Hayden Bennett likes kissing me.
Joy replaced hurt. Joy that made her want to throw herself into Hayden’s arms and admit she loved him.
Mike chose that moment to come up for air. He burped. His eyelids drooped. And then, he relaxed, falling back into Hayden’s lap as if the man were his own personal pillow.
That’s when Eve realized Hayden hadn’t admitted to anything beyond the appeal of her kisses.
Does he love me? Can he love me?
Eve wasn’t sensing love was in the air. He wasn’t leaning into her, or reaching for her hand, or touching her hair. Her brain tried to put that in context. And the result wasn’t pleasing.
He likes kissing me, but that doesn’t mean he loves me or ever could.
The reality of that logic tried to weigh her down. What was the point of stepping onto a kissing road if it didn’t lead to a destination filled with love?
“Evie?”
She stared at the remains of formula in the bottle, wondering what she should say. The truth?
That will only scare him away.
He’d gone on record as saying he didn’t believe in love. He’d only agreed to this marriage when she’d confirmed it was temporary. Loveless.
Hayden gently removed the bottle from her hand. “This is where you either tell me you enjoy kissing me, too, or…”
I can’t lie. Not to him.
Eve swallowed thickly, giving Hayden a tentative look. His was a face that was dear to her. Hard lines, firm mouth, sharp eyes. On the outside, he could look intimidating. But she knew he had a big heart. If only that heart was open to love.
I can’t tell him I love him. I’ll lose him.
But those three words… They wanted to come out.
Eve drew a deep breath. “I…”
“It’s okay.” Hayden took her hand, lacing his fingers in between hers.
Eve’s heart pounded. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he did have feelings for her.
“It’s okay to say the kisses we share are nice,” Hayden said slowly. “Even if we know we aren’t going to be each other’s happily-ever-after.”
Way to kill the mood.
Eve drew another much-needed breath, angling to face Hayden. “I don’t think we should be kissing if we don’t love each other.”
Hayden’s jaw dropped open.
They stared at each other. Eve couldn’t read the expression on his face, so she waited for him to react, to speak, to give her some kind of sign.
And waited.
Eve waited so long, she considered going back to bed.
Little Mike snored. Deeper in the barn, a horse nickered.
Despite the tension between them, or maybe because of it, Eve laughed.
After a moment, Hayden joined in.