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“Don’t judge me. I’m a needy woman. And he looks like a man in need.” She chuckles, her eyes never turning away from whomever she has in her sight.
Curious, I follow her gaze. That’s when I see them—familiar brown eyes, watching me from across the lobby. What is he doing here? How…
My hearts freezes, unlike my feet. They keep going. It’s at that precise moment my foot catches on Ari’s suitcase. I stumble—arms and legs flailing in the most ungraceful fall ever.
“Kali.” His voice barely registers through the chaos of me falling to the ground.
A few curse words escape my lips on the way down, and my hands smack the cold tiles, catching most of the fall. My left hip makes contact next, and I roll into a ball of embarrassment. I sit up, shaking out my hands. Everyone’s eyes are on me.
“Ow, that freaking hurt.” I half moan, half laugh, with my cheeks burning.
“You just can’t help falling head over heels for me, huh?” His voice is rich with teasing as I stare up at him, shaking my head. His cocky demeanor hasn’t changed a bit. God, I’ve missed this man. “Here, let me help you up,” Paxton offers, extending his hand.
“Always the hero,” I quip, accepting his help and dusting myself off.
“Sorry, I thought you saw me stop,” Ari says with a grimace while fixing my errant hair. Her eyes widen as she subtly tilts her head toward Paxton. “You know him?” she mouths.
Yep. Know him, love him, and apparently become a damsel in distress when I’m around him.
Paxton’s half-cocked grin finds this all amusing. And damn, he still looks mouthwatering. His dark-blue button-up shirt hugs his shoulders and chest, showcasing his muscular arms underneath.
I tilt my head, taking a moment to process his reaction upon seeing me. It’s almost as if he was expecting me. “Did you know I was going to be here?” A rush of hopefulness surges inside me. “Did they find him?”
He takes two steps closer, standing right in front of me, and leans down. I catch his masculine scent, sending a familiar flutter through my stomach. He smells really good. I swallow.
“No, I’m sorry. I just needed to see you,” he replies.
I lift a brow. He came all this way to see me?
“Have you had dinner yet?”
I hesitate and then shake my head. “I haven’t.”
“The people at the front desk told me about an amazing Italian restaurant down the street.”
I’m very familiar with the place. It’s one of our regular dinner spots when we’re in St. Louis. “Can you give me half an hour to get my room and change?”
“I’ve waited months to see you again, half an hour is nothing.”
His words catch me off guard. I probably look ridiculous standing there, staring up into his eyes, searching for answers.
“I’ll apologize for this later,” he mutters right before his hand wraps around my waist and he pulls me into his chest. His lips crash onto mine, taking me back in time. The kiss is heated, rushed, and intense. His lips demand every ounce of my attention.
No apologies needed.
Remembering we’re in public and I’m still in uniform, I break the kiss but savor the lingering sensation. One kiss from the man and my legs turn to jelly. I blow out a shaky breath, sweeping a strand of hair behind my ear.
“I’ve missed you,” he says, voice raw and unapologetic, his arm still tight around me. I melt into him.
I’ve missed us. There’s a moment of silence, a pause, uncertainty about what happens next. “Should we skip dinner and go straight to dessert?” I murmur, half joking. The other half of me is on fire, desperate for more of his touch. His lips twitch into a smirk as he bites down on the bottom one, studying me. I wonder why he’s hesitating. Judging by the bulge pushing into my hip, he wants me, too.
“You and your dessert,” he finally says. “And who am I to argue with that suggestion?”
“I’ll go check in.” My cheeks warm as I hold up a finger. “Be right back.”
“I’ll be here.”
Ari waits for me by the desk with a megawatt smile. When I get in line, she rolls her bag over and stands beside me. “What was that?”
