quarters, but we managed. Now imagine how much rolling around we could do in a nice, king-sized bed.”
“I definitely can’t wait to shop now.”
“Good. How about tomorrow night?”
She pulled her phone out of her bag, swiped and studied then looked up at him. “It turns out I’m free tomorrow night.”
“Good. Consider it a date.”
“A shopping date,” she said with a grin. “And if you want my furniture expertise, I’ll expect dinner, too.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course you will.”
They ate their food, then packaged it all up in the insulated bag and drank another glass of wine. Or, rather, Erin had another glass while Jason had water.
“Thank you for this,” she said. “It was exactly what I needed.”
“I’m glad you came.”
They took everything to the truck and put it in the back, then Jason locked it up and they took a stroll around the lake, watching the sun set. Jason hadn’t even held her hand, which Erin found curious.
She stopped midway through their trek to face him. “Are you mad at me?”
“What? No. Why would you ask that?”
“You haven’t hugged me or kissed me or held my hand. You’ve mostly kept your distance, physically.”
“Because last time we were together you said you had a lot on your mind, and I got the idea you wanted some distance.”
“Oh.” He was right about that. She had been throwing off some signals that night. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be sorry for feeling how you feel. You have that right.”
He always managed to say the perfect thing to make her feel better. She slid her hand in his, and just that contact made her whole world tilt normal again.
She leaned into him. “I don’t need distance. I need you.”
He drew her close and kissed her. Right there on the sidewalk, with people walking and jogging past them. She didn’t care, not when his mouth was on hers, his body touching her, and all that heat and muscle pressed to her. She wanted to rub herself against him in the most inappropriate way for a public place. Instead, she gripped his biceps and held on while he made her dizzy with lazy, slow kissing.
She pulled back. “Shouldn’t we take this somewhere a little more private?”
“Why? No one’s paying attention to us.”
She looked around to discover he was right. People were going about their business. Walking and running by, sitting by the lake, and not a single person was staring at them. Maybe she was the one feeling exposed. “I guess you’re right.”
He ran his thumb over her cheek. “You feel self-conscious letting me kiss you on the sidewalk.”
“Maybe a little.” Though she’d lost herself in that kiss for a few minutes, not caring where they were. She’d fallen deep into the feel and taste of him and forgotten where they were. Something that happened far too often with Jason.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s walk.”
They set off on the walk again, but this time Jason took hold of her hand. Her heart tumbled at the gesture.
By the time they had made their way around the lake and back to the parking lot, the sun had almost set, leaving a beautiful orange glow on the horizon.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Sure.”
She thought he’d take her to his place. That kiss had warmed her up considerably, and she was ready to show him she’d moved past her indecision. So she was surprised when he exited the highway not toward his place, but toward the vineyard.
He pulled up in front of the house and got out to come around to her side. She fought back her disappointment and smiled at him when he opened her door.
“Can I walk you up?”
“Sure.”
He took her hand again and walked up the steps, stopping before they got to the door. He turned her to face him. And then he tugged her close, wrapping his arms around her.
“I wanted to take you home with me, but I’ve got a complicated surgery that starts early tomorrow morning. If I brought you home with me, I’d want to take my time with you, spend all night making love to you.”
Her nerve endings went a little haywire as he then went into descriptive detail of all the things he’d do to her.
She sighed. “I’ll hold on to that until we have some time.”
“I’m off this weekend.”
She grinned. “That’s very good news, because I have a few ideas of my own.”
His brow arched. “You do, huh?”
“Yes.” She lifted on her toes, then whispered a few things that popped into her