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He didn’t kno to finish that sentence After everything he had said to her before, all the fucked-up rules and restrictions to keep her at a distance, he had no idea how to now bridge the gap between them

He should have thought about what he wanted to say before inviting her to dinner He should be the ue-tied prick who had no clue what the fuck he was doing She deserved better He had dicked her around enough as it was

“Should have what?”

He stared blankly at the beers he still held in his hands and his shoulders hunched He knew he looked defensive and borderline hostile

“Nothing” His stomach churned when he saw disappointment spark in her eyes He couldn’t stand it…he’d been closed off for too long, he didn’t kno else to be

He had invited her here because she made him want more He couldn’t talk to her from behind this massive wall he’d erected between himself and the rest of the world

He loosened one brick—just one—desperate to let a shard of her light shine through, and murmured, “I should have been better I want to be better”

Her head tilted and her eyes softened “Be better at what?”

“Us Life” He chewed his cheek apprehensively, breath gone, heartbeat erratic Only Vicki had the ability to make him feel like this

Panicked Nervous Strained

Exhilarated Optimistic Happy

“Why don’t we start with dinner and see where that takes us?” she suggested

Mortified by the over-the-top veheratefully “Yes, of course Make yourself at home, please” He lifted the beers “I’ll just put these away for after dinner…unless you want one now?”

She wrinkled her nose and pushed her hair behind her ears “No thanks I’m not much of a beer drinker”

He nodded He knew that, of course He didn’t knohy he had asked So he had once claimed never to do

“You look good,” he said after he had put the beers in the fridge He went back to prepping salmon steaks at the island but kept an eye on her as she a room