Honey Pie (Cupcake Club) - By Donna Kauffman Page 0,58
he’d mostly turned down, but that was arrogance, pride, and stupidity on his part. Something he didn’t learn until much later. Maybe he could save Honey the same hard learning curve.
“Okay, say that gets worked out,” she said. “What did you mean then? The visions and being back around people?”
He nodded. “Including people who knew your aunt Bea and, once they learn you’re a chip off the old visionary block, aren’t likely going to leave you to go about your business without tryin’ to get you tangled up in their own, same as she was.”
Honey surprised him by smiling that crooked smile and her voice was good and dry as she seemed to have found her footing again. “One minute you’re telling me to follow my dreams, the next you’re trying to warn me off?”
“I’m just walking through the paces, getting you to think it through. You can’t fix things until you know what things most need fixing.”
“Can I ask you something? Does it matter to you if I stay or go? I know it shouldn’t matter, you barely know me. But I know I have turned some parts of your life upside down, and now you’ve been dragged into the whole Frank thing. I could promise that from now on I’ll do my best to leave you out of it, to leave you alone . . .”
“But?” His heart was pounding and he didn’t want to examine the reasons behind it.
“But only if you want me to.” She smiled at him. “Don’t let this go to your head, but it turns out you’re a pretty good kisser. I realize I say that with little experience to back up my opinion, but I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t given some thought to trying it out again.”
He had no idea what he’d thought she was going to say, but that wouldn’t have even made the top ten list. His heart kept right on pounding, with a healthy punch of heat added to the mix. He should have run while he had the chance . . . because, foolish or not, it didn’t look like he was going any-damn-where.
His grin was slow, wide . . . and he took great pleasure in watching her pupils swallow up that all-seeing, all-knowing sea glass green. “Would this be for personal or scientific reasons?”
She tried to pretend he wasn’t having an effect on her, that she could say something and keep the conversation focused on her relocation woes. But the way her throat worked told him differently . . . as did the bit of roughness in her own voice when she asked, “You mean to test whether or not I’d have a vision the next time you make, um . . . personal contact with me?”
“I’m not a lab rat, sugar.”
“No, you’re definitely not that. Although I won’t lie and say I’m not curious . . . trepidatious, even, about the scientific part, as you call it.”
“Don’t go using big words and wearing those glasses at the same time, schoolmarm.”
Honey’s cheeks bloomed with color and her pupils bloomed with something else entirely. “I . . . might be a bit personally curious as well.”
“Only a bit?”
“Okay, at the risk of feeding your ego, a lot.”
“Sugar, the last thing you need to worry about is feeding my ego. You set me in my place often enough.”
“Do I?”
His grin deepened. “Handily.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Let’s just say I’m a little trepidatious.”
She giggled at that, something he hadn’t heard from her, and it did funny things to his insides. He leaned in closer.
“Dylan—”
“Just a little scientific discovery.” His gaze dropped to her mouth, and his own voice grew just a little gruffer. “To help you make your very important decision.”
“You’re incredibly generous,” she said wryly, but her gaze dropped to his mouth, too.
“That, too.” He leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. “Anything shaking, earth trembling?”
She sighed and her eyes drifted shut. “Only in a really good way.”
He chuckled at that, even as his body went rock hard. “Well then, the scientific part is over.”
He laughed outright at the way her lips formed a little pout, instantly.
“Aw sugar, if you only knew what that does to me, you’d use it on me every chance you got.”
Her eyes flew open, surprise in them, and he marveled at how he never knew which part of her would react to any one thing.
“Let’s try out the personal part, then,” she said, shocking him by leaning in and