Page 169 of The Grump Next Door
“And tomorrow, we figure everything else out.”
“Everything,” she agrees.
“But tonight—”
She shuts me up with another kiss. This one’s different again. Hungry. Certain. Like we’re done talking. Done pretending. Done being apart. It’s my new favorite kiss, erasing the memory of every careful, hesitant touch we’ve shared before.
My hands find her waist, spanning the warmth of her through the thin fabric.
“Dean.” My name on her lips undoes me completely.
“Yeah?” My voice is rough, unrecognizable.
“The earring thing really was incredibly stupid.”
I laugh against her throat, feeling her pulse jump under my lips. “You mentioned that.”
“Monumentally stupid.”
“Noted.”
“But also…” She pulls back, frames my face with her hands. Meets my eyes with that direct gaze that’s always seen too much. “Thank you. For being brave. Finally.”
“Only took a complete emotional collapse and a Reddit thread.”
Her eyes widen with delight. “Reddit?” She’s practically vibrating with glee. “Don’t tell me you asked Reddit again?”
“Mistakes were made.”
“Oh my God. What was your username? GrumpyLawyer69?”
“I’m not telling you that.”
“ControlFreakCottageOwner?”
“Poppy.”
“Oh, I’m going to need details.” Her hands slide under my shirt, finding skin, and my brain short-circuits. “Every. Single. Detail.”
“Later,” I manage.
“Later?” She’s doing something with her fingernails that should be illegal.
“Much later.” She’s walking backward, pulling me with her, and I follow helplessly.
“Because right now I need you to show me exactly how sorry you are.”
“So sorry,” I agree immediately.
“How much you missed me.”
“Every second.”
“How you’re never letting me walk away again.”
“Never,” I agree, following her inside. The word feels like a vow.
“Good.” She stops in the doorway, framed by the fading light, looking like every dream I’ve tried not to have. “But Dean?”
