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She shoved aside some old bathroom supplies She really needed to clean out in here one of these days Another job to add to the bottoht with a sigh
A black case fell with a clatter to the shelf below, knocking over a collection of old bottles of lotion and sunscreen Erin lifted the case, ready to shove it back where it came from, but her hand stilled as she touched it
Jaht hoht he’d passed away What on earth had she been thinking, putting it back in here? She pulled the small black leather case out of the cupboard and yanked the zipper open, exposing the contents Her heart almost shuddered to a halt in her chest A toothbrush More i with his DNA A way of proving, once and for all, that he, and not soer, was Riley’s father
Erin stood, put the case on top of the vanity and quickly turned off the taps before going into the kitchen to find a zip-seal plastic bag to hold the toothbrush When that courier pack arrived toht back out again Then all her immediate worries would be solved
The next , as Sam made his way downstairs to the kitchen, he felt like a bear with a sore head Last night had beenfrustrated and torn and racked with guilt Kissing Erin Connell had been yet another betrayal to rack up on his list of failures to his dead wife And yet, if it had been so wrong, why had Erin felt so very right in his ar, so addictive? Why had he wanted more?
Pushing her away fros he’d had to do in over a year He’d wanted her with a need that went so deep he wondered how he’d be able to continue to stay here and still keep his distance Yet the prospect of leaving was even more abhorrent to him
Her parting words rang in his ht, for us, at the time” At the time And what about the next ti no? Did he even want to? Sam resolutely pushed the unanswered questions to the back of his ht back to the fore
It was time to be honest He wanted Erin Connell Wanted her in the way a man wants a woman The first question was, did she want him just as much? If her response to him was any indicator she certainly did But even more important, could he bear to live with his that clouded his every waking thought?
When he got to the kitchen he hesitated in the doorway The room was empty, the benches cleared A note sat on the worn kitchen table
Good , Sa room –Erin
The h very tastefully appointed, was best suited to a gathering of ten to twenty people? She was avoiding him, obviously Maybe their kiss had rattled her ri roo dishes were set up on the old-fashioned sideboard He heaped a plate with scras, hash browns and strips of bacon, poured hi fresh coffee, and just as deterun to think of as his seat at the kitchen table
He was just finishing his coffee when Erin cae courier pack she was carrying She started when she saw hie
“Oh, you surprisedthe address to face her “Is there a proble room?”
Sam shook his head “Not at all I just prefer to eat here” He hesitated and gave her a steady look “Unless you have any objections, that is?”
“No,” she said cautiously “I don’t ht you’d prefer a bit of distance, after…”
He caught her hand and held it in his own Her fingers were long and delicate, her nails short and practical, but he reainst hih the fine cotton of his shirt and into his skin, the sensations her touch had sent coursing through his body
“After our kiss?” he said gently “Don’t worry You were right about it being as right for us, right then I think we’ve both been through the wringer and we both deserve a bit of comfort Thank you”
He let her hand go and saw the way she curled her fingers tight before flicking thele the sa intense and instinctive rocketed through her as it had hi at her Her breathing was rapid, her chest rising and falling in a way that was al Her soft full lips fell open, as if she was on the verge of saying sootten already what it was she wanted to say