His response was everything she could have hoped for. His arms came around her, warm, solid, strong. His injury didn’t matter here, he was still able to hold her close against him, which was exactly where she wanted to be. He deepened the kiss, which made her forget all about putting on an image for anybody who might be watching. She thought only of him, the heat of him, the feel of him and the way her body responded to him so swiftly and fiercely.

And when the sound of a vehicle passing—her neighbor down the street—broke them apart, she needed that strong support because she was a bit wobbly. And nosy Mr. Inskip would have the entire neighborhood talking within five minutes, she was sure.

She didn’t care. Welcomed it, in fact. Adam was hers, and she wanted the world to know it.

They’d lingered so long outside that it was only a moment after they went back in that they heard a polite scratch at the back door. Adam went, and sure enough it was Cutter, clearly happy to be back on duty.

Mandy had never taken up his food and water bowls, so she simply checked them. And smiled, both happily and wistfully at how the house seemed complete again.

As if she and Adam and Cutter were a family.

Chapter 33

Adam was torn. On one level, he liked—more than liked—the feeling it gave him to be here with her, alone except for Cutter. Cutter who, if Quinn was to be believed, and there was certainly no reason not to, had planned, plotted and pushed this. He and Mandy. Together.

But the reason they were both here hovered inexorably, and cast a shadow over the pleasant idea. Trying to ignore it, at least for the short time of peace Quinn thought they would have, he watched as Mandy began to ponder something to fix for dinner later. She said she wanted to, which surprised him. Although the feeling he got at the casual way she’d tossed out “I like the idea of cooking for us,” with the emphasis on that “us,” made his throat tighten.

After she tossed out a couple of ideas that earned her merely a “fine” and a shrug, she closed a cupboard door and turned to look at him.

“You don’t need to cook,” he said.

“But I need to eat,” she pointed out. “And so do you.”

“I’d say let’s order in pizza, except I’d be afraid we’d be setting up some poor delivery person to be hurt so they could replace him,” Adam muttered.

Her eyes widened, and he instantly regretted having spoken the crazy thought aloud.

“I’m sorry,” she said before he could voice the same words.

He blinked. “What are you sorry about?”

“Foolishly thinking we could pretend things were normal. Just grab some time out of this nightmare to just...be. Together.”