Page 65 of A Little Crush (The Little Things #6)

“Me, too.” His focus moves to the closed elevator door, and I realize he hasn’t pushed the button to the main floor yet. “Do you want us to bring her?” he asks. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about something and figured a night off might be good, but we can go in?—”

“No, no, no,” I rush out, no matter how appealing the idea of bringing her with us is.

“Honestly, I know it’s good for her.” I wipe at my cheeks and let out a slow breath, trying to get my shit together.

“To be exposed to new people and have a positive time, even if it sucks to see her sad in the beginning. And I know it’s good for me too.

It’s just…the OCD is OCD-ing, and”—I force out all the air from my lungs in a short, sharp breath—“wow. I’m good.

I’m good. I swear. I’m good. And I can’t go back in there.

Not until after dinner. If I do, it’ll only feed my OCD and”—I take another quick but deep breath—“I’m good. ”

“Come here.” As if he can’t handle witnessing my own mini-meltdown, he pulls me into his chest and rubs his hand along my spine. “I’m sorry that triggered you.”

“It’s okay. I just can’t give in.”

“We won’t,” he promises. “Although, it’s nice to see how much you care about her.”

I blindly smack his butt, offended he’d even think about assuming anything different. “Of course I care about her?—”

“I know.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “It makes this even easier.”

With a frown, I wiggle out of his hold, unsure if I heard him correctly or if I missed something thanks to being distracted by the memory of Poppy’s little cries. “Makes what easier?” I ask.

“Come on. We’ll talk at the restaurant.”

“Jaxon— ”

“You know what? You’re right.” He wraps his arm around my waist again, tugging me into him and kissing the shit out of me until my head spins and my legs grow weak.

It’s hot and minty and so damn commanding, I can’t help but wonder if he’s trying to brand me with his lips.

Then again, I wouldn’t complain. I’ve always been his.

Or maybe he’s trying to distract me. It's definitely working.

I open my mouth wider, and he takes full advantage, slipping his tongue into me, so I suck on it the same way I would his?—

He pulls away from me. “Careful, or we won’t make it to dinner.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I blink slowly, trying to get a handle on my libido after being blindsided by the hot as hell kiss, only to find Jaxon staring at his phone.

Really? He’s looking at his freaking phone after a kiss like that? I fight the urge to smack him all over again.

“What do you think of this one?” he asks.

“Huh?”

“This one.” He shows me his phone. And there, front and center, is a photo of Jaxon Thorne kissing me with the ravenous hunger of a starving man in the middle of an empty elevator.

The reflection on all sides only amplifies the view, showing the viewer every angle of the kiss, while making my knees weak all over again.

“I think you look gorgeous, but we can take a few more.” A smirk tugs at the corner of his kissable mouth as he cocks his head. “I’m game if you are.”

What is he talking about?

“The photo’s fine,” I reply, “but…what are you going to do with it?”

“I’m gonna send it to the family.”

My heart lodges in my throat. “What did you say?”

“I said, I’m gonna send it to the family.” He hesitates. “As long as you’re okay with it.”

Send it to the family? Does this mean he’s ready to announce our relationship? To finally fill everyone in on what we’ve been doing right under their noses? “Why would you…”

“Because I’m tired of hiding this, Beautiful.

” His expression is so damn genuine and contagious, my stomach squeezes in response.

Holding my gaze, he bends around me and pushes the button to the first floor, lingering in my space in a way that has no right to be as hot as it is.

“Aside from Pops, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says.

“And it’s not that I didn’t see it. It’s that I was scared that if I gave it too much attention, I’d jinx it or something, and I’d lose you.

But it isn’t fair to hide this from anyone, let alone the people you care about.

You’re the person I want to be with, Rory Buchanan.

And the fact I’ve been too scared to make this public is on me, not you. ”

He wants to make this public. He wants to make his relationship with me public. The realization makes me want to laugh and cry all at once. Happy tears. But tears, nonetheless. Then again, would either of us expect anything different?

“To be fair, I’m pretty sure I’m the one who suggested we take things easy and keep it quiet,” I point out.

He gives me another peck. “So, it’s your fault, huh?”

“Let’s call it a mutual decision.”

“All right, it was mutual,” he concedes dryly. “So, what do you say we mutually make another decision?”

My gaze narrows in suspicion. “Depends on what it is.”

Wiggling his phone back and forth, he showcases our kiss shining back at me as the elevator reaches the main floor. “Can I send this to the family? Tell everyone about us?”

I want to say yes. I want to say hell yes. There’s only one problem. One really annoying, not-so-little problem ruining this entire moment. I feel my smile droop, and I look down at my shoes as I walk into the building’s main lobby .

Jaxon’s grasp is gentle as he reaches for my wrist, stopping me in the main area. “Rory, what’s wrong?”

What’s wrong? He wants to know what’s wrong? I really don’t want to ruin a perfect moment, a moment I’ve been waiting to unfold for as long as I can remember. But I also know there’s no avoiding it. Literally.

“What about Iris?” It’s not that I don’t like her, it’s only… Yeah, I don’t like her. She’s kind of awful.

Whatever enthusiasm he’d been sporting seems to retreat ever so slightly as he tilts his head. “We already talked about this.”

I hold his gaze, letting him read my stare instead of wasting my breath because…

seriously? He can say whatever he wants.

Put on whatever front he wants. He can live in la-la land for the rest of his existence.

And none of those things will change our reality.

If Iris finds out we’re together, she’s going to react, and it won’t be in a good way, especially after Jaxon lied to her about him fucking the nanny, as she so eloquently put it, just a little while ago.

Reading me like a book, he pushes, “Rory, Iris has no say in regards to who I date.”

“Yeah, but…” My voice trails off as my attention falls anywhere and everywhere except on the gorgeous man in front of me.

With a gentleness I’ve come to expect, Jaxon touches my chin and tilts my head up, encouraging me to look at him. “I can handle Iris. The question is…are you ready to put up with her?”

Am I ready to put up with her? I don’t think anyone’s ready to put up with someone like her.

But if it means Jaxon and I take this to the next level and tell our families, then…

I think it’s worth the inconvenience. Isn’t it?

This is Jaxon, for Pete’s sake. My Jaxon.

The Jaxon. The guy I’ve dreamed about for decades.

The guy I would give up anything for. The guy I would move across the country for.

So what if he has a crappy ex who’s never going away? Right?

“You’re hesitating,” Jaxon notes. “Does that mean you’re not ready to put up with Iris?”

“I think I can handle her.” My mouth lifts. “But only because you’re really good in bed.”

He laughs and tucks his phone back into his pocket. “Perfect. I’ll send the picture after dinner then.”

“Why after?”

“Because we should probably tell your parents first.” He touches my lower back again, and leads me onto the street. “Speaking of which, they’re waiting for us at Butter and Grace.”

“What?”

“I told your parents to meet us there.”

“Oh.” The air whooshes from my lungs as I wrap my head around the turn of events.

We’re going to dinner. With my parents. Who, at this point in time, have no idea I’m dating Jaxon Thorne. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.

What could go wrong?