Page 85 of Defend Her Heart

“Oh, fuck. Connor. Fuck, fuck,fuck.”

Her movements begin to slow, but hearing my name fall from her lips is all it takes to push me over the edge. I find my release with her and hold her in place, afraid she might move before I’m ready.

Avery’s head drops to my shoulder. I’m still trying to catch my breath when I hear laughter. At first it’s quiet, but then she’s full on cackling into me.

I gently push her back so I can see her face, but keep her on my lap.

“What’s so funny?”

She pushes her sweat-soaked hair out of her eyes and then shakes her head. “We just dry humped like we were back in high school.”

“Just going back to our roots, I guess.”

We both laugh now and her hair falls back in front of her. This time I’m the one moving it out of her face. I keep my hand on the back of her head and lean down to kiss her softly.

This time when she pulls back I see something in her eyes that I didn’t know I was even missing.

Hope.

And it hits me harder than anything else tonight.

I’m finishing up an appointment with my cardiologist and I’m not sure I heard anything he’s been saying for the last five minutes. All I can think about is being in Connor’s lap yesterday and dry humping him like I was seventeen again. Except this time with him wassomuch better than anything I remember.

After making a mess of our clothes, we put the muffins in the oven and took a shower. Separately. The entire time I was in mine, I kept glancing at the door hoping he’d barge in and take me against the tiled wall. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and neither did anything else for the rest of the day or night.

We did, however, agree to slow things down. We may be fake married but Connor wants to take me out on an official date. He’s picking me up from this appointment as soon as he’s done with practice.

“Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any other concerns.” Dr. Lang grabs his notepad and moves to leave the room.

Somehow I manage to mutter a “thank you” before he’s gone, so at least it seems like I was payingattention. I hope.

I grab my purse and pull out my phone to see that Connor texted me already. Heat blooms on my cheeks as I swipe my screen to see what he said.

Connor

I’m on my way. Can’t wait to see you.

The text was sent less than ten minutes ago, which means he should be here soon. The excitement and anticipation of our date causes my feet to move at an embarrassing speed. I must look like one of those mall walkers with how fast I’m going but I don’t care. Connor refuses to tell me what he has planned for us today and I want to get this show on the road.

I take the elevator down to the main floor. The doors don’t immediately open, so I shove my finger into the button, as if that will make it go any faster.

“Come on, come on.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date. It’s been an even longer time since I’ve been on a good one. When I was dating Bryan, he’d take me out, but it was always an elaborate ruse, which at the time I thought was special. I realize now it was just him showing off his money, and it makes my stomach turn thinking of how easily I fell for it.

Connor, on the other hand, has always put thought into our dates. Yeah, we were kids, but even as a teenager Connor was more romantic than anyone I’ve dated as an adult. His dates always felt so personal, which is why I’m so excited today.

The doors finally open, and my breath hitches the moment I see him. He’s dressed casually in black jeans and a green shirt, but somehow he still looks better than most men do when they’re dressed to the nines. With his hands in his pockets, the muscles of his arms are on full display as I walk toward him. His eyes light up as soon as he spots me and he pushes off the wall to meet me halfway.

“Hi,” I say shyly when I pause in front of him.

“Hi, yourself.” His voice is teasing and it calms my nerves slightly. “How was your appointment? I hate that I couldn’t be here today.”

His concern and genuine interest causes my heart to swell. “It went well. Nothing new to report.”

He flashes me a smile. “Good. You ready?”

I nod, and we walk toward the exit of the hospital. Once we’re outside, he grabs my hand without hesitation, and I interlock our fingers on instinct. It’s such a little thing, but holding his hand feels so natural, I know the meaning behind that is bigger than it seems.