gaming chair, but only one chair in front of the large flat-screen TV that took up most of the front room wall.

It surprised me. I would have expected a large, comfy sectional that was conducive to cuddling. Not a single chair.

He lowered me to the floor, and I instinctively gripped his biceps to steady myself. His very large, very muscular, very chiseled biceps.

Good Lord.

Did the man spend his free time bench-pressing refrigerators?

His hand stayed at my waist while my fingers clung to his arms, since apparently standing upright was no longer something I could accomplish independently.

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us spoke.

His gaze dropped to my mouth, and every butterfly in my stomach started doing tequila shots. For one reckless second, I thought he might kiss me. Worse, I wanted him to.

But that didn’t happen. The moment was interrupted when a loud vibration sounded.

We both startled.

My brain was suffering from a several-seconds delay.

I wasn’t sure what the sound was until Damon's mouth curved into a wicked grin. “Is that a phone in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

I laughed, mostly because the alternative was throwing myself at him. “Very funny.”

I pulled out my phone.

Mom.

Of course.

Nothing killed a potentially life-altering romantic moment quite like Claudia Parsons.

I checked the time and frowned. It was a quarter past eleven here, which meant it was past two in the morning on the East Coast. She should've been asleep. Her flight to California left in four hours’ time.

I knew because I'd booked it.

I'd originally tried to get her here two days ago, but my mother didn't fly on odd-numbered dates.

First, third, fifth, seventh. All forbidden.

She also refused to fly during a full moon, which had been last night.

According to Claudia Parsons, the moon's gravitational pull interfered with airplane navigation.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, it did not.

Guess whose opinion carried more weight in my family?

I answered. “You should be asleep, Mom. You have a very early flight.”