One night might have been the best idea he’d ever had. Bryce couldn’t keep his hands off her as the car took them back to her apartment. The moment they were in her apartment, they were on top of each other, tugging at hems, discarding clothes, until they were naked and in her bed.

At last.

He groaned at the sweet beauty of coming home with her, to her, inside her. This was the home he’d been seeking all these years. His wanderlust hadn’t been for a place—it had been for a person. This person. His person.

Her arms were tight around his neck, her legs gripping his waist. She held on so tight he thought she might never let go. His heart squeezed in his chest as he rolled on a condom and thrust inside her, her body responding to his like they’d been made for one another.

Later that night as he passed out beside her, he knew he’d finally found home.

The next morning, he was kicked out.

He woke to find a Kat with a disheveled head of hair staring down at him, gnawing at her bottom lip and looking so sexy it hurt.

But she also looked…vulnerable. Not weak. Never weak, he realized. But she looked uncertain and somewhat…afraid? He sat up straight, nearly knocking a mug of coffee out of her hand as she went to hand it to him.

“So, um, that was a fun night.” Her tone and her expression were anything but fun and she was looking anywhere but in his eyes.

Okay, what was he missing here? “Yeah, it was fun. So why do I get the feeling you’re glad it’s over.”

Then it clicked. Of course, how stupid of him to think that she’d forgive him so quickly. It might take a while but he’d get through to her eventually. “If you’re still angry with me because of the whole company buyout thing—”

“It’s not that.” She rolled her eyes. “Well, it kind of is, but not for the reason you think. I’m wrapping my head around the idea that that job may not have been the best position for me. I’ve been thinking about what I’ll do next and I’m not sure…”

She trailed off and he heard her sigh. “Sorry, I’m babbling. The point is…” She lifted her gaze and met his. “You have to leave.”

He blinked. And then he stared. Because, really, this was the first time he’d ever been kicked out of…well, anywhere. It didn’t immediately compute. “You want me to leave.”

She gave a short nod. “I’m sorry to be rude, but we did agree to one night.” Her voice had a slightly pleading quality to it that made him feel like he’d been kicked in the gut. It also finally got him moving out of the bed and tugging on the pair of pants that were lying next to the bed.

That was right. One night. That had been his awesome idea.

What kind of conceited ass thought he could win a girl over in one night? Especially when he’d made such a mess of things in the first place. “Just give me a little more time.” Oh crap, was that him talking? It sounded like a whiny little girl. But honestly, he didn’t really care. If he had to fall down on his knees and beg for another chance, he would.

But judging by the pained expression on her face, begging would only make this harder for her.

“Tell me why,” he demanded. He might not have the most experience with women—well, not with wooing the woman he wanted to marry, at least. But he was good at troubleshooting. That was one skill he could claim and right now maybe it would come in handy. “Tell me what I can do to make things right.”

She groaned and he almost felt bad for pressing the issue since it was clearly causing her pain. “You can’t fix it.”

“Why not?”

“Because…” she started before fading off.

“Because why?”

She inhaled quickly. “Because I’m not ready to fall in love.”

The words rang out between them as her cheeks turned pink and his heart leaped to get out of his chest.

“You love me,” he breathed.

She shook her head so quickly he knew he was right.

“Of course not, I barely know you.”

He grinned, too happy to care that she looked ready to kill him for his happiness. “I barely know you either but I know I’m in love with you.”

Holy shit, it felt so good to say those words out loud. His whole body felt lighter, his lungs filled with a deep breath like he hadn’t drawn air in years. Like he’d been waiting forever to get those words out, and to this woman. Right here, right now.

It had all been leading to this.

“That’s insane.” She shot up off the bed and turned her back to him as she picked up her hairbrush and ruthlessly pulled it through her curls.

“Is it?” he asked, moving toward her until he was standing just behind her. “Is it really so crazy? Think about it. Aren’t there some things in life you just know? Haven’t you ever started to walk down a dark alley and gotten a bad feeling so you turned back?”

