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At that, he stopped dabbing at his bloody nose and stared straight back at me. “Your first instinct was to hit me?”
“Not you.” I shook my head and glanced at my hands, as if they could somehow take the blame. “It wasn’t about you,” I tried. “I just…”
“Hey.” Miller reached for me, then decided against it when he saw his blood-streaked hand. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay. But… are you?”
My throat tightened and I looked away. The lobby was empty, the door to the classroom I’d been in moments before was shut and a new class was underway. Miller pulled another tissue from the box, and the movement brought my attention back to him.
Rather than answering him directly, I said, “I was looking at your classes.” He raised a brow, and I rushed on to try to explain, “I was looking for a self-defense class to take.”
His other brow rose right beside the first. “With moves like that, you could teach the class.”
Hope flared in my chest. “Does that mean you have one?”
Miller wiped his nose with another tissue, then slowly shook his head. “We did, years ago. Some beach bunny went missing and there was a lot of demand for it for a while. But then, life moved on, and the class had fewer takers, so I had to cut it off the books.”
Pulling my lip between my teeth, I looked away from him again. It felt like butterflies had taken flight inside my veins. I let out a breath, then turned my gaze back to him.
“You still want me?” I asked, knowing this was almost too good to be true.
Miller pulled his hands away from his face, and I tried not to focus on the streaks of blood while I watched a smile pull across his lips. “Are you saying you’re going to give me what I want?”
I licked my lips with cautious hope as a smile crept across my face. With a small nod, I told him, “I think I just might.” I rose, extending my hand to help him off the floor. “Let’s get you cleaned up, then we can talk.”
That smile of his? It nearly split him in two, and a lightness I very much needed flickered to life in my chest. “I’m so happy right now I could kiss you.”
Laughter fell from my lips and I shook my head. “Not looking like that, you won’t. Come on.” I grabbed his hand, then tugged him along until he overtook me. He gripped my fingers, pulling me into the office behind the front desk.
