He came up on his side and curled an arm around her, tugging her into him. “I didn’t shut you down. For the record, I’d never shut you down.”

“Because you’re a guy?”

He smiled. “Because I’m never going to not want you.”

At that declaration, she felt herself still.

“Okay, don’t read too much into that,” he said, his smile fading at whatever he saw on her face. “I just mean that you’ve got to know I’m extremely attracted to you. Emotionally attached as well. So you don’t need to ever wonder if I want you. I do.” He braced himself over her and kissed her. Soft. Sweet. And then not so sweet, before pulling back. “I just didn’t want you to think I was a sex fiend.”

“But you are, right?” she asked hopefully.

He let out a low laugh. “Well, yeah. But I thought we’d . . . talk.”

“Talk.”

“Yes. It’s a thing, you know,” he said, looking adorably uncertain for the first time ever. “Women like to talk, right?”

She laughed. “Yes, unfortunately. Are you telling me you’re the one man on the planet who actually likes to listen?”

“Well, I like to listen to you,” he said.

That flowed through her, making her feel wanted, cherished, and special. Not quite sure what to do with those emotions, she stared up at the sky. “Definitely looks like pizza,” she said. “A pepperoni pizza with peppers on it, because peppers are a veggie and that makes the pizza healthy.”

He laughed, and God, she loved making him laugh.

“I haven’t done it very much lately,” he said, making her realize she’d spoken out loud. “Not until I came here and met you.” He shook his head. “There’s not been a lot to laugh about.”

Her heart rolled over and exposed its tender underbelly. “You miss Rowan.”

“Yeah.”

She set her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

He pressed his jaw to her hair. “We were still pretty new to the sibling thing, since he was always so much younger than me.” He turned his head to hers. “You didn’t like him.”

She stilled. “Winnie tell you that?”

“No. Just a feeling.”

“Actually,” she said, “I liked him a lot. He was kind and sweet, and was good for your dad, kept him on the straight and narrow. He was Winnie’s BFF. After she left for college, he’d go down to see her sometimes. They didn’t tell me much because they knew I didn’t like how hard they partied. But he was a good guy.”

“But . . . ?”

She met his gaze and knew honesty was the only way to go here. “But . . . I felt he had a lot of growing up to do.”

“He wasn’t a good influence on Winnie.”