I nod in agreement.
Carina leans away to look at me. “Are you okay?”
“I am now.”
“You committed book murder,” she says.
Grinning widely, I say, “You did first.”
She lifts and lowers one shoulder. “You should acknowledge your fans, Smith.” It’s only now that I hear the applause and the loud screams.
With Carina in my arms, I turn around.
“I’m not the douchebag anymore!” I yell.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Carina
He’s therewhen I get home. The sight of his truck in the driveway gives me goose bumps. It’s excitement, something I’ve only had in small doses throughout my life. Smith is sitting inside the cab with the engine running even though I’m sure he has a house key.
Emotionally, I’m exhausted. Physically, I’m drained. Both of those things take a back seat when I think about how amazing it felt to have him in my arms today. When he sees me pull in, he hops out of his truck quickly and opens the car door for me.
“Have you been here since you left the bookstore?” I ask. I finished the meet and greet, and Smith left because of the crazy commotion his declaration caused. After that spectacle, I answered so many questions I wasn’t sure what was real and what was a lie. That would always be the problem.
He sighs. “I had a lot of thinking to do,” he says.
I grab my handbag and a few other totes with my supplies and step out. “Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound likethe start of a happy story,” I reply.
He kisses me. Right here in the driveway. Like we’re in a bedroom naked with the lights off. It takes my breath away and steals all thoughts I had moments before. Kissing Ben never felt like this. Not even by a fraction. I chalked it up to heartbreak, but now I realize the problem was larger than that. The problem was I’d already tastedthis.
His hands make their way into my hair, and it tingles every place he touches. My stomach is light, and I’m so turned-on, it’s like no time has passed at all. That thought scares me into caution.
“You should have gone in. Poppet is all by herself,” I say, pecking his mouth in a sweet kiss.
“I wantyouall by yourself,” Smith replies, pulling me closer.
Truly, I can’t resist. I lean into his chest and bury my face in his clean T-shirt. He’s changed since the show this afternoon. A white bandage wraps the knuckles on his right hand.
“I can breathe again, Care. I can breathe.” Smith tightens his grip like he fears I’ll vanish into thin air.
“Let’s go somewhere,” I say. “The park. I haven’t been able to go anywhere at night. You can abuse your handy ID to get us there, right?”
Reluctantly, Smith pulls away from our embrace. He runs the back of his knuckles down my face. It’s where Roarke hit me. “Yes. Let’s go. Poppet?” he asks, smiling.
We agree to go in and say hello to the cat and then leave. Poppet is sleeping on my bed but stands when I enter the room. She looks between Smith and me. “She’s not used to anyone else in the house,” I explain.
“Not even Ben?” Smith asks, leaning against the doorway. The way he’s holding himself back is admirable. I know exactly what he wants to do and how badly he wishes he were in this room. On this bed. With me. I know because I feel the same way.
I sit on the edge of the bed, and Poppet lands in my lap with a cute jump. I kiss her small head and stroke her fur. “No, Smith. I can’t have a man in this house.”
He palms his chest with his bandaged hand. “I’m a man in this house.”
I roll my eyes and stand. “You pay for this house, and this is our house. It will always be our house. I called Ben on the way home,” I say, clearing my throat.
Smith stands and shifts his weight to the other side. “And?”
“He called me a lying bitch. Before you get upset, I am. I told him I was over you when we started dating. I called you bad things. I also told himNever Foreverwas fiction. It is…but it’s not. I lied to him.”
