Page 47 of Hello Darling

“Um...Okay.”

“Good.” I notice her shivering as she presses her back against her car, so I circle my arms around hers and lean in against her.

“But I have rules for flings with out-of-towners.”

“Oh do you? Hit me.”

She clears her throat. “What do you mean?”

“I want to hear the rules.”

“Well, I don’t usually tell the guy, they’re just rules that I have.”

“Well, I don’t usually agree to things without knowing what I’m agreeing to. Even when I’m making weak decisions to appease the world’s largest talent agency.”

She considers this. “Okay, but now I feel really self-conscious.”

“Interesting. I’ve had my head between your legs for half an hour, but you feel uncomfortable letting me inside your head.”

Her eyelids flutter and I can feel her body melt just a little as she remembers just what I did to her down there, but she recovers quickly. “I’m not letting you inside my head, and I don’t think it was a full half an hour, so get over yourself.”

“Never. Do go on.”

“No telling personal stories.”

“Not even about Cornish jack o’lanterns?”

“Especially not that story.”

“Well that’s my best one, I’m glad I got it out of the way early. Look at you—telling me your rules. You’re already breaking one of them for me. I like that.”

“I’m breaking precedent.”

“Semantics.”

“No sleepovers. No coming to my home. No I love you’s, not even as a joke. And no fraternizing with my family. But…Too late.”

I scoff. “I refuse to let you come between my bromance with your brothers.”

“But I still don’t want to let them know about us. Not yet, anyway.”

“Understood. We both appreciate discretion. What else?”

“That’s it.”

“Interesting.”

“What?”

“I was expecting you to say ‘no anal,’ but since you didn’t…”

“Good night.” She tries to wriggle free from my grasp, but I’m not letting her go just yet.

I release one hand from her back so I can tilt her chin up and kiss her softly, parting her lips with my tongue until she relents and kisses me back hungrily, makes little sighing noises, and I would love to wake up to this in the morning, but I will play by her rules for now. I pull away from her and it takes her a moment to open her eyes.

“Sweet dreams,” I say, grinning. “Drive safe. Text me when you’re home. I mean it. I won’t sleep until you do.”

She nods. “See you tomorrow.”

And tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.

I hope.