“You never really answered my question earlier,” I began, “how are you not taken?”
He sat back, crossing his arms behind his head, stretching out his long legs. “I’ve had girlfriends. I’m not a player, though, and I haven’t had many relationships. I’m more of an all-in guy, I suppose. None of them were long-term or serious. My last girlfriend, Karen—we were together for over a year.”
“What happened?”
He shrugged. “Nothing really. No huge drama or anger. She was a wonderful woman. Pretty, fun, and we got along well. My family liked her, and we had many incredible times together. Everything was good. She’s an amazing person, actually.”
My stomach twisted at his tone, the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy emerging. He spoke so fondly of her.
He continued with a wry smile. “But we had one problem.”
“Oh?”
He tilted his head, studying me. “How do you feel when I kiss you, Avery?”
“Breathless. Achy.” I thought back to our first kiss. “Wanting more. So much more.”
“That’s how I feel. I can’t get enough. I can’t get close enough. Karen and I never had that all-consuming spark. We were great together as friends—it was how we should have stayed. One day, I realized we hadn’t been together for over a month and I had no desire to ask her to be with me. We sat down and talked and she confessed the same thing. So, we broke up—over a year ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
He laughed. “Don’t be. Neither one of us was particularly upset, so we knew we made the right decision. Life is too short to settle. We remained close and we’re still friends. A couple of months after we split up, she met Buck, and a month later, she was married. She told me the first time she shook his ha
nd she couldn’t let go and it was the same for him. She found her soul mate. She’s happy, and I was, and am, thrilled for her.”
“Does, she, ah, live here?”
“No. They moved not long ago. He’s a lawyer and had a great offer in New York. Karen loves it there. She is more of a big city girl. We keep in touch—she is very happy.”
“Oh.” I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure I wanted to meet his ex-girlfriend he still spoke so highly of even after a year of ending their relationship.
He grinned. “Don’t be jealous. How I felt about Karen is vastly different from how I feel about you. It’s like comparing a lake to the ocean.” Reaching for my hand, he brushed a fast kiss on the knuckles. “And in case you aren’t clear? She’s the lake, and you’re the ocean.”
“Oh.”
“I saw her not long after she got married and watched the two of them together. They were ideal for each other. After seeing that, I knew I could never settle for anything less. She told me she had never been happier, and when it happened for me, I’d know it.” He lowered his voice. “I didn’t really believe her—until today.”
My heartbeat sped up at his words.
“I feel it. I felt it the first time you let me touch your hand. It was as if I’d found the one missing piece to my puzzle. The one thing I’d been waiting for to make me complete.”
He tugged on my hand, pulling me back to his lap. “Do you feel it, Sprite? That draw? Do you feel how strong it is between us?”
“Yes.”
He shifted closer, the heat of his body sinking into my skin.
“Can I keep you, Avery Connor? Will you be mine?”
“Please.”
His smile was brighter than the sun in mid-July. “Good answer.”
Daniel exhaled out a low sigh, his head burying farther into the cushion on my lap. Talking had ceased a while ago after he checked on Lucy. When he returned to the sofa, he lay down with his head on my lap. As my fingers slipped through his hair, loving how silky the strands felt, we continued to talk until I noticed his eyes drifting shut and his body becoming heavier. He was in the middle of a question about my favorite hobbies when his voice stuttered, paused, then stopped, his breathing evening out and his grip lessening. He never let go completely, though.
I looked down at him in wonder. Even in sleep, he was striking—perhaps even more so. Relaxed and at peace, the lines that creased his forehead were smooth and his full lips were pursed as if waiting for a kiss.
God, kissing Daniel.