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“Well, well. Look who’s back.” This was not the same Abigail I left last night. She was chilly and stiff. She turned and walked toward the kitchen, looking very much like the cat that had just preceded her.

“Yeah, I wanted to get here before Blair and Donny came back.”

“Right. To keep up the show. You want me in the living room so we can kiss when they get here? Or should we do the backyard again?” She crossed the kitchen and dumped coffee grounds into the machine, not looking at me.

Idid want to kiss her. And the living room or backyard or kitchen was as good a place as any—but I didn’t want to do it for my brother’s and Blair’s benefit.

“I shouldn’t have left last night.”

Abigail finally looked at me, unimpressed. “Who’s upset about your leaving last night? Winston and I had a great night.”

The cat entered the kitchen and ignored me as thoroughly as I was sure Abigail wanted to. She put some kibble in his bowl, and I felt like a piece of furniture for how much attention they were paying me. I deserved it.

I took a deep breath and tried again. I meant to explain that Gabe was a friend, and I’d been a coward, and she deserved better, but what came out was, “I like you, Abigail. A lot.”

She tucked the bag of cat food in the pantry and flicked me a glance over her shoulder. “That’s mighty nice of you.”

Okay. That didn’t work. “You deserved better than to be left here on your own just because I didn’t want to confront your brother.”

“Hmm.” She poured herself a mug of coffee and looked in the fridge.

“You deserved better than to be strung along in this stupid fake dating scheme when I should’ve asked you out directly months ago. Hell, years ago.”

That got her attention. Abigail set the gallon of milk she’d retrieved from the fridge on the counter and gave me a narrow-eyed stare. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ididpanic when Donny asked me to RSVP to his wedding, and I blurted out your name. But it wasn’t because I thought you could pull it off, Abigail.It’s because I’d been online flicking through pictures of you on social media, wishing I had the balls to ask you out.”

My confession was shocking enough that Abigail had to take a beat. Her eyes softened. “That’s…so pathetic, Rex.”

I huffed a laugh, my hand lifting to comb through my hair. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. The expression on her face was slightly less hostile, which was good, but she wasn’t exactly jumping at the chance to date me for real.

I needed to get honest—so honest it scared me.

I took a step toward her. “I fucked up last night. I panicked. We’d just hooked up, and I was keyed up, and I couldn’t tell if you thought we were just having a fling or if you really cared about me… God, I really am pathetic, aren’t I?”

She laughed, and the relief that rushed over me nearly knocked me back.

I took another step toward her, which made Winston look up from his kibble crunching. I ignored him, because he was just going to have to get used to this. I touched Abigail’s elbow. “What can I do to make it better?”

She softened slightly but didn’t uncross her arms. “You know what would make me feel better, Rex? Standing up for yourself for once. To your brother. Tomybrother. You’re a firefighter, for crying out loud. You charge into burning buildings. You’re not supposed to be afraid of anything.”

Her words pierced my heart. Why was it so easy to volunteer to face flames where I could get seriously injured or worse, but I couldn’t just tell Gabe that I wanted to date his sister? I spent so much time putting my body and self on the line for other people—fighting literal fires as well as figurative ones—but when itcame time to actually stand up and ask for something for myself, I couldn’t do it.

And why did I have to ask Gabe at all? The only people who should’ve had a say in Abigail and me dating were Abigail and me.

Maybe it was time for me to step up and ask for what I wanted, for once. I gulped, meeting Abigail’s gaze. “I made the wrong call.”

“Oh?” She arched a brow.

“You’re not making this easy.”

She leaned forward, arms still crossed, so her nose nearly touched mine. Then, slowly and deliberately, she said, “Good.”

I huffed, then stepped up to her. My palms landed on the counter on either side of her hips. Then I told her exactly what I wanted. “I want to kiss you in the living room and the backyard, but I sure as hell don’t want to do it for my brother’s benefit.”

Her eyes flashed.

“I want to take you upstairs and eat your pussy until you scream my name.”