Page 22 of Shotgun Spouse
She felt defenseless.
She wasn’t in her business suit. She wasn’t perched in her heels with perfect posture. She wasn’t armed with a clipboard or a schedule or a pointed remark to keep him in line. She was barefoot, her hair down, wrapped up in his clothes and his scent, feeling soft and comfortable. Teddy had stripped her of all her armor—without ever laying a hand on her.
He was a trained soldier. He was clearly on the attack, advancing on her in some unfathomable battle plan. She should retreat, regroup, build back her walls.
But there was nowhere to run. She was trapped here by the snow, by circumstance, by her own reckless decision.
She had known it was snowing. She had known she’d be stuck here with him.
Had she wanted this all along? Had some part of her been leading her here, to this exact moment, to this exact man?
She didn’t. She couldn’t.
Bunny lifted her gaze, ready to put an end to whatever this was before it got any further. The words never left her lips. Because she saw it.
Teddy Carter looked at her with vulnerability in his expression. His features were entirely unguarded. In his hazel gaze was raw openness.
No. That was desire. For her.
It was a heady gaze to be caught under. Bunny dropped any pretense of escape. She was right where she wanted to be.
Her heart thudded against her ribs as she studied his face. That look—it had always been there, hadn’t it? She must have missed it. Or maybe she’d been too stubborn, too focused on proving him wrong about everything to notice.
Her palms went clammy. Her breath felt shallow. Her fingers twitched against the edge of the chair as if clinging to it might anchor her to reality.
She couldn't kiss him. He was her boss. He was irresponsible. He drove her insane.
But he was also… warm, steady, and looking at her like she was the only person in the world. And for the first time in a very long time, she felt like she could let herself be seen.
Bunny wanted to kiss Teddy. She wanted to close the distance between them, to see if his lips were as soft and sure as his voice had been when he’d said those words. But she couldn’t.
Could she?
She searched for a distraction, anything to break the tension. There was nothing. The baby was fast asleep, her soft little breaths barely audible from the corner of the room. The kitchen timer wasn’t ticking; there was no food in the oven. The phones were down, and the snow outside had muffled the world into perfect silence.
No interruptions. No excuses. Nothing stopping her from leaning forward and closing the gap. Nothing stopping her from choosing this—choosing him.
Teddy sat on the couch. Unhurried. Not pushing her. Not trying to convince her. Just waiting for her.
Because he was going to make her choose. He was going to make her make the decision. All night long, he'd done everything for her: feeding her, filling her with tea, giving her no responsibilities—not even the responsibility she'd come here for: to take care of the baby.
He'd been right. She had been exhausted. Not anymore. Not after all he'd done for her in just twenty-four hours.
“Bunny?”
It was her move in this game. But it didn't feel like a game. Not one with bragging rights. If she kissed Teddy Carter, her life as she knew it was going to change.
It was too much. Her mind screamed at her to pull back, to deflect with sarcasm, to laugh it off like she always did. She wanted him to make the move. She wanted him to make this decision for her. But he wasn't going to. And unfortunately, her brain had other plans. It started spouting facts over desires.
"You're my boss."
"We'll file HR paperwork as soon as we get back into the office to say that we're dating."
Dating? She thought this was going to be just a kiss. Actually, who did she think she was kidding? She'd pretended for years that Mayor Carter was a playboy. All while knowing the fact that her belief wasn't true.
"It would be an imbalance in power dynamics if we dated."
He grinned at that. "Who’s been leading whom around for the last few years?"
