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I straighten, giving her my full attention, hoping against all hope she’s talking about what I think she is.
She blurts out, “Were you trying to see if I was interested in going to the charity ball with you?”
“Yes.” The word is succinct and immediate.
She continues on, obviously not hearing my answer. “Because if you weren’t, that’s okay. I’ll see you there—if you’re going, that is.”
I step forward and press a finger to her lips. “Laura, I said yes. That was my out-of-practice, very lame attempt to ascertain if you’d be interested in going to the ball with me.”
Her lips pucker beneath my finger. I don’t want my finger in the way; I want to capture her lips beneath mine.
Still, I can’t prevent mine from twitching. I lift my finger away and ask her solemnly. “Dr. Lockwood, I know your family is running the event, and your presence is probably mandatory, but I’d truly enjoy the pleasure of your company to an event I believe means a great deal to both of us.”
That’s when my heart stops. Laura smiles fully at me. Not because of the fact we’re sharing a moment about my daughter or we’re laughing about the antics of her family.
She’s smiling at me because of me. My heart notes every muscle movement, every crinkle of skin around her eyes.
Christ, she’s magnificent.
“I accept. I would be honored to attend with you.” Then she laughs a full-throated laugh.
I cock my head to the side. “What’s so funny?”
Long sooty eyelashes lower. When they raise, her eyes are sparkling with laughter. “I’m just wondering if this counts as ‘asking’ you to the ball. Otherwise, my cousin is going to demand a redo at a later date because I boggled the job so completely.”
I grin down at her upturned face. “You completely boggled it.”
Her words are slightly breathless. “Why don’t we see how the first date goes?”
With that, she turns to head back into the kitchen, back to Bailey. I stand there, motionless, watching the sway of her movement. Oh, I know how the date is going to go.
It’s going to be perfect.
Chapter
Thirty-Seven
Laying in bed that night, I can’t escape thoughts of her—the way her dark hair swished against her T-shirt as she walked away, the way her shorts clung to perfect legs. Her adorable way she was trying to determine if I was interested—as if there was a man foolish enough on the planet who wouldn’t be?
But what’s completely snuck up on me is her caring nature. The amount of small things she does to show Bailey she cares for her, for me, is something neither of us has experienced.
My parents might have loved Bailey differently than they loved me, but that’s something neither of us will know. Even Larry, who I’d consider the closest thing to a father figure never had the chance to love Bailey. Then there was the crap Ashleigh pulled—leaving Bailey almost as wary of bonding as I was, which is why she took Mrs. Destry leaving so hard.
Never before have I had someone to share small moments with. Then, I met Laura. And almost immediately, everything changed in the best kind of way. She’s shown both Bailey and me that it’s not too late to open our lives and let others in. Something I might have said was an impossibility before her.
I chuckle aloud in the silence of my room. If she only knew the amount she infiltrates my thoughts at night. I stare at the shadows on the wall. They shift in such harmony, all I can think of is how her body would move with mine. Would our shadows move just like that if I were to slide my hand into the back of her hair? Pin her body against mine for a kiss?
My hand drops beneath the sheets and I grip the base of my cock hard so I don’t spill my seed. Shifting my boxers down to my thighs, I begin lazily stroking my cock, drawing harder on the upstroke until a small bead of fluid appears.
Another stroke, two. I lazily swipe my thumb over the head, spreading it around to lubricate myself.
I shift my legs apart, wondering what Laura would think if she knew she had me so tied up in knots, I was jerking off to thoughts of her.
My hips thrust upward as I remember the feel of her sweet body pressed up against mine the night I asked her to stay for dinner.
Then there was yoga and the way her body bent. My other hand joins in on the occasion, squeezing my balls on my next pull. I shudder, knowing I’m not going to last long.
I close my eyes and recall her lips against my finger and how much I wanted to drag that finger down over her neck to one of her perfect breasts. Play with the nipple until it budded beneath my fingers.