She moved right up in front of him and said, “Much.” Then she slid her fingers into his hair, right past his ears, until they met at the back of his head, and then she kissed him. He jerked in surprise, but then his mouth softened, and his breath kind of whispered out of him. He tilted his head a little, moved his lips against hers. He moaned all soft and raspy. He closed his arms around her waist, pulling her between his legs until her chest was up against his, and so was everything else.
He was cupping her head with one hand, and the other was moving down her back, lower, toward her butt, and then he clasped one cheek and pressed her closer.
She was so surprised she broke the kiss, opened her eyes, had to back away to bring him into focus. And then she said, “I knew it! I knew you felt something for me.”
“No. Nonononono, this ain’t right. It can’t happen.” He rose, pushed a hand through his hair, and paced away from her. “You’re Harrison’s baby sister, Lily. You’re family.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I can’t…you know…start somethin’ up with you. It’d be disrespectful. Harrison would hate me, probably try to kick my ass, and I’d have to let him. And Maria! She’d never forgive me.”
“For what, exactly?”
“For breakin’ your heart, obviously.”
She said, “Oh,” and raised her eyebrows. He turned to look at her, so she went on. “So you’re pretty sure that’s how it would go, then? You, breaking my heart?”
“Well, yeah. I’m not gonna stay here long term, you know. I have to get back on the road. My career?—”
“Yes, of course, your career.”
“So nothin’ can come of it.”
“Right.”
“It would just be a fling. And I can’t have a fling with Maria’s husband’s sister.”
“Because it would be disrespectful,” she said.
“Yes.”
“And you don’t find it at all disrespectful that what I want hasn’t even entered into your thinking?”
He opened his mouth, closed it again.
“My body, my choice.”
He shook his head like a dog shaking off water. “Well, no, that never occurred to me. I guess I just assumed you’d want…more.”
“Maybe I will. Or maybe I’ll want less. Hell, maybe I’m the one who’ll break your heart.” She picked up her tool belt from where she’d left it on a wall hook. “I’m done for the day. I’ll send you my notes. Do whatever you want with ‘em.”
She went right out the door into the bright, midday Texas sunshine, got into her car, and left without looking back.
As she went, she passed a big brown car that had to have been from the seventies, parked on the side of the road. It was an odd place to just sit, so she tried to see inside as she passed. The guy behind the wheel was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place him. He had a shaggy blondish beard, sunglasses covering his eyes, and his hair was apparently pulled back.
Then she was rounding a bend and he was out of sight behind her.
On the way home, she relived every moment of that kiss. The way Ethan had wrapped her up tight in his arms, the way he’d held her pressed against him from collar bone to hip bone and everywhere in between.
Her stomach knotted up all over again with the memory.
Okay, okay, this was not a bad thing, she thought. Even though she had broken her own rule, and that wasn’t really fair, she’d learned the truth. He obviously wanted her as much as she wanted him. That was progress, she supposed. Toward what, remained the question.
The thing was, they had to work together, for a little while at least. And her bold move, while proving the attraction between them was real and reciprocal, had also ensured things would be awkward. She was going to have to come up with a solution for that.
Chapter Eight
Ethan didn’t know quite where he’d gone wrong, so he was clueless about how to make it right. Anyway, it was no fun working on the place without Lily. He didn’t even want to buy paint or order office furniture without her input, since she’d be working there as much as he would. More, really. Because he was only going to be around long enough to get the place open. She’d be the one running it for him while he chased his country music dream as far as it would go—providing he didn’t alienate her entirely before then.
