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Keegan knew instantly that his memories had been wrong about Sascha.

Kissing her wasn't as great as he'd recalled for so long.

It was better.

Keeping careful not to squish the dog between them, he slid his fingers through Sascha's hair, basking in the silken softness as he angled his head, playing in the kiss, breathing in every sensation of her mouth against his, the warmth of her body, the fire racing through his veins like it had come alive.

Sascha leaned in, one hand on his shoulder, her fingers curling into the fabric of his jacket, holding him tight as she kissed him back.

The kiss went from tentative to searing hot in an instant. He moved in, wrapping his arm around her lower back, pulling her hips against his. The puppy was still between their chests, keeping their upper bodies apart, but it didn't matter. The heat between their hips and lips was electric. Intense. Addicting.

He deepened the kiss, losing himself to the taste of her lips, the softness, the compassion. This woman was kindness. Warmth. Courage. Everything he'd believed before...he knew it was still there.

The kiss became more intense, more desperate, drawing both of them from their reserved places into an inferno that neither of them wanted to stop. It was as if the same fire that had drawn them together before had been building all this time, just waiting to be unleashed.

He slid his hand down over her butt, and she made a little noise at the back of her throat, a noise of need that seemed to reach right inside him and rip away any last walls he still had. "I need you," he whispered.

"Oh, God." She pulled back at his words, staring at him with desperate need and confusion on her face. "We're not teenagers anymore, Keegan. What are we doing?"

"We're doing what we want."

"I can't do this." She moved back, cradling Millie to her chest like a shield. "Everything is so complicated now. I don't even think I'm capable of trusting a man again, not romantically. And you're Gabby's dad. And…God….if we got together, I'd be in the press, and he'd see it…"

Tension gripped Keegan. "Who?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm and low. "Who would see it?"

She stared at him, and he could see her struggle. She'd been solo for so long, but she was tempted to tell him, to let him help, to break down the walls she'd been living behind for so long. "I can't—"

"Mom! Where are you? We're all done out here—" The door to the storage room flew open, and Gabby poked her head in. She glanced back and forth between them, reading their body language, then her eyes widened. "Holy crap. You guys were making out?"

Sascha's cheeks turned pink. "Gabby—"

"If you guys want to give me a baby sister, I'm cool with that. Have at it. Let's tighten that bond with the Harts, Mom. Bella and I will wait in the car. Want me to ask her if she has a condom? Wait, no, skip that, right? Complicate the situation. It's good. Bye!" She pulled back and then shut the door with just a little too much enthusiasm.

Sascha sighed and looked at Keegan. "See? Too complicated."

"On the contrary, my darling. It's already complicated. Relatively speaking, us making out really doesn't move the needle that much."

Sascha gave a look that one might give a bratty five-year old. "Kissing moves the needle."

"Not that much in the bad direction, though. I say we make kissing an approved activity and see where we go from there. What do you think?"

She stared at him, then suddenly burst out laughing. "You're certifiably insane, aren't you?"

"Isn't everyone?" Keegan was desperate to figure out the threat hanging over them, but he could feel that the conversation needed to shift right now. He'd broken through her shields, and now he needed to keep her from retreating.

"Probably," she agreed.

He leaned in, his mouth hovering over hers. "So? Kissing is approved? It's honestly a pretty innocuous activity."

She wrinkled her nose. "Kissing you is like lighting the fuse on a nuclear bomb."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm sure there's a way to interpret that as a compliment, so thank you for that. I assume that's a 'yes?'"

She stared at him for so long that he thought she was going to say no.

But when she spoke, she said instead, "Kissing you makes me feel alive. It's been a long time since I've felt that way."

He grinned. "Me, too. Feels good, right?"