She smiled, eyes dropping to my mouth. “I know you assuage it, and you deserve it.”

I swallowed. There was nothing but tension between us. “So do you.”

“Can I kiss you?” she asked.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. Her question caught me off guard, not because I didn’t want to kiss her or because it hadn’t been on my mind since the first time we kissed in Disney, but because she asked. It was the boldest I’d seen her be since I met her.

“You don’t even have to ask,” I replied, and without hesitation, her lips were on mine.

Her soft ass lips brushed against mine like she was asking a question. I wasn’t afraid to answer it, though. My hand slid up to cradle the back of her neck, and I pushed my tongue inside. I kissed her slowly, like I had all the time in the world. I wanted to forget where we were, forget that she was pregnant, and pull her into my lap.

She sighed against my mouth like she’d been holding that breath for a long time. We were fooling ourselves with this friend shit. I knew it, and it seemed she did too. I pulled back but held her head there, resting my forehead on hers.

“That was… exactly what I needed,” she whispered.

“Same. I’ve wanted to do that since the last time.”

Phileigh laughed softly. “You mean when you sucked my soul out my body and into your mouth?”

I smiled. “Yep!”

There was a pause. Her eyes searched mine. “Why do you want to take this on? Aren’t you scared?” she asked, glancing down at her belly.

I nodded just once. “Nah, not scared.” I placed my hand on top of hers. “I want to be what you need.”

She leaned her head on my shoulder, curling into my side like she’d done it a hundred times before.

“Why are you so perfect? I don’t know any man who would want to take on dating or even being friends with a pregnant woman.”

“Now, you do.” I wrapped my arm around her, letting my palm settle gently on the curve of her hip. She fit there like she belonged.

Chapter 17

I stood in front of the mirror. My heart raced like it was trying to escape my chest. In less than ten minutes, I would be making my first television appearance. I rechecked my reflection, smoothing down my hair and adjusting the collar on my white blouse. I’d never dreamed that something like this was possible. I was just a local barber. I never asked for celebrity clientele or media attention. It all felt so surreal.

“You better not get in that pretty head of yours.”