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“Any ti on his khakis “Any fucking time”

Leaning down, he cupped the back of her head and kissed her temple When he pulled back, his lips hovered over hers So close, and yet so freaking far “I have to go to work now, but don’t open the door for any strange men Especially me”

She sed hard “I’ll always open the door for you If you don’t want me to let you in, then

don’t knock”

His fingers tightened on her hair “I wish it was that easy I really fucking do”

With that, he let go of her and left without another word The second the door closed behind hiers pressed to her lips

What did that even mean?

Chapter Nine

On Monday lanced at the clock for what had to be the , Lydia had been on histo hi of an ex Butabout how close he’d been to fucking her the other night, and how he never should have stopped

Sure, she deserved better But in his opinion, most women deserved better than the men they ith It was always that way, because ainst his DNA to admit that, but what the fuck ever It was true So, yeah, he was a dick

But so was every other guy out there

If she had to be with one of them—if she refused to be sensible and join a convent—why couldn’t it be him?

A knock sounded on the door, and he glanced up gratefully Today had to be the longest day in the history of all mankind, so he’d welcome the distraction Any distraction “Come in,” he called out

Cooper Shillings popped his head in, scanned the room, and walked inside “Hey, man”

“Hello” Holt sat up straight and tugged on his shirt He’d been slouching, damn it His boss rarely came into his office, so he hadn’t expected him to do so today “How can I help you?”