Free Mr. Virile and the Girl Next Door by Gwen Hayes Page B

glanced behind her, her friends stilling their raucous laughter in hopes of hearing whatever was happening in her doorway. “Book club.” She tilted her head to get a better look at him. “Are you okay?”
    “My high school reunion is tonight.”
    She nodded, as if that made all the sense in the world. “Okay…”
    “It’s about a four hour drive. I’m going.” He paused, stared at his shoe for a moment, and then met her eyes with a surprisingly intense gaze. “Like this.”
    Something like hope bubbled and fizzed in her chest. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to tell me.”
    “I’m going like this, and I’m going to face that kid inside you say I’m so afraid of, and I’m going to do it without all the defenses that come with being Dane Martin. Except one. I’d like you to come with me.” He didn’t wait for her to answer his invitation. “You were right. I stuffed that clumsy, embarrassing kid I used to be into a locker in my mind just like the bullies used to do to me in the hallways of my high school. Instead of being a man, I became an actor. I’m not whole, I’m not happy, and I don’t have enough to offer you now, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a chance to show you a fully realized adult human being is underneath it all somewhere. If you help me find him.”
    Holly inhaled a breath that caught on the jagged edges of her heart, snagging and ripping and tearing her emotions. Every girl should have a Jerry McGuire moment in her life. She just never thought she’d get one with the modern day rake.
    Could she trust this grand gesture? Dare she? Dare she not?
    He searched her eyes for a moment and seemed to find what he was looking for in them. “You are the only real thing I have in my life. I’m not going to let you push me away this time.”
    His words electrified her. She didn’t know what to say or do. Except one thing. “I guess I need to go change my clothes so you can take me to your high school reunion.”
    The smile he gifted her with… God. She choked on a sob with the joy and awe of making the sexiest man in the world look like a kid just given his first ice cream cone. On tiptoe, she pressed her lips gently to each cheek and then laid a soft kiss to his lips.
    “I love you,” he whispered against her mouth, his arms tightening like bands around her, which was good because she was about to fly apart into a million pieces.
    There is only one first kiss after an I-love-you and Holly wanted to commit it to her memory with superglue and staples. The soft glide of lips meeting lips soon became a sweet suckle as they tasted what they had denied themselves for too long. Dane deepened the kiss, growling a low sound of satisfaction. Her bones melted more with each slant of his mouth as they traded promises without words.
    She became aware of a presence behind her and looked up to see Dane staring at it with one eye open. They slowed their kiss and broke away as all seven members of her book club squealed and clapped in the doorway.
    Trying to come down from that kiss was difficult. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears and her legs were like jelly. “Um,” she stated eloquently. “What should I wear?”
    Dane kissed her nose. “Considering the way I dressed, if you wouldn’t mind going extra smoking hot, I’d appreciate it.”
    She laughed. “Done.” She turned. “Ladies, book club is over. I need to get my sexy on.”
    Before she could step away, Dane snaked an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear. The sensation of his mouth made her loins quiver before she even had the chance to make sense of the message. “Do me one more favor. Skip the panties, too.”

Dear GND,
    My boyfriend thinks we should move in together, but I’m not sure what that means to him. Is shacking up a good idea?
    Signed,
    Closet Space
    Dear Closet Space,
    Ask him what that means to him. And tell him what it means to you. He may very well just be looking to cut expenses—and if that is