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I wrapped my hands around her waist and drank her in, soaking up her expression. “You light up talking about it.”

“Because it makes me happy.” She let out a deep breath and looked around the room. “Being out here helps me push the bad away. I needed that after today.” She turned back to me, reaching up to cup my cheek. “And you. You helped too.”

I leaned into her touch, letting the warmth spread through my body and fill me up. I’d needed her too after this shitty day. She had a way of making everything better.

As she led me around, showing me some of the favorite projects she was working on, her stomach let out a growl so loud it reverberated through the workshop.

Her face flushed bright red as she laughed, turning that grin on me that made my insides tight. “Come on, killer. Let’s get you inside. If I remember correctly, I promised you dinner. Only thing that’s changed is the location.”

She did a little happy dance at the mention of food, then practically dislocated my shoulder as she dragged me out of her workshop and into the house.

TWENTY-TWO

IRIS

Sitting at my dining room table, watching as North allowed my mom to read his palm and tarot, I realized I was no longer crushing on a man I had only known from a distance. I had gone and fallen for the man he turned out to be.

Every moment I spent in his company was a revelation. He was so much more than I ever could have expected. More empathetic. More understanding. Just more. It was impossible not to fall in love with a man who gave everything of himself to hold me up when I needed it most.

I knew I was falling as we walked hand in hand into the house after my little sob fest. True to his word, he’d called in an order for Thai, ordering all my and my mom’s favorites. The three of us sat and ate, me rolling my eyes every five seconds as my mother regaled him with every embarrassing story from my childhood she could think of.

When Mom started talking about auras and such, he didn’t just nod along, humoring her in that patronizing way that you knew he thought she was full of it. He leaned in and really listened to the point I almost believed he was buying into all our woo-woo stuff.

But the thing that really sealed it was what happened after dinner. Her worrying about me and the fact she’d had a treatment earlier in the week meant my mom tired quickly. She bid us a goodnight, circling the table and placing a kiss on my head before patting North on the shoulder.

Once we were alone, the anxiety started slowly ebbing its way back in. I didn’t want to be alone tonight. Not after having my past dredged up. I also couldn’t bring myself to ask him to stay. I didn’t want him to feel obligated. But then he met my gaze, those summer ocean eyes glinting with understanding about something I hadn’t voiced.

“I understand if you want to be alone tonight, but if it’s okay with you, I’d really like to stay.”

I stopped falling for him in that very moment, because I hit the ground with a satisfying splat. He knew what I needed without me having to ask, and he went out of his way to give it to me.

I’d answered by taking him by the hand and leading him upstairs to my room.

Now I was standing in my bathroom, staring at my reflection and gearing up to seduce the man I’d fallen in love with in no time at all. It was too soon to say the words out loud, but that didn’t stop me from basking in the feeling. It was like stepping out of a too-cool building right into the sunlight, the warm, golden rays chasing away the chill.

This was going to be the first time we spent the night together since that very first one, but without the risk of him waking up in the morning with no memory of it. I was giddy and anxious, excited and nervous, all at the same time. With no more reason to wait, I pulled the door open and stepped into the bedroom. With a heavy wheeze, every bit of air expelled from my lungs at the sight in front of me.

The man of my dreams sat in the middle of my bed. The muscles of his bare chest and abdomen bunched as he leaned back into the mountain of pillows stacked against the scrolled iron headboard. He should have looked ridiculous tucked in all those pillows, the canopy of twinkly lights and multi-colored silk scarves, with my burgundy and teal bedspread pooling at his waist, but something about seeing him there just fit. He was a puzzle piece I hadn’t realized was missing from the complete picture of my life.

His thick legs were drawn up, his thickly corded arms resting on his knees. When I stepped out of the bathroom his eyes locked on mine, and he smiled a smile that felt like a sledgehammer to the gut.

“I like your room, Little Flower.” Well, that was good, because I liked him in my room.

“It’s the primary bedroom. Used to be my mom’s,” I said, unsure why. I only knew I wanted to share everything with him. “But when she started her treatment, the stairs were too much for her, so she chose to move into one of the rooms downstairs and gave me this one.”

He looked around, like he was taking it in with new eyes. “It’s cozy. And very you.”

My head canted to the side in question as I moved toward the bed. “Very me?”

As soon as I placed my knee in the mattress, he leaned forward, hooking me around the waist and pulling me up so I was straddling his lap. “Yeah, you. Warm and colorful and bright, but also soft. You.”

At that, the floor opened beneath me and I felt myself falling even farther. Something I hadn’t thought possible.

I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading over my entire face. “Thanks.”

One of his hands traveled up my spine, cupping the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my long, loose hair. His other hand gripped my hip. My lips parted on a soft gasp at the way they pressed deeper into my skin over my little sleep shorts. My pajamas were worn for comfort, not seduction, but the shorts and tank had been washed so many times, the material was practically see-through, and I knew my rock-hard nipples had drawn his attention by the way his tongue came out and swiped along his lower lip.

“You’ve had a long day, baby. You must be exhausted.”