not think about that?”
He doesn’t answer, choosing instead to jump out and shut the door behind him. Looks like we’re going for a walk in the freezing fucking cold then.
He rounds the hood and helps me out of the car, pushing my hands away and checking that my coat is buttoned. Then, hand in hand, he leads me across the road and onto the lakeshore trail in Hyde Park, stopping at the fence separating the small cliff from Lake Michigan.
“Do you want me to freeze to death? Because this is a very successful method, if that’s what you’re going for.”
He chuckles. “I’m not trying to knock you off. Although if you’re cold, I’ll definitely enjoy warming you back up again.”
I roll my eyes at him before shooting him my perfected ‘you’re being an ass’ glare.
“Well, I am a doctor,” he says. “I have experience with life-saving procedures.” He moves in close, turning me until we’re chest to chest, my head tilted up to look at his gorgeous face. “It’ll involve a lot of touching,” he says, lifting his hands to cup my cheeks. “It would be done naked, of course, and I’d have to carry out a slow and very methodical examination of every single part of your body.” His nose drops to touch mine, his lips brushing against my mouth as he speaks while his arms travel down my sides and hook around my waist, cocooning me in close.
“Why are we out here, Cade? It would be a lot more romantic in the middle of the day when we can actually see what we’re looking at.”
“I wanted to stop and just take a moment to enjoy our ‘real.’”
How the hell can I not give him that?
We stand there in the ice cold evening air and just breathe each other in. In that moment, the zombie apocalypse could descend on the world and I’d be none the wiser.
“Do you think Cam liked me?” I ask after a few minutes pass.
Cade snorts and shakes his head from side to side slightly, his eyes never leaving mine. “He pretty much said he’s got your back for anything Mom and Dad related. I’d say that’s a guarantee that he likes you.”
“Good. I liked him, too.”
“I’m glad you two get along, but I knew you would. It’s the Carsen charm.”
I jerk my head back, narrowing my eyes. “The Carsen charm?”
“Yeah. Explains how I was able to get in your pants the first night I saw you.”
“Oh,” I say slowly. “You think that was what got you laid that night?”
A devilish grin grows on his lips, his tongue darting out to trace the edge of my mouth. “I’ll bite then. What exactly was it that got me in there with you?”
“Telling me I had nice shoes,” I whisper.
“That was my best pick-up line, I’ll have you know. I’d never used it before, and it was Thomas who told me to give it a go,” he replies.
I jerk my head back and burst out laughing. “You should know I’ll hunt you down if you leave me.”
He quirks a brow. “Are we talking about level-ten, bunny-boiler stalker?”
“Oh no, like level one hundred, totally certifiable, grade-A clinger.”
“Then I’ll one up you and say I’ll go all über-protective, alpha caveman on your ass and drag you back to my cave if you ever even consider leaving me.”
I giggle and drop my forehead to his chest, my shoulders shaking as I let his warmth spread through me. I meet his eyes and burrow my body in closer to his. “I think I might keep you forever, Cade Carmichael Carsen the Third,” I say with a huge grin.
“There’s no thinking required, Abi-Jane Cook, because I’m not going anywhere. If we can survive controlling parents, miscommunication, out-of-this-world sex that threatens to kill us every single time, and the reappearance of junkie ex boyfriends, as well as your brothers’ walking in on you giving me a hummer, I think we’re gonna do alright.”
“Okay. Can I just ask you to do one more thing for me?” I ask, my face blank. In all honesty, I think my cheeks are frozen.
“What?” he asks, his brows furrowed, his hands tensing on my waist.
“This is all nice and romantic, and I honestly love you for it, but I’m seriously going to die from hyperthermia if I don’t get warm soon, so can you please take me home and warm me up like you promised?” I whine.
He chuckles and pulls me in impossibly close before turning and walking