how long we’ve been kissing. I imagine my dad standing at the window like I was still a teenager, scowling at the boy who has me up late at night making out on the front lawn.
And I realize I feel young again. The thought brings hot tears to my eyes, and I dip my chin so Colton won’t see.
So much of my youth was wasted on grownup concerns and sorrows. I haven’t felt this light and free in years. It feels better than I care to admit.
I smile into him, hugging him and loving the way his scruffy cheek feels against mine.
“Okay, I really should get inside before this turns into something we don’t want the neighbors to see,” I say with a laugh.
“All the neighbors are asleep,” he whispers, kissing my neck and not letting go.
“You obviously haven’t met Mrs. Crosswell yet. She’s practically a vampire, I swear. She never sleeps. She just sits at her window and watches everything that goes on in this town,” I say. Still, I don’t pull away from his kisses. “Half the town will hear about this by noon.”
“Let them talk,” he says. Then he pulls away and raises an eyebrow. “Unless you want to just come over to my place and keep this thing going?”
I smack his shoulder. “And to think I actually believed you when you said you were willing to take it slow.”
He laughs and pretends to be hurt. “Hey, willing and wanting are two very different things.”
The thought of going any further than this spins my head around. If his kisses have me this mixed up, I can’t even think about what something more would do to me right now.
I’m definitely not ready for that just yet.
I lean in and kiss him softly. “I’m going inside,” I say. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.”
He takes my hand and kisses it softly. “Good night,” he says.
I smile so hard it makes my cheeks hurt. It’s nearly four in the morning, and as I pull away to walk toward the door, I realize I feel more awake and more alive than I have in years.
Colton watches as I put my key in the door and go inside. I offer up a simple wave and he smiles back, lowering his head as he lifts one hand in the air.
I close the door between us and lean against it, enjoying the way my heart’s still racing. I touch my fingers to my lips, hardly able to believe this is anything more than a dream.
And thinking that if it is, I don’t ever want to wake up.
Chapter Fourteen
I sleep until eleven and wake up pleasantly achy and sore from working so hard the night before. I still can’t believe how well things are going with the live music nights, and the thought of expanding and turning our place into a bar and restaurant is actually looking like a possibility.
And then I remember.
My fingertips fly to my lips, and I smile and duck deeper under the covers.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Colton kissed me last night.
This is so not in my plan of how to control my life, but somehow it happened, and I close my eyes and let the memory replay in my head.
I want to see him again.
I have that funny feeling in my stomach that says I’m nervous to be around him, and excited to see what happens next. It’s such a foreign feeling for me. Most guys don’t even register. They flirt, and I tell them to hit the road. It’s simple.
But things with Colton just got complicated.
How are we going to do this? Can we work together and date each other at the same time? Does he even want to date me? Or is this just a one-time that-was-fun type of thing?
My brain takes over, going through all the possibilities and every single consequence. Colton doesn’t exactly seem to be a steady relationship kind of guy. I’ve seen him with several different girls since I’ve known him, and he’s never with them for very long.
Do I really want to become just another girl in a long line of exes?
My heart sinks, and I close my eyes.
No, I really don’t. And what would happen when it was over? I don’t know that I could get involved with him and then go right back to working with him, watching him choose the next girl and take her out for a while.