Nice Guys Still Finish: The Ladies Who Brunch Book 5 by Harlow James

Author:Harlow James [James, Harlow]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

“You don’t need to come in,” Ariel says as she unlocks the front door of her house after one in the morning. The hospital made us stay for four hours before they discharged her.

“I’m gonna make sure you have everything you need, Ariel. I’m not leaving you alone.”

“I had an allergic reaction, Jeffrey. I didn’t break a bone or hit my head.”

“No. This was way worse than that in my opinion.” I close the door softly behind us and follow her lead through the dimly lit house. The only light is coming from a night-light in the kitchen.

“Well, I need some water. Are you thirsty?” she whispers, dropping her voice now so as not to wake her mother, I infer.

“Yes, please.”

I trail behind her as she makes her way into the kitchen, filling two glasses for us and handing one to me. After we both quench our thirsts, we stare at each other across the space.

The sound of metal clanking rings out, catching her attention from her task. “Are your pants jingling?” she asks when my hips rest against the counter behind me.

“As fun as that would be, no.” Huffing out a laugh, she watches me as I dig into my pocket and pull out the handful of change I stuffed in there before I left my apartment. “I was carrying pennies around in case we found a fountain so you could make a wish. I wasn’t sure where the evening was going to take us, but I wanted to be prepared.”

She stares at me as her jaw drops.

Ariel’s face is still a bit swollen, but she looks gorgeous nonetheless. Something about seeing her so vulnerable has only made her dig deeper under my skin. I can tell the reaction took the energy out of her, though. Her eyelids are heavy, and her posture has sunken. Without debating it, I set my glass on the counter, shove the pennies back in my pocket, and stalk across the floor to her, pulling her into my arms.

“I can’t believe you did that.”

“Well, I brought the lucky ones, too, hoping they would help make your wishes come true, but the evening took an unexpected turn.” Shaking my head, I say, “I’m so sorry, Ariel . . . again.”

“Stop apologizing. It was my fault.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.”

She pauses before whispering softly, “I was scared, too. But I felt better because you were there. That’s pretty stellar date material, I must say.”

I tip her chin up so her eyes can meet mine. “Good to know I’m prepared for that in the future now.”

“Yeah. That’s one lucky girl.”

We stand there in a stare-off, waiting for the other to say something else, but all I can focus on is how hard my heart is pounding while holding her in my arms, how desperately I want to press my lips to hers.

But is that what she wants? I know she just had an allergic reaction, so maybe the thought of a kiss right now isn’t the best idea.

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