Sweet Harmony (Harmony Falls #1) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,84

you’re filling a cavity or doing a root canal,” the doctor said with a grin.

“I’ll make it work,” Connor said.

“Maybe start off with half-days,” the doctor said.

“Yeah, sure, okay.” He sounded giddy, but hell, he was giddy. His knee wasn’t wrecked.

He glanced at Kira again. Her face was radiating happiness and she gave him a genuinely excited smile. She was nearly as happy as he was about his knee. He studied her face for a moment. God, she was fucking gorgeous and he’d screwed up royally with her. Once his cousin’s wedding was done, she’d walk away, and he’d never get to touch her again.

His hand tightened on hers and worry flickered across her face when she looked at him. “You okay?”

“I’m good,” he said.

“You sure?”

He nodded and she smiled at him. “Let’s get out of here and celebrate.”

* * *

“This doesn’t feel like much of a celebration.” Kira took the empty plates to the dishwasher and loaded them in as Connor collected the empty food containers into a shopping bag and crutched his way to the garbage can. “Is your knee hurting? Is that why we ordered to go instead of going into the restaurant to eat?”

She gave him an anxious look as Connor joined her by the sink, propping his crutches against the counter and leaning his hip on the counter to support his weight. He shook his head. “No, it feels fine. In fact, this is the best it’s felt all week.”

“That’s good,” she said.

Connor was standing so close to her that the heat of his body was making her feel too warm and too aware of the sudden achiness in her lower body. She wanted him so much.

“I’m really happy that your knee is only bruised,” she said.

“Me too.” He was studying her face and she took a step back to avoid standing on her tiptoes and planting one on his mouth.

Disappointment flashed in his eyes as well as regret, and she blurted out the truth. “I’m sorry, I just – I want you a lot and it’s hard to be this close to you without throwing myself at you.”

“I want you too,” he said in a low voice. “It’s all I can think about.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

She shuffled closer and he slid his arm around her waist before bending his head and resting his forehead against hers. He inhaled deeply, his warm hand cupping her hip. “I want to sleep with you, I do, but I -”

“I saw Daniel last night,” she said.

He tensed against her, raising his head to study her. “Where?”

“He was waiting outside for me when I got home last night.”

Was it wrong that she got a little thrill from the jealousy that crossed Connor’s face?

“So, he’s stalking you now?”

She shook her head. “No, he just wanted to talk. He was upset because we weren’t hanging out as much.”

His body was now so stiff, it was like hugging a board. “Well, I guess that’s good, right? You want him to be jealous.”

“He was only jealous because I’m not fawning over him anymore,” she said.

He didn’t reply and she rubbed her hand over his chest. “What I said on Wednesday night about only sleeping with you to gain experience? It wasn’t true.”

“No?” His voice was guarded, not quite willing to accept what she was saying yet.

“No, it wasn’t,” she said. “I do think my virginity is special, and maybe that’s silly, but it’s how I feel. It’s important to me and I want to give it to someone who knows that. I want to give it to you because you understand what it means to me and because it’s special to you too.”

“What about Daniel?” he said.

“I don’t want Daniel to have it anymore. In fact, I don’t want Daniel at all.”

“Since when?” he said.

“Since I realized that what I want and need is someone who is interested in me for more than just what I can do for them. Someone who wants to get to know me better, who looks out for me, who makes me laugh and accepts me for who I am. Someone like you, Connor.”

“Kira, I’m not… I’m not always great at being in a relationship. I can be moody sometimes and closed off.”

She shrugged. “I’ve never even been in a serious relationship before. I might suck at it too. I’m a little needy occasionally and I’m still struggling with my parents’ deaths. I take medication for depression and I have twice monthly therapy appointments, but some days are