And when she’d smoothed a frustrated hand through her hair whenever one of his questions would stump her, her already tousled hair looked even sexier.

She would never know how he’d fought the urge to reach out and trace a finger along her ankles and take his own hands and rake his fingers through her hair. Then there were those times when he’d analyzed the shape of her mouth, remembering how he loved devouring her lips.

Drawing in a deep breath, Kaegan knew he needed to take the same advice he’d given her. When he got home he would take a shower, but instead of wine he would grab a beer out the fridge and then go to bed to get a good night’s sleep. At least he would try. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be dreaming about Bryce.

He then thought about something else he’d done tonight. He had actually volunteered to work on that committee with her. He, of all people, who hadn’t even liked his high school when he’d attended. Only Bryce and Vashti had made the time bearable. He knew the kids but doubted they would even remember him. But he refused to let that stop him because he thought being on that committee was an essential piece of winning back his friend. He had to believe that stepping out of his comfort zone would be worth it. He’d done it that night when he’d decided to attend that charity ball. It hadn’t been so bad and he had gotten to spend time with Bryce. She had even unloaded some stuff he had needed to hear.

Something Vashti had said stuck with him. She was right. It was time to let Bryce get to know the man he was now and for him to get to know her as the woman she’d become.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“I THINK YOU’RE READY, Bryce. You answered every single question I tossed out at you. You’re going to ace it,” Kaegan said confidently.

Bryce drew in a deep breath, not as certain of her abilities as Kaegan. If she did ace the exam, she would credit her success to his study techniques. For the last three evenings he had picked up dinner from her parents’ café and shared a meal with her before hitting the books.

He drilled her endlessly, gave her word associations that she could remember and made up flash cards to use for those questions she still had difficulty answering. “I honestly hope so, Kaegan. I’m tired of studying so hard.”

“It will be worth it to get your multistate-Realtor license, right?”

She knew the answer to that without thinking. “Yes.”

“Then don’t start doubting yourself. You know the material. All you have to do is apply what you know. Did your instructor give the class a hint of what the makeup of the test would be like?” he asked, shifting in his place on her floor. That was his usual place to stretch out on her floor. Hers was the sofa with her legs extended across the ottoman. It was hard to believe just a few months ago they couldn’t stand to be anywhere near each other.