Page 34 of The Maverick's Homecoming

No. She knew him too well and she wouldn’t believe him. And besides, dishonesty sucked.

So he laid it right out there. “Yeah, Kenz,” he admitted glumly. “At least the way I see it, that fire between us? It’s hotter than ever.”

She nodded…slowly, as though he’d said something much more profound than the simple truth. “We need to stop pretending that there is no fire. We’re not kids anymore. We can certainly behave like the adults we are.”

Where was she going with this? He’d thought she was just about to show him the door…and she probably was. Then again, she didn’tlooklike she intended to ask him to leave. He gritted his teeth and reminded himself not to get his hopes up.

Then she said, “As long as we both understand that we’re not going anywhere serious, well, what’s the harm?”

“What exactly are you getting at, Kenzie?”

“Uh. Well, I can’t help thinking that we could just, you know, play it by ear. Be friends and be honest, and if we end up in bed together…”

He counted to ten slowly as he waited for her to finish that sentence. When he got to ten and she just sat there, looking at him as though she’d made herself perfectly clear, he demanded, “Kenzie. If we end up in bed together,what?”

She frowned. “Maybe you’re not even interested in getting intimate with me right now—I mean, in my condition…”

“Kenzie, Iaminterested. Very, very interested.”

“Oh.” Bright flags of color stained her soft cheeks. “Well, good.” A nervous laugh escaped her. She gestured down at her round belly. “So this wouldn’t be a problem for you?”

“Nope. Not a problem. What else?”

She made a thoughtful sound. “We would both have to be sure not to get any ideas that it’s more than it is.”

That didn’t sound so good. “You’re going to need to clarify that for me.”

“I’m saying that if we do end up being lovers, we would, of course, enjoy it for as long as it lasts. But it couldn’t last all that long.”

“Why is that?”

“It would have to be over by the time my baby’s born.”

He took a minute to digest that bit of information. “And then what?”

“And then we try our best to remain friends, however it all works out.”

Well, that certainly sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. Supposedly, people enjoyed friends-with-benefits arrangements all the time. But how often did they stop with the benefits and still remain friends?

He didn’t really want to see the stats on that particular outcome.

She must have read his thoughts by the look on his face because she pinned him with a scowl. “You think it’s a bad idea, don’t you?”

He hedged. “I didn’t say that.”

“But you’re thinking it, aren’t you?”

“No.” It was only half a lie. Yeah, becoming lovers again could easily turn out to be a very bad idea. But any chance with Kenzie was better than no chance at all.

“Then whatareyou thinking, Finn?”

“I’m thinking, who knows how either of us will feel about things later? As for right now, though, I am thinking yes! Spending more time with you works for me in a big, big way.”

“You mean that?” Her eyes were gleaming now.

“A hundred percent,” he confirmed. “We’ll see where it goes and we’ll keep it honest.”

She gave a little cough and added almost sternly, “And we both understand that a ring and a walk down the aisle will not be happening.”