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  “Hey, baby, wow, thank you.” I kissed him on the mouth, then the cheek, and drank thirstily. I caught a glimpse of his expression as he let me past him into the living room. “What?”

  “Just glad to see you, that’s all. You look...different.” Niall swept me with his gaze. “Turn around.”

  I set down my glass on the coffee table and spun, showing off my cute summer frock. It wasn’t one of the ones Olivia had taken pictures of me in, but it was from the same shop. Sleeveless gray-and-white-checked cotton with a scooped neckline and a cute matching belt. The dress made me feel feminine and powerful because, wearing it, I also felt pretty. Paired with black pointy-toed flats, I also felt like I wanted to twirl and dip, so I did with the weight of his gaze on me making me blush.

  “I was doing some pictures with Olivia,” I explained when he still looked quizzical.

  Niall frowned, though he tried to hide it. “Ah. Alone, or...?”

  Jealous, but not willing to admit it? Laughing, I pressed against him, my fingers linked behind his neck. I tipped my face for a kiss, which he gave me.

  “Alone,” I said. “Are you going to ask me to stop modeling?”

  “You’re an adult woman. It’s not my place to tell you what you should do.”

  It was the right answer, but it rang a little false. I kissed him again, just a brush of our lips this time. “But you want to. Don’t you?”

  Niall’s hands settled on my hips, and he inched me closer. “Yeah. Kind of.”

  I had to force myself to keep my voice light when I replied. “You know, I had a guy ask me to stop modeling once.”

  Niall’s eyes narrowed. “I guess you didn’t.”

  “No, I did. For the few weeks we went out, sure I did.” I shook my head. “I’m not a total bitch, Niall. And yes, there are things I like, but I’ve dated a few guys who weren’t into the props and rituals, and that was okay, too. Not everything is my way or the highway. I might not like being told what to do, but that doesn’t mean if I’m asked nicely that I won’t at least consider it. I might be selfish, but I like to think I’m not completely self-absorbed.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  We swayed, dancing in a slow circle without music to guide us. We didn’t need any. We were perfectly in sync.

  “I don’t like to think of you doing that sort of thing with someone else, that’s all.” He shrugged.

  We stopped moving. I pushed up on my toes to kiss him again then hug him. I whispered into his ear, “Pictures are pictures, Niall. Modeling is like acting. None of that is real.”

  “But it’s real for you,” he said. “I mean, it’s still your thing. I guess I wouldn’t like it, then, if you were doing your thing with someone else, for real or for pretend. If you’re mine, you’re mine. I don’t want you with anyone else.” He frowned briefly. His fingers tightened on my hips.

  I swooned a little. Okay, a lot. “Am I, then? Yours?”

  “Do you want to be?”

  I kissed him again. Slower this time. Lingering. The swipe of his tongue sent a shiver all through me, and when I pulled back, I’m sure my eyes were as bright as his.

  “What are we doing, exactly, Niall Black?”

  “I’m tryin’,” he said, “to court you.”

  A month of bowling and dinner and movies. Kisses on the front step and late-night phone calls. Goofy texts. Flowers and perfect iced tea. And, other than the night of William’s Bar Mitzvah, we hadn’t done anything more than make out.

  “It’s a big responsibility, you know. Keeping me happy,” I said against his mouth. My fingers toyed with the length of his hair in the back, and when he shivered, I grinned. “I can be very particular.”

  “I know, I know,” Niall said. “Lime in the iced tea, not lemon.”

  I’d been dreamy, teasing, but at this I pushed away from him then so I could turn and keep my face from him. Not because I was mad or sad, but because in all my life, there’d never been a man who’d bothered to pay attention to such a small detail...or who got it right.

  And then he hit a home run.

  “You were left-handed as a kid,” he continued in a low voice from behind me. “But someone must’ve made you switch, huh?”

  Slowly, I turned, my heart pounding so hard it’s a wonder it didn’t block out the sound of anything but its beating. “Yes. My mother. Evan was right-handed, and she thought I should be, too. The kindergarten teacher said nobody forced lefties to switch any longer, but my mom insisted anyway. I learned to write right-handed, but yeah...I’m a leftie. I’ve never told anyone that.”

  “You didn’t have to tell me. You automatically reach with your left hand,” he said. “I’ve watched you do it with just about everything. I figured.”

  That was it, then. The moment I knew. Despite how strangely it had begun, the time I’d so far spent with him still so short it was hardly time at all, when I stood in front of him and knew that Niall Black knew me, really fucking knew me, that was it. I was done.

  I was in love.

  * * *

  I made him dinner. Nothing fancy, but it was cozy, the two of us at his tiny kitchen table. We laughed over veggie lasagna, and he cleared the dishes without being asked. I watched him rinse them at the sink before putting them in the dishwasher.

  “A girl could get used to this,” I said. “All you need is an apron. No pants, just the apron.”

  Niall looked at me over his shoulder. “You know, Elise, when you objectify me in that way, it makes me feel all tingly inside.”

  I grinned. “When you do the dishes, it gets me downright full-on horny.”

  “Just think,” he said as he pulled me out of my chair to kiss me, “what would happen if I did your laundry?”

  “You’d kill me! That’s what would happen.” I linked my fingers behind his neck and looked into his eyes as I stroked my fingers through his hair again, loving how silky it was. Thick and dark, a few glints of silver at the temples. “How old are you?”

  “Isn’t that supposed to be a rude question?” He frowned.

  “Hey,” I laughed, “I just had a birthday. You already know how old I am.”

  “I’m older than you.” He nuzzled my throat for a moment. “Does it matter?”

  “No. I guess not. Just curious.” I pretended to scrutinize him. “Do you not want to tell me because you’re ancient, or...?”

  “Ancient, damn. You know how to stab a guy, don’t you? I’m forty. I had my milestone birthday in March.”

  “Wow. Forty. That’s...” I giggled when he poked me. “Sexy. Forty is sexy!”

  He kissed me. I kissed him. Somehow my ass ended up on the table, and the rest of the dishes were forgotten for a few minutes.

  “You’re terrible, you know that?” he said into my ear.

  Surprised, I pushed back. “What? Why?”

  Shaking his head, Niall pulled me closer. “Oh, no, you can’t play that game with me. I see it in your eyes. You’re totally undressing me with them.” I started laughing as he continued, “And listen, I’m not just a sex object, Elise.”

  “I never said...” I couldn’t go on, choking on laughter.

  “You didn’t have to say. It’s all over your face. The sheer, raw animal lust in your eyes!” Niall stood, his hand still in mine, tugging me off the table. “Frankly, I’m both affronted and taken aback.”

  Giggling, I tried to act chastened. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” he told me and pulled me closer. “I am pretty sexy, even for some kind of ancient, grizzled grandpa. I know you can’t help being overcome with the lust.”

  “You totally are, and I totally am.” I pushed onto my tiptoes to kiss him gently. “Thank you for taking pity on me and stopping me before I do something crazy.”

  “Like rip my clothes off and have your wicked way with me?”

  “Yes, like that.” I laughed again at his expression. “I know. The horror.”

  For a moment, both of us smiled and looked into each other