Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,38

car, leaning in as far as he’s able.

“I don’t think I want to make that easy for you,” he says, his voice dipping low, making me all the more glad for the car between us to keep me from throwing myself at him and shoving my tongue back into his mouth.

“Ev,” I groan his name.

“Okay, okay.” He pushes off the car and takes off his hard hat, running his fingers through his hair and letting out a long breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t push you. If you need time, take as much as necessary. And if you decide you aren’t interested in anything else, I hope we can still be friends.”

He looks like a kicked puppy as he gets into my car. Fucking fuck.

Everett

Watson is quiet the entire drive to my place, and I do my best not to feel like too much of an idiot. I don’t know if I misread the signals because I was so desperate to believe my feelings were mutual, or if I messed up the kiss so badly he changed his mind. I discreetly sniff myself to check if that could be the problem. I smell a bit like a bar, but nothing too offensive.

Maybe the kiss was too aggressive? Too much tongue? Not enough? Fuck, I need to know where I went wrong. I glance over at Watson, his fists clenched around the steering wheel, his attention focused on the road ahead.

“Since you’re the first person I’ve kissed in ages, any notes?” I ask as casually as possible.

“Notes?” he repeats with amusement, lifting one eyebrow but keeping his eyes straight ahead.

“Yeah, you know, anything I’ve gotten a bit rusty on? Or something I could do better next time.”

I catch a smile starting to tug on the corner of his lips. “Pretty confident there’s going to be a next time?” he teases.

“Well, I hope to fuck that wasn’t the last kiss I’ll have in my life.” There was a time right after the divorce that I thought that was exactly the case, that I would be single for the rest of my life rather than put another woman through what I did to Val or push myself outside my comfort zone. But now? Now I’ve seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and there’s no way I’m going to close my eyes and stay in the dark any longer.

So what if I’m forty-four and haven’t been with a man? Don’t I deserve happiness just like anyone else?

“Oh duh, you didn’t mean with me,” Watson says, chuckling awkwardly.

“That’s kind of up to you,” I remind him as we pull into my driveway.

“It was an incredible kiss,” he says, parking the car and finally turning his head to look at me. “Probably in the top five kisses I’ve had in my life.”

My heart somersaults, and I grin, resisting the urge to whoop out loud.

“What’s the problem then?” I ask.

“I just don’t know if this is smart. I like you, and I know our friendship is new, but it’s important to me. I don’t want to make this decision while I’m drunk as hell on your lips. I need some time to weigh it out.”

“I get it. Take all the time you need.”

“Thank you.”

I unbuckle and make a move to get out of the car and then pause.

“So, top five? Any tips on snagging that number one spot?” I ask with a grin, my hand on the door handle.

“Oh my god,” Watson complains with a chuckle, pushing my shoulder. “Get out before I do something stupid like kiss you again.” I hesitate, tempted to push his resolve. “Go,” he insists again.

I sigh and pull the handle to open the door. I glance back at him one last time before getting out of the car. He idles in the driveway until I let myself in, and then I hear the crunch of his tires as he backs out and drives away.

Stepping inside the house, I kick off my shoes and then lean against the door. This time I don’t laugh or cry. I just let myself feel. The sensation inside my chest is too big, and absolutely incredible.

I pull out my phone and pull up Val’s contact info, hovering my thumb over the call button for a few seconds before switching over to text.

Ev: I had the most incredible night of my life. There’s this guy I’m crazy about, and I finally worked up the nerve to kiss him. I didn’t know anything could feel like