Ringer: A New Year's Romance: The Doyles, a Boston Irish Mafia Romance by Sophie Austin

Author:Sophie Austin [Austin, Sophie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-21T05:00:00+00:00

8

Alix

Jack buys lumber and other supplies at the hardware store. I try to pay, frantic at the thought of him spending money he could use instead to travel to see his son, but he shakes his head.

When I finally relent, he gives me a satisfied grin that causes warmth to start in my chest and spread out, blossoming across my entire body.

Jack drives us back to the shelter and makes sure I am settled in the house, with the doors locked and the alarm on. Then he sets up lights and gets to work, by starting to frame out the inside of the cat building.

“Couple of days work,” he says with a shrug. “Easy.”

I offer to help, but the reality is that I have bookkeeping to do for the shelter. I need to finish that, and at least two shifts worth of remote insurance work, by Christmas.

A couple of hours in, I fill a thermos with hot chocolate and bring it out to Jack.

He smiles when he sees me coming and stops working long enough to eat cookies and drink the chocolate. Then, he hands the cup back.

“I’m going to stay out here and see what I can get done,” he says, and immediately gets going.

I’m so overcome with gratitude.

I take the plate and cup inside and wash them.

I can’t stop thinking about that man, regardless of how much I try.

I decide to do some more much-needed chores.

Reluctantly, I take care of the animals, and once that’s wrapped up, head back into the house, where I manage to find a space on the couch for my laptop and a pile of reports.

I don’t know how much time passes while I work.

I yawn and try to focus on the blurry reports on the screen. After a while, I’m nodding off.

At some point, I fall asleep.

I wake up in Jack’s arms, my head resting on his broad shoulder while he carries me to bed.

“Hey,” he says, his voice soft and close to my ear.

In an instant, I’m wide awake.

The idea of Jack in my bedroom, and the possibility of where that might lead, has me in sensory overload.

Just the barest thought of him in my bed leaves me electrified.

He puts me down very gently and starts to slide a blanket up over me when I grab his hand.

My skin touches his, and a spark jolts between us. I give him a tug down onto the bed. He sits, shifting around so that it’s obvious he’s aroused.

“You could stay,” I say carefully.

It’s not a good idea.

He tips his head back and looks at the ceiling.

“Alix, you don’t know how much I want to say yes to that.”

“Then say yes.”

His eyes come to mine, and I can see the heat in them even in the near total darkness.

“It’s not that simple,” he tries.

“Maybe it’s not that hard.”

A tight laugh.

“Oh, it’s hard, all right,” he chuckles.

Desire shoots through me.

“There’s something I need to say,” he says, but his voice has an edge.

Long moments pass in the dark, so long that I think he might not speak.

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