She caught his eye in the mirror and pursed her lips. “That’s just common sense.”

“Okay, fine. Are you telling me you don’t have a friend or two who you’ve just clicked with. Where it felt like you’d been best friends forever even though you just met?”

She hesitated, her brush pausing midstroke before starting up again. It was brief but he knew he had her.

“Haven’t you ever just known how to sell something to someone because your instincts told you what made them tick?”

She shook her head, but not in answer to his question. By the emotions flickering across her face, he’d bet money she was having one hell of an internal battle.

“That’s different,” she said, spinning around to face him, her brush forgotten in her hand. “That’s friends and business. That’s not….” He watched with some amusement as she struggled to say the word.

“Love?” he suggested.

“Ugh.”

So, his soulmate was not a romantic. Good to know.

“You basically admitted it,” he reminded her. “You said you’re not ready to fall in love. Clearly you wouldn’t be thinking about love if you weren’t starting to feel it already.”

She gaped at him. “Would you please stop saying that word?”

“What, love?” he teased. “Love, love, love, love—”

“Oh my God, you’ve lost it.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her oversized T-shirt doing nothing to hide the fact that she was braless beneath the shapeless shroud. Not that he minded the T-shirt look—especially if she was wearing one of his shirts—but this woman deserved to be covered in the softest silks. He made a mental note to buy her lingerie. Eventually. One day. Not now, obviously, or he would probably be strangled with it.

“You need to go now.”

He looked for any sign of kidding but her face meant business and he sure as hell wasn’t going to push himself on her…any more than he already had. So he moved to the door with a sigh.

“I’m not giving up,” he felt compelled to tell her, just in case she got the wrong idea.

Her lips hitching to the side in a cute pucker was the only hint that she’d heard him.

He paused in the doorway to her bedroom. Dammit, he didn’t want to leave things like this. “Last night,” he started, not entirely knowing how he intended to finish. Last night was fun. Last night was just the start. Last night—

“It was one night,” she said. He watched with a sinking stomach as she stiffened, her chin tilting up in stubborn defiance. “You asked for one night and you got it. Now I expect you to honor your part of the bargain and leave me alone.”

He stared. Well, fuck. He’d seriously backed himself into a corner. If he pursued her he’d be breaking his own word. But if he didn’t…he’d be breaking his own heart.

Not to be too sentimental about it, but it was the truth. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d used the L-word. Love, love, love. He’d never used it before and part of his teasing repetition earlier had been because he’d been testing it out, savoring the feel of it on his tongue.

He was in love for the first time in his life.

And she was kicking him out.

Fuck.

She was gnawing on her lip, but she didn’t move and she didn’t say anything to make him think she might be wavering on her stupid decision to kick him out.

She liked him, at the very least. She might not be in love with him—not yet, at least—but there was no way she could deny this attraction, this chemistry.

He gave her one last look that may have bordered on pleading.

Nope. His woman was not budging.

With a sigh, he relented. “Okay, I’m going, but only because I said I would.”

She lifted one brow at that inanity.

“You know what I mean,” he grumbled. “I’ll leave, but I’m not happy about it.”

She gave a little shrug as if to say she didn’t care. But she did care…she just didn’t know it yet.

Or maybe that was just a desperate hope he was clinging to. But did it really matter? Whether it was insane optimism or the truth, it was the only thing he had to cling to so he embraced it wholeheartedly.

One hand on the doorjamb, he gave her a last lingering look, hoping and praying that giving her space was the best way to get her to see she wanted him too. It had to be since, at the moment, it was his only option.

Unless he could find some sort of loophole…

He shoved that thought to the side for a later time. Right now, the clock was ticking on his time in Kat’s presence. “I’m leaving,” he said again. “But I’ll always be here if you—” He cut himself off before he could say “need me.” She’d made it clear she didn’t need him, even though he clearly needed her. “If you want me,” he finished instead.

He thought he saw a flinch before she turned her head.

Biting back a sigh, he added, “Take care of yourself, Kat. And when you’re ready to listen to your instincts, I’ll be waiting for you.”