Say You're Mine: An Enemies to Lovers Romance (Southport Love Stories Book 4), Sarah Brooks [urban books to read .txt] 📗

shoes off when I came home. Nothing grossed me out more than people wearing shoes in the house. So, after the first time he came over, he took them off every single time without my ever having to ask him to.

Edgar came bounding out of the kitchen, barreling straight for Robert. He went up on his hind legs, planting his giant paws on Robert’s chest, bathing his face in dog spit. Robert didn’t shove him off or make a face. He scratched behind my dog’s ears and gently lifted him down, still giving him a good fuss. “You’re such a good boy,” he cooed as if to a baby.

My heart melted watching this gorgeous man lather my dog with attention. You could learn a lot about a person by the way they treated animals. But I had yet to see Robert be anything but kind to everyone and everything. He was one of those rare breeds of men who were actually good by default.

“Come on in. I was going to attempt to make dinner but then I realized what I was considering. So instead, I gathered up all the take-out menus in my house to offer you a wide variety of options.” I led him into the kitchen and waved my hand over the table in a flourish where three paper to-go menus lay. “You have Chinese. Or you have Italian. And if you’re feeling crazy, there’s even Thai.”

Robert laughed but then made a show of seriously considering his options. “I don’t know. This is a bit of an overload. Why don’t we have all three?” he suggested.

I smiled. “My kind of guy.”

Robert’s eyes met mine and the air around us began to heat. Robert and I had been spending time together quite a bit recently. It started when Adam and Jeremy hired me to revamp the law firm’s website. Robert had become very “hands-on” with the project, spending a lot of time with me going over what their online presence should look like. I hadn’t minded though. Because we most often talked about all sorts of things that had nothing to do with why I was there in the first place.

I quickly discovered that we had a ton of things in common. We both loved beer and hated liquor. We shared a deep obsession with tacos and old kung fu movies. He adored dogs and preferred to spend his evenings watching Curb Your Enthusiasm reruns, which just so happened to be my all-time favorite show. It seemed that, at least on the surface, we were a match made in heaven.

“So, what’s in the bag?” I asked, poking the colorful tissue paper.

Robert’s cheeks turned red. I had figured out that it was a sure sign he was feeling nervous about something. His neck would start to flush, and it would spread upward to his face. It was adorable. “It’s nothing. Just a little something for your house.”

“Ooh, let me see.” I took the bag from his hand. I pulled out a gorgeous handmade wool blanket. It was thick and warm and perfect for snuggling on the couch. I lifted my eyes to meet his and he still looked a little embarrassed. “It’s gorgeous,” I said sincerely. “And incredibly thoughtful.”

“It’s so you can stay warm without having to go back to your room to get a blanket.”

My throat felt uncomfortably tight as I will my eyes not to tear up like a baby.

A couple of weeks ago when Robert had come over to watch a movie I had complained of being cold. I had gone back to my bedroom and brought out my comforter to curl up in. Robert hadn’t said anything, but he’d obviously cataloged it away.

I held the blanket to my face. “It’s awesome.” I reached out and pulled him toward me. I wasn’t the hugging kind of girl but damn it, I wanted to hug him.

“Thank you for being an amazing friend,” I told him, once the hugging felt too close, too intimate and we both pulled away.

Robert tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear, his eyes soft. “You make it easy,” he said softly. We were standing close. So close. I could feel his breath on my face.

Before I could talk myself out of how stupid I was being, I curled my hand around the back of his neck and pulled his face down to mine. Our lips touched and the contact was electric. I heard his sharp intake of breath as I opened my mouth, and he slipped his tongue inside.

Our kiss began sweet and gentle but quickly became wild and passionate. Man, the guy knew how to kiss. He nibbled at my bottom lip. He curled his body into mine, his hands everywhere. He moved like he knew what he was doing.

We made out like teenagers in the middle of my kitchen and just as I started to wonder how far this was going to go, Edgar nosed his way between us, snorting loudly.

We broke away from each other with a laugh. “Way to be a mood killer, buddy,” I groaned, rubbing the dog’s head. He protruded his tongue in a doggie smile as he looked up at us.

Robert ran his hand down his face and seemed to be having trouble getting his breathing under control. I noticed the bulge in his pants and felt ridiculously proud of myself for getting him so worked up.

Because I liked him. I really liked him.

And I should have known better.

**

“They asked me to come too, but I’ll raincheck,” I said, breaking off the familiarity our conversation was easing into.

Robert frowned. “That’s not why I was asking. I only wanted to see if you’d be there. I don’t want you to not come. I’d like it if you were there.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” My phone pinged in my