A full minute later, he wore clean clothes. Once he stuffed the hunting garb and red-smeared hand wipes into the duffel, he zipped it and gripped the handles.
His heart pounded in his chest as he left the grass, strode up the stone path, scaled the wooden steps to her porch, and stopped before her front door. He raised a hand to knock but hesitated. He glanced down at his clean clothes and the duffel. What was he missing?
A thought dawned. Swearing, he set the duffel down and zipped back to one of the fields he’d run through on his way here.
Seconds later, he once more stood before Emma’s door, this time with a bouquet of pretty wildflowers clutched in one fist.
Please let it have been real, he thought.
Raising his hand, he knocked, then picked up his duffel bag. If both hands were full, maybe he would be less tempted to touch her as soon as he saw her.
Footsteps padded across the floor inside. Locks clicked. The door swung open.
Then Emma stood before him.
His breath left him in a rush. She’s so beautiful.
She wore a colorful dress tonight that hugged her breasts and slender waist before it fell loosely to a few inches above her knees. No shoes adorned her feet. Instead, pink-painted toenails gleamed in the porch’s light.
Tilting her head back, she smiled up at him. “Hi.”
Joy filled him as he tightened his hold on the duffel. She was happy to see him! “Hi.”
Stepping out onto the porch, she rose onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and drew him down for a kiss.
Every voice in his head fell silent as Cliff dropped the bag and wrapped his arms around her, careful not to crush the flowers. Or Emma. She felt so good in his arms that he just wanted to squeeze her closer and never let her go. Instead, he reveled in the touch of her lips against his and poured all the love and affection he felt for her into the kiss.
She hummed her approval, tightening her arms a moment before she slowly withdrew and lowered her heels to the floor. She didn’t move away though. The front of her body still pressed into his, inciting fiery desire he could do nothing to cool. “I missed you today,” she said softly, a smile toying with the edges of her lips.
“I missed you, too,” he admitted with a smile, then offered her the flowers. “These are for you. Some of the blossoms have closed for the night, but they’ll open again in the morning if you put them in water.”
Her lovely features brightened. “They’re beautiful, Cliff. Thank you. That’s so thoughtful.”
Even that made him happy… that she would take pleasure in something as simple as wildflowers he’d picked for her instead of disparaging them. Back in college when he’d still been human, he’d dated a girl who considered anything short of a dozen roses an insult and frequently complained that he didn’t buy her nicer things than her friends’ boyfriends bought them.
Taking his hand, Emma turned and tugged him after her. “Come inside.”
Snagging the duffel bag, he followed her in and closed the door behind them. When he turned back to face the living room, he stilled.
The coffee table in front of the sofa bore a crisp white runner it hadn’t before. Two long, thin candles rose from silver stands on it and loomed over a pair of plates and neat place settings with carefully folded napkins beside them.
Since she had no dining table, Emma had set the coffee table for a romantic dinner for two… without the food, though the mouthwatering aroma of something pasta related filled the room.
He set the duffel down.
Emma watched him carefully as she toyed with a daisy-like flower. “I wasn’t sure how much time we’d have. Last night we only had a couple of hours and…” Shrugging, she sent him a sheepish smile. “I don’t know. I thought it might be rude to just pounce on you as soon as you walked in the door.”
“Hell no. Pounce away,” he retorted with a grin, drawing a laugh from her. “I nearly pounced on you, too. But this…” He motioned to the coffee table. “This is perfect, Emma. I love it.”
She beamed.
Cliff glanced at his watch. “We have three and a half hours.” He cast her a hopeful look. “Could we maybe have a date night?” He hadn’t been on an actual date in years and craved the normalcy of it.