I bit my lip, waiting for his answer. His chest, underneath his hunter-green T-shirt, rose and fell slowly with each breath he took. His shoulders were wide and strong. The boy I remembered from high school had been cute, but this, Kiernan the man? He was sexy.
“That sounds good. I’d love to,” he finally said and my shoulders relaxed.
“Pizza?” I asked. Before I’d gone to Daphne’s for the week, I’d cleared out my refrigerator and, since it was my first night back in my house, I hadn’t been able to go to the grocery store, so takeout was our only option.
“Pizza sounds great.”
I wrinkled my nose, wondering if he was going to be disappointed that his only drinking options were carbonated lemonade, which I was obsessed with, water, and wine. “I don’t have any beer.”
He shrugged. “That’s fine. I don’t need it. Let me pay for the pizza though.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s my treat.”
His lips pursed but he didn’t argue. He crossed his arms over his chest, gazing at me. I felt like he could see every part of me, as if I were standing naked in front of him. Under his gaze there was no hiding. I wasn’t in the shadow of my sister, my friends, or anyone prettier. When our eyes met, I couldn’t help letting him see every piece of myself.
I saw the same in him. I saw past his facade. He was so much more than the man with a smile permanently plastered to his face and his jokes. He was good and true. Kinder than he’d ever let on. While he was cocky and knew he was insanely attractive, he was selfless and cared about the people around him. I wondered if he knew that I saw him, just as he saw me.
I led Kiernan to the couch in the living room, where Pepper Jack was still passed out and snoring softly. I snickered and shook my head. For all Kiernan said he was destructive, I’d yet to see that behavior. Sure, he was a little crazy in class, but he wanted to have fun, just like Kiernan. “Don’t know what it is about you, Caroline, but my dog only listens to and respects you.”
“I guess that’s fitting since Harmonica seems to like you, but no one else. Daphne wouldn’t nap on the couch this week because she was scared Harmonica was going to claw her face and, to be honest, I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s not very nice.”
Kiernan leaned over the couch to pet Harmonica, still lying in her swing. She turned her face toward him, closing her eyes, and purred, snuggling deeper into his tickling fingers. I scoffed. “Don’t let it go to your head. It’s already big enough.”
“Good thing I have you here to bring me back down to earth,” Kiernan said. He grinned and winked at me, not at all offended when I joked with him. None of my exes—well, all two of them—had been like that. They got angry.
I ordered our pizza from my phone and turned on the TV, sinking deeper into the love seat. Pepper Jack was taking up most of the couch, leaving the love seat for Kiernan and me. He sat next to me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his body, but not close enough that we were touching. I felt the energy zapping in the small space between us, and I wanted to feel his skin against mine, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea. Kiernan flirted with me and acted like he was attracted to me, but I wasn’t sure I believed it. Half the time when I was around him, I still felt like the unseen and forgettable girl I’d been in high school, even though I’d worked damn hard in the years since to love myself.
Kiernan’s focus was on the TV as I flipped through the channels. He sank deeper into the love seat, putting his arm behind me, but he still wasn’t touching me. I wanted to fall into his side. It’d been so long since I’d sat and snuggled with a man. I wondered what it would be like to do that with someone who truly cared.
I settled on a comedy and tried to relax. “You said Roman wants you to buy into the company?”
Kiernan’s eyes left the screen and turned toward me, and he shifted in his seat until he practically faced me. I faced him, my legs between us. He ran one finger up my shin. His eyes followed his finger. He stopped at my knee and took his hand back. “Yeah, but I’ve hesitated. I like how things are. I make good money and I enjoy my work. I’ve stepped in so he could spend more time with his family.”
“How do you know Roman?”
“We served in the army together.”
“Is that what you did after high school?”
He nodded. “Served in the army. Got out at the same time as Roman, and he started MarxMen in Nashville. Then a few years later we moved it down here.”
“Why?” I asked.
Kiernan grinned. “Harper. Roman’s wife.”
“That’s sweet.”
He nodded. “They’ve got one kid now. The coolest little dude, and one more on the way.”
“Do you ever go home?” I hadn’t been back to our little town in Tennessee in ages and didn’t have plans to. I had no one to visit. I surely wasn’t going to see my ex–best friend and ex-boyfriend.
“Nope,” he said. “There’s not much for me there.”
“I understand,” I whispered.
The doorbell rang, breaking us from staring at each other. “I’ve got it.” Kiernan got off the couch before I could even move.
“It’s already paid for,” I called after him as he pulled his wallet out of his jeans. He spoke quietly with the delivery guy and handed him some cash before grabbing our pizzas, shutting the door, and locking it behind him.
“It was already paid for,” I repeated.
Kiernan shrugged.
