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She snatched it so fast he nearly lost his fingers

Taking two bites in quick succession, sheshe had no idea how sensual the sound was or what it could do to a er look and blushed "Sorry Guess I really needed a fix"

"I can see that," he said, voice a little thick "Good?"

"Aers When she caught hi that with rapt attention, she stopped Then the only sound, other than the crackling flaive theold chain at her neck, lifting the sth," she said softly

"You don’t need a sy"

She shook her head "Not always It’s fro of…jealousy? That didn’t make much sense Adam had left her It was none of his business how much she’d loved someone else that she’d kept a piece of hiot ht it would be a big deal…"

It should have been a big fking deal, he thought

"That’s when I first started to knoasn’t going to work, that I wasn’t iave me money to buy myself a present I’d seen the necklace in an upscale jewelry store…" She shrugged as if embarrassed "I keep it because it’s a reminder of what lad that I moved on"

Adam could see the fire reflected in her eyes, and much more, and wondered at howout a breath, he laced his fingers in hers, squeezing her hand "I’ on For being strong For beco a pretty damn incredible woman"

Her eyes never left his "Not so incredible, really"

"You do what you think is right, always Not what’s easy, but what’s right You came out here after your father when no one else would"

She looked at hi moment "You never talk much about your father"

No, he didn’t He tried not to think about hiot to be so," she insisted

"He was Texan, and his first love was football Wo and loud and was by all accounts a decent guy, up until he died in a car wreck"

"You were young," she said

"Five"

"That must have destroyed youron e them" He slid her a look "Yeah, yeah, I inherited that from her"

She smiled "You do okay when you want to You ever see her? Your ed "Soht?"

"Yeah" In a double-wide, which was all she’d let Dell and Adaiven up custody of her boys, leaving the their help now "Dell sees her more than I do," he said "He drives out there every other week and works a few hours, giving vet care to those who need it"

"That’s sweet"

"That’s Dell I don’t go out there unless I have to"

"Have to?"

"Once in a while soo fix it"

"When you have to," she said

"Yeah"

"How’s that not as sweet as what Dell does?"

Jesus "Didn’t we do this already? I’m not sweet, Holly"

"No, you said you weren’t cute"

He wasn’t either of those things, and she knew it

"When’s the last tireement"

"About?"

"Water" He and Dell had wanted to put soet her better-quality water, but she absolutely refused their help Adam had done it, anyway, started the process to make the improvements, and Nila had called off the job She’d made a rare appearance in town, at the animal center in fact, to tell him that his money wasn’t welco less than one hundred percent pride That she regretted not ever spending one down, she didn’t have a right to their ive a shit about any of that He liked to think he didn’t give a shit about her at all

But he did And all he’d wanted was to make sure she had so Nila could do better than her sons She could out-stubborn them Adam told Holly the story in as feords as possible and she snuggled in a little bit more "I don’t know," she said softly "Sounds to me like you have a little sweet in you, after all"

He tilted his head down to give her a look

"You do," she insisted

"I don’t"

"You’re here with htened "I’m here because I want to be"

She ducked her face into the crook of his neck, but not before he saw the sheen in her eyes He gave her ahe wanted was tears He felt helpless against her tears

"Ada to find him" Her lips brushed his skin with each word, so that he barely was able to suppress a full body shiver

"We’re going to find hi into his ear Snowflakes dusted her hair and shoulders He found his hands sliding beneath the jacket,

Wanting…

She lifted her head and looked at hi, his body stirred