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I chewed, the bite turning thick in my mouth.

There’d be no getting used to it, because after this weekend, it would be all over. I’d be back to Pop-Tarts and popping cartridges out of my Keurig.

Meow. Winston slid across my calf as if reminding me that he would be staying. And for that, I was grateful. I scratched his ears and he meowed again. Sighing, I said, “Fine. Just this once. But we’re not making a habit out of this,” and then I chopped up a little piece of my omelet and put it on the floor for him. I glanced at Rex. “Winston says thanks as well.”

Rex looked at my cat, who gave him what appeared to be a feline stink eye. “You’re welcome,” Rex said politely and not at all snarkily, then looked at me. “So, what are you up to today?”

“I’ve got a couple of closings to follow up on, and then I have an open house later this afternoon.”

“Where at?” he asked.

“The listing I have on Baker Street. The last agent couldn’t sell it, and the owners are skittish. It’s the first open house since I took over.”

“Big day, then.”

“I’m not worried,” I said, and I wasn’t. I could sell the worst house in town. It’s what I did.

Rex smiled. “You’re good at what you do,” he said, and warmth spread through my chest.

Trying to hide how much his words affected me, I said, “It’s such a great house. If I could, I’d buy it myself.”

“So why don’t you?”

I lightly scoffed. “I guess Gabe never told you about all the trouble I went through to keep this place.”

“Not specifically.” His comment made me wonder what Gabe had told him about my divorce. What he told him aboutme. I could only imagine the embarrassing things he’d admitted to Rex. Gabe thought I was a damsel who enjoyed getting herself into distress and who didn’t have the brains to do any different. If he weren’t the type of guy who’d go out of his way to make sure I was all right, I would resent him for it. But how could I resent him when part of me thought he was right?

Rex glanced at me. “You mentioned you fought for the house in the divorce, though.”

I took another bite, then waved my fork around to indicate the house. “Well, my ex, he’s this big-shot lawyer, right?”

“Can New Elwood lawyers be big shots?”

“He’s a small-town big shot,” I amended with a smile. “But the point is, he tried to bully me into a bad settlement when our marriage broke down. And, by the way,heis the one who decided he needed to get his bit on the side. And then he wanted the house too?” I scoffed, crunching down on my perfectly buttered toast. I pointed the corner of the bread slice at Rex. “I couldn’t let him get away with it. He wanted the house, so I made sure he didn’t get it. That was my way of getting back at him.”

Rex grinned. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

“You made me breakfast,” I said. “You’re safe.”

We finished eating, and I helped Rex wash up. When the last plate was put away, he caught my arm and spun me around to press me up against the kitchen counter. His kiss was slow and deep and delicious.

I sighed, eyes closed, and rested my head against his chest. “If I could call in sick today, I would.”

Rex kissed the top of my head. “Same.” He smiled at me, eyes crinkling. “But I’ve got something to look forward to at the end of the day now.”

It was hard to ignore the jump of my pulse. Rex leaned down to kiss me again, and it took long, long minutes before we were able to break apart and go to work.

SEVENTEEN

REX

I spentmy morning inspecting a commercial building for fire hazards. As I checked outlets, proper safety signage, and fire extinguisher expiration dates, I couldn’t stop thinking about Abigail. The way she tasted. The soft weight of her asleep in my arms. The moment of bliss on her face when she took a sip of her coffee. I felt like I could spend every waking minute with her and not get bored.

On my break, I went to Abigail’s website and found the information for her open house on Baker. After all, I was in the market for a new place. The photos looked nice. Why not check out the great house that hadn’t sold yet? Abigail being there was just a bonus.

At least, that’s what I told myself—and what I would’ve told Gabe if he happened to pop out of the bushes and ask me what the hell I was doing.

I shoved all thoughts of Gabe aside. Sure, he’d been prettyclear about me staying away from his sister. But this was different. I wasn’t just chasing after her like guys used to do in high school. I wasn’t looking for a conquest.