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"You know safe is boring, sunshine" O’Connell senuine one thatis still safe"

When we made it to my apartment block, I opened theabout it allowed hiainst the doorfraone of my curls behind my ear It was so beautifully intimate, that I had to steel razed ht I would have liked hanging out with you," he told me, sadly

"I would have liked that, too," I replied "It’s probably for the best, though," I ad isn’t irls do, not even close I’d go fro"

"You really have no idea, do you?" He chuckled I said nothing, having no clue what he was talking about

"You know I’ll make it up to you Turns out that I’ as you are, but I’d like to have another crack at it" His swagger was back noith renewed enthusiasm and his optimism that we could ever be friends was infectious

"You think its possible then?" I asked

"What…that we can be friends? Hell yeah, baby Course that doesn’t mean I won’t try my best to make you fall in love with me, too," he joked

"Don’t worry, I’m fairly immune to your char to volley with a sleazy co it in Maybe he was serious about being friends I worried that I would spend halfthat anyway, even if he weren’t within love with this man I really didn’t think thatat the cafe tomorrow?" he asked

"Uh, huh The early shift," I replied "Why?"

"No reason I h" I grinned at the thought of seeing hi so obvious I literally had no gaht," he ently kissed ht," I whispered back I closed ainst it Sofor hi was a double-edged sword I’d been used to enough late hts hunched over the coet up at the crack of dawn and drag h the icy streets in e to the sas the delicious anticipation of seeing O’Connell again I was so busy cleaning my station, I didn’t even realise he was there until he was right behind ainstinto my ear He was so close behind me that a fraction closer and his lips would have been touching ered, and my stomach clenched with excite, yourself"

"You’re getting better, you know," he pointed out

"Better?" I asked

"Yeah Not too long ago, you’d have jumped a mile if I’d crept up on you like that, but today you didn’t flinch"

"Well, I’iants around," I replied with a grin as O’Connell slid into a booth

"Boo," a second voice behind me said over my shoulder

This time I did jump a mile and turned around just in time to smack Kieran on the arm

"Arsehole," Ihis arets the smile, and I’m the arsehole," he ," I replied

It was soh to confess that I’d been watching and waiting for O’Connell all ht of hied his biceps like a second skin,I wouldn’t satisfy Every wo or old, looked his way I saw thelances at him as he watched me, and ouldn’t they? At six-foot-five of solid est man in here, but it wasthat wo enough to protect, but dangerous enough that it was a turn on His rawof phero his order, I was barely holding it together, and I was betting that there was irl around here whose knickers et just froeous as well That boy had a killer body, and a great personality to go with it, but it was the danger that dreomen to O’Connell Those beautiful, scarred and calloused hands could break a ht that he could do that to protectinside me an to panic I didn’t want to be invisible anyht, either, and there seehost, or at least hidden in the shadows, how long would it be before Frank found ht, but just because I couldn’t act onthe at

"What can I get you both for breakfast?" I asked

"Whatever takes care of this hangover and stops roaned as he laid his head down across his ar up" I chuckled