They climbed the stairs and stood for a moment. He gathered his thoughts. His words.“So…”
She looked at him expectantly.
The heck with wavering.
He reached out and gently touched her chin, tilted her face up, leaned down, and kissed her. Her hands grasped his shoulders, and he pulled her closer.
He finally pulled back, searching her face. Her face that held a slightly bemused look.
“I…wasn’t expecting that.”
“But it was okay?”he asked hurriedly.
“It was more than okay. It was really nice.”She grinned, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him.
He took her into his arms and they stood like that, kissing and holding each other. Minutes slipped by, and still, they stood together in the moonlight.
“I—I should probably go in.”She finally pulled back slightly.“Would you…would you like to come in for a bit?”She absentmindedly ran her fingers over her lips. He didn’t think she even noticed she did it.
“I’d like that a lot.”He still wasn’t ready for the evening to end. And if he could get another kiss from her, so much the better.
She opened the door and led him inside, through the front room, and into the kitchen where she stopped suddenly and he ran into her, surprised by her unexpected pause.
Emily was sitting at a table with a man.“Mom, look, Dad came to town to see us.”
Livy stiffened in front of him.“Hello, Brett.”
“Hey, Livs.”
Livs? He had his own pet name for her?
“And guess what?”Emily’s eyes shone, and she jumped up from the table.“Dad’s moving to town.”
His world tilted off-axis. How could it be that the first time he kissed this woman—the first time he felt like they were on track for something more—that her ex came back into the picture?
“I should go.”He took a quick step back.
Livy turned to look at him.“I…yes…probably.”
He’d wanted Livy to assure him that no, he should stay. So much for that hope. It shattered with her words.
“I’ll walk you out.”She led him back to the front door and opened it.
He stood in the doorway, not knowing what to say. Wanting to kiss her goodbye but feeling awkward doing that with her ex sitting in the next room. The ex that still called her by her pet name, Livs.
“I’ll see you soon,”he said.
She stood and searched his face for a moment, then nodded.“Yes. Okay.”
He turned and walked away.
Yes?
Okay?
What did that mean?
Chapter 21
