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can chat. But we’re starving.”
    “Fine by me,” Blake agreed, not about to let Kim squirm out of this, as he’d let her run from the gallery, before he had a chance to tell her how he felt. No more running for her, and no more denial for him.
    A few minutes later, while her parents strolled to the store next door to look in the window, Kim dropped her keys as she locked up the bookstore. Blake bent down and picked them up at the same time that she did. They ended up squatting, face-to-face, electricity crackling.
    “Why are you doing this?” she asked in a hushed whisper. “You don’t have to do this.”
    He drew her hand into his. “I want to do this and a whole lot more.”
    She shook her head. “No. I’m done.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Three days, Blake,” she said. “Three days you’ve been MIA. Then out of the blue you show up here and want to jump right back into my bed?” She pushed to her feet, keys in hand. “No.”
    Blake glanced at her parents, confirming they were out of hearing range. His hands went to her shoulders. “Not just your bed, Kim. Your life. I want to be a part of your life. This isn’t just about sex with us. I’m not sure it ever was.”
    “Are you two trying to starve us?” Jack shouted toward them.
    “I’m starving, too, Kim,” Blake said. “For you. And this isn’t where or how I’d want to tell you this, but I’m pretty damn sure that for the first time in my life, I’m falling in love.”
    Kim blinked, looking stunned. “Falling in love? With me?”
    Blake laughed and, noting Jack’s fast approach, took the keys from her hand. “With you,” he agreed. “And I’ll tell you and show you the many reasons later tonight. But right now, your father’s on the move this way.”
     
    Several hours later, dinner was over, and Kim had just finished kissing her parents good-night at the hotel that they’d insisted on getting, despite her willingness to sleep on the couch and give up her bed. She and Blake stood side by side, watching the elevator doors close on them. Awash in a torrent of emotions, Kim had spent the entire dinner reeling over Blake’s shocking confession.
    She’d wanted to tell Blake she loved him one second, and the next, she wanted to throw something in his direction. And it went on from there, for the entire dinner. She wanted to kiss Blake. She wanted to yell at Blake. She didn’t want to get hurt, and he had hurt her. And now—now that they were alone, she didn’t know what to do, what to say.
    Unmoving, she stared at the elevator doors, thinking of how well he’d gotten along with her parents, talking with them as if he’d known them a lifetime, answering their questions, delving into their interests with what seemed to be genuine interest. They loved him, too.
    Blake laced his fingers in hers and walked toward the stairwell. She followed, suddenly ready to talk, to understand. The instant they were in the stairwell, she whirled on him, but before she could speak, he slid his hands into her hair. “I lied. I don’t think I love you. I know I do. And I’ve never said that to anyone before you.”
    Her heart clenched. She wanted to believe him, she did, but… “These past three days— Were you… Did you?”
    “Did I go to the Society? Yes. And I turned around and walked back out without touching anyone. I want you, Kim. Just you. No. Want isn’t a strong enough word. I need you.” He pulled her close. “Give me a chance to show you that. Come home with me, wake up next to me.” His lips brushed hers. “Say yes.”
    The sincerity, the passion in him, crashed into her. He meant what he said. He’d asked her to trust him with her body, to let him strip away her inhibitions. Now he was trusting her with his heart. Kim wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes.”
    “And you…” he prodded.
    She smiled. “Love you, too.”
    He kissed her, a long passionate kiss that ended when someone opened the stairwell nearby, and they decided