“But I don’t want to.”
“That I wasn’t thinking,” he said.
He was looking at her lips. They suddenly felt very dry, and she had to run her tongue over them.
“Is that an invitation?” he asked. His smile was as tender as his voice.
His cologne danced up her nose and whispered,I taste as good as I smell.
A kiss. Just one little kiss... would be like eating one salted caramel. She’d want more. She wouldn’t be able to stop.
“Zona.” It came out like a caress.
He moved closer and the heat between them bloomed.Salted caramels are good. So are kisses.
Don’t do it!
Too late. Those big strong arms of his had already slipped around her. His lips touched hers and lightning struck. She felt the bolt all through her body and it felt great. Her hands slipped up his back and held on. He was so solid, like a human wall. A wall of protection?
Or would that wall fall on her and crush her? What on earth was she doing?
She pulled away. She was stupid drunk on him. “I am out of my mind.”
“That kiss about drove me out of mine,” he said. There was that smile again. It gave her an emotional aftershock.
“My daughter doesn’t want me to see you.”
“Her, too, huh? And here I thought I only had to win over your mom.”
“Bree doesn’t want me to get hurt again. And she’s tired of dealing with the emotional fallout when everything crumbles.”
“It’s not your daughter. You don’t trust yourself, do you?” he said.
“You’re right. I don’t. And I still don’t know you well enough to trust you.”
He ran a hand along her arm, bringing every nerve to life. “Yet. Let’s work on fixing that. I get that you don’t want to be burned. I don’t either, so we’ll take it slow.”
As in no more lightning bolt kisses. There was a sad thought. But it was a smart one. Once things got physical, she’d be tethered. She’d never want to leave.
Maybe she already didn’t.
“What do you say?”
She hesitated. What did she say?
“I know what I should say.”
“What do you want to say?” He didn’t give her time to answer. “How about I pick you up from work tomorrow and take you to lunch? You have to eat.”
Yes, she did. “All right,” she said. It was only lunch.
Louise and Martin were camped out at the dining room table playing cards when Zona came back in the house. The drapes were pulled to the side, and the window framed a perfect view of Alec’s truck.
Zona and Alec had been standing on the passenger side of the cab, but how visible had they been? What had Louise seen? Zona felt like a teenager again, worried that she was about to be busted for sneaking into the house after curfew.
Louise laid down a collection of cards. “Gin,” she announced. Then turned her attention to Zona and demanded, “Where did you go?”
Martin was pretending to consider his cards, but the slight flush on his cheeks was a sure sign that he was feeling uncomfortable.
