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That fast the world flipped on him. Tension ratcheted up. Not the I’m-worried kind but the let’s-get-naked type. “Excuse me?”
“Where does that door lead?” She pointed at the one over his shoulder and when he didn’t answer, she reached across him and turned the knob. A quick flick of the wall switch and the oversize pantry was bathed in light. “This will work.”
He was pretty sure he was having a stroke. His muscles refused to work. He couldn’t form a sentence. It was a struggle just to get out her name. “Abby...”
She backed him up against the packed shelves lining the wall. Their bodies barely touched as they brushed over each other. It was enough to set off an explosion in his head. The good kind. The kind where he wanted to touch her and taste her and do everything he’d dreamed of doing with her but figured he would never get the chance.
“I’m tired of wanting you and fighting it.” She grabbed the post behind his head with one hand. The other went to the top of his shirt to play with the buttons there. “I’m tired of trying to do the right thing.”
Wanting you? He was half-sure he made that part up in his head. “Abby, what’s going on?”
“I’m here in this beautiful place. Watching you. Seeing all these people. Thinking about my choices.” She dropped her head down to rest on his chest.
Her scent wound around him. Soft hair slid over his skin. He was pretty certain she could hear his heartbeat because it hammered loud enough to fill his ears.
Knowing he could pull back if she asked him to, because that would always be the answer for him, he slipped his fingers through her soft hair. “Is this the alcohol talking?”
“I’ve only had one half-filled glass of Champagne.”
Her voice vibrated against his chest. Warm breath skipped over his bare skin.
There was no way he was going to survive this.
His fingers continued to gently massage the back of her neck. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Her head shot up. “You’re not your father.”
“What?”
“Kiss me.”
Her eyes were clear and he didn’t smell alcohol. But the stench of regret would be sickening and strong if he got this moment wrong. “I’m trying not to be a jerk here.”
She undid his top shirt button. Then the next. “I’ll sign a release if you want or go tell a witness I asked for this or—”
“Stop talking.”
He left her for a second. Didn’t go far. With his hands shaking, he turned the lock on the door, grateful there was one. The mumble of voices rose and fell outside the door as people walked down the hall. No one tried to come in, but there really wasn’t a reason to. At least he hoped that was true.
He looked at her, studied that stunning face and saw the heat move into her eyes. Still, they had to be clear because this could go so wrong. “Be sure.”
“Spence, you are never going to get a greener light.”
She stood there in that sexy dress with her hands crossed over her chest. She wasn’t hiding from him. No, he got the sense she was ready. Very ready.
“You’ll tell me if—”
She reached out and hooked her finger through his belt loop. Pulled him close. “Green light.”