away the chill. That’s what Aiden’s laugh had always done. Made me feel good. Happy. Content. Warm.
“I don’t know about fun, but at least we can spend some time together.”
Tilting my head, I teased him, “Why, Aiden O’Hara, I didn’t realize you longed for the company of a single mom and her son.”
He winked. “I long for your company, Willa. And Ben is just a bonus.”
Aiden
The moment the words were out of my mouth, I second-guessed myself, wondering if I should have been so up front. Willa was, after all, newly divorced and had Ben to think about. I didn’t want to push her or rush her into anything, but I quickly changed my mind when I saw her smile and look away. Before she did, I saw the blush on her cheeks.
Clearing my throat, I asked. “Did you want to drive with me or separately?”
For a moment, I thought for sure she was going to say that we should drive our own cars.
“If you don’t mind, we can go in my car, or we can move Ben’s car seat into yours.”
“Will it work in Dad’s old truck?”
She smiled again, and this time it reached those beautiful baby-blue eyes of hers. “Well, maybe we should take my car. If you’re okay with that.”
I nodded. “Of course, whatever is easier for you and Ben.”
A look I couldn’t read moved across her face before she focused straight ahead again.
We walked in silence for a bit before I said, “I always loved helping with the harvest.”
Willa glanced up at me and laughed. “I think you and Hunter ate more than you harvested.”
The memory of me and Hunter sitting against one of the older apple trees, a bushel at our feet and our stomachs bloated from eating too many apples, replayed in my mind.
“Do you know what I’ve thought a lot about while I was gone?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Tell me.”
“That apple pie your grandmother used to make. God, that thing was so good. My mouth waters just thinking about it. She never would share the recipe.”
Willa turned and walked backward as she looked at me, a wide smile on her face. “I have the secret family recipe, you know.”
I lifted my brows. “Do you now?”
“I do!” she said with a chuckle. “If you ask nicely, I might make it for you.”
As she went to turn back around, she tripped over a stick that had fallen from one of the trees. I reached out and grabbed her, pulling her to me before she fell. Her body pressed against mine and she gasped, either from the jolt of our bodies hitting, or from the contact and obvious heat we shared between us.
Our gazes met, and my heart raced in my chest.
“Are you okay?” I asked as her eyes drifted down to my mouth. When her tongue slowly swept over her lips, I heard a low growl come from the back of my throat.
Her whispered one-word reply was my undoing. “Aiden.”
Before I could think twice, I spun her around quickly, backed her up against a tree, and lowered my mouth to hers.
The kiss started soft and slow, until Willa whimpered into my mouth and clutched at my shirt, and I lost control. I pushed my body closer to hers, the feel of my hardness against her soft nearly driving me mad. The kiss deepened, and I knew I needed to pull away. Should pull away. Put distance between the two of us…but everything inside of me told me to hold her tight. To take what I had been wanting for so many fucking years.
Willa.
Willamina Turner was who I wanted. Who I had needed for as long as I could remember.
Her hands slowly wrapped around my neck while her fingers slid into my hair. All the nights I had dreamed of kissing her, longing to hold her, were nothing like the real thing. The nights I woke up with thoughts of her while I brought myself to pleasure. It was always her. It would always be her.
A throat cleared, and Willa immediately dropped her arms, pushed me back, and stepped away from the tree to face our unwelcome visitor.
“Catching up?” Lacy asked, holding Lilly’s hand and tapping her fingers against her pregnant belly. The smile on her face was evidence that she was pleased with what she had walked into.
Moving toward her sister, Willa asked, “Lacy, what are you doing here?”
Lacy’s gaze bounced from Willa to me and then back to her sister. “Lilly was