In a move that surprised her all the way down to her toes, he stood up, pulled her to her feet, took her seat, and pulled her down onto his lap. Not that she didn’t go willingly but that didn’t mean he hadn’t shocked the hell out of her. Or that she didn’treallylike it a lot more than she should. One of his arms wrapped around her waist and he took her hand in his, settled them both on her lap.
“You. You’re what’s appealing about all of this. The way you talk, the way you brush off compliments but give them freely. The way your hair curls around your face and your eyes light up when you’re speaking about something you care about. The fact that you didn’t carewho I was or what my last name was when you stepped closer to me the other night after you realized Carolyn’s interest made me uncomfortable. When you talk about your parents, your tone changes, gets sad, and it makes my heart hurt. There’s a lot to like, Lexi. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re a beautiful, funny, caring woman with a work ethic I admire.”
He trailed a finger over her hand. “And I’ve never had a kiss knock me on my ass the way yours did, if I’m being honest.”
Lexi felt like her insides were trembling. She put her hand to his cheek, rubbed the barely there stubble, letting it rasp under her thumb.
“You’re a very strange man, Will Grand. I like you back and can promise absolutely nothing. This will probably end badly. Mostly for you because no one knows who I am.” Her hand moved down, her fingers trailing along the neckline of his shirt, making his eyes go impossibly dark. “But I’m in if you are.”
They moved in tandem, his hand coming up to cup the back of her neck, her head dipping to meet him halfway. The second their lips touched, her other hand went to his neck and she pulled him in closer, falling into the kiss in a way she hadn’t known was possible. Life changed in seconds. She’d forgotten some of them could be good.
His mouth moved over hers like he knew exactly how to kiss her to drive her crazy, like he knew how long it’d been since she’d been kissed or touched this way. The answer was never. Never like this. The slant of his mouth, the pressure of his hand moving down over her back, urging her closer, his tongue touching hers, retreating, touching again. Teasing and tormenting in the most delicious way she’d ever experienced. What the hell had she been doing all those other times if just kissing could be like this?
Time spun out and she was drowning in a completely new way. A way she was happy to sink down into. His other hand cupped her cheek with a softness that contradicted the ferocious feelings inside ofher. Lexi gave him back everything she had. Apparently, she’d been storing up, waiting for this moment, with this man.
He pulled back, whispered her name, a plea full of reverence as his fingers journeyed, brushing over her face. She’d lost so much, and in this moment, it felt like he’d found her.
His lips traced over her cheek, along her jaw, his teeth nipping at the spot where her shoulder met her neck, then soothing the sting with his tongue. His mouth came back to hers, deepening the kiss and softening it at the same time so it became almost leisurely. Seductive, decadently sweet and slow. When he pulled back again, she was grateful the high-back chair and its position pointing away from others kept this moment between only them. Lexi’s breath was as unsteady as Will’s and both of their gazes were hooded.
“Jesus Christ,” Will whispered.
“I’ll say.” It took effort to form words, to think of anything but kissing him again. She really wanted to kiss him again. And again.
Will pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose and Lexi closed her eyes, hoping this moment stayed with her no matter what lay ahead. He whispered her name again so she opened her eyes, stared into his.
“I’m in.”
Thirteen
She couldn’t call him a unicorn because, let’s face it, unicorns were majestic and pretty. Will was neither of those things. He was rugged, in a refined sort of way. Sexy, handsome, and kind. Genuine and funny. He’d kissed the life back into her, walked her to her car, and made plans with her for the weekend.
He wasn’t pretty but he might just be a unicorn. Lexi’s body still buzzed like it was infused with static electricity. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like if they actually slept together. Which she definitely wanted to do. Maybe should have suggested it for tonight. If they made it physical, maybe she could focus on that piece and lock down the pesky emotions wanting to surface. She could do this. Date him, have some fun, and put her life back together. As she drove, she passed her old high school track. Without meaning to, she pulled over, got out of the car. Walking onto the grassy hill, she stood there staring down at the ovals that had once ruled her life. Determined it. Shaped it. Defined it.
She sat on the grass, thinking about where she thought she’d be right now. Twenty-five, almost twenty-six, she never thought she’d be living at home. Though the strange thing was, if her dad hadn’t died, she wouldn’t have found out about his debt, wouldn’t have been ableto save the house. At this point, she wasn’t sure it was a good thing she had. But her mom loved the connection to him.
Lexi pictured herself running this track, hanging out on the bleachers with friends, amping some up, talking others down. A smile ghosted her lips. She’d had a race the weekend her dad died. Obviously, she never ran it but she didn’t realize until this moment that she hadn’t run since. Will was the first thing to make her feel alive since she’d given up running, something she hadn’t really intended to do. Lexi stood up, brushed off her butt, and walked back to her car. As she drove, she reminded herself that Will wouldn’t always be there. But running could be. And tomorrow morning, she was going to let it back into her life.
Charged with pent-up energy from Will, gratitude for her friend, and worry for her mom—she definitely shouldn’t tell her about the engagement but she’d be happy Lexi had a “boyfriend”—her body and brain felt like they were spinning in two different directions. Her phone buzzed with incoming texts but she ignored them, too antsy to focus. Letting herself into the house, she forced deep, slow breaths. Maisie would see through her in seconds, but Lexi wanted to at least attempt the appearance of chill.
When she arrived at the top of the stairs, the first thing she saw was her mom curled up, as usual, in the dark-gray recliner they’d had as long as Lexi could remember. A worn but cozy flannel throw was tucked around her lower half. Alexa Martin’sBetter Than Fictionwas open on her chest, the back flap fluttering with Gwen’s exhales.
“Hey,” Maisie said, coming in from the kitchen with a mug between her palms.
“Hey, yourself. Thank you for this.” Lexi wasn’t sure why but a small part of her felt like crying. Her eyes even watered.
“How was it?”
Gwen stirred so Lexi took the book, set a bookmark in it, and put it on the side table. When she turned back, Maisie was grinning like anovereager kid. Lexi was pretty sure that if her friend weren’t holding a hot drink, she’d be bouncing.
“Was it good? Was it amazing? Did your bones melt? When’s the wedding?”
A laugh-snort escaped Lexi as she walked past her friend to the kitchen. “We didn’t do anything. Well, we kissed.” Damn, they’d kissed. That alone was better than anything she’d experienced in years.
The water was still warm in the kettle so Lexi thought about the details of her evening while she made herself a cup of decaf tea.
“Start with the good stuff,” Maisie said when Lexi was quiet.
“He wants to date me so he doesn’t think there’s any point in refuting the engagement. In fact, he said it’ll keep his family from bugging him.” She turned, leaned against the counter, smiling when she saw Maisie eyeing her expectantly. “The kissing. Good God, I felt like I could combust from that alone. Kissing him is better than anything I’ve ever experienced. He wants to go out this weekend. I honestly don’t know if I can handle more.”But I want to.
