By then he had already taken a step closer. Several steps closer even. Leaning towards her, he watched as she gazed up at him, full of questions in those gorgeous blue eyes. “Shut up and kiss me,” he said with a smile. “No thinking. No arguing. Just kiss me.” He pulled her into his arms, and they had their first kiss. He had slipped past her defenses for one moment. He hoped that was enough. If he could just spark some emotion from little miss practicality, they might stand a chance. That was what he wanted…a chance.
Hours later, she had finished prepping and baking. The actual cooking of the meal would be done on sight. She felt ready. She felt calm. She felt flushed. She had been ever since The Kiss. Since then, she only had to look at him to turn many shades of pink again.
The cooking and prepping had gone so quickly while she considered The Kiss. Through the years she’d had her fair share of kisses. Though she had pretty much vetoed them and spent a lot of time talking about the intimacy versus the physical as she cited why it bothered her less to have sex than it did to kiss, she alone knew the real reason why. It was Adam. It had always been Adam. She had seen him kiss a girl once, under the kissing ball at a holiday birthday party. It had taken that girl a long time to recover. She stumbled some, struggled to find her footing and catch her breath. Truth was, he wasn’t dating her, he didn’t love her, and he might not have even known her. She had just been fortunate enough to get caught under the mistletoe.
Oh how Cammie had envied her. After that, even though she hadn’t experienced his lips on hers, she compared in her mind. Every male who kissed her just came up lacking. No one made her breathless or stumble. Most made her want to wipe her mouth. A few made her want to brush her teeth…with bleach.
It was no wonder that she wouldn’t let Adam kiss her when they had sex. After all, what if she had built it up so much in her mind that even Adam couldn’t compare to…Adam? Only, today, she had been in a bad place. She had felt a hurt and disappointment even though in the end he hadn’t hurt or disappointed her. She struggled. She hesitated. She knew what he was about to do. Finally, she let him.
Now in every way, she finally found out what it was like to be with him. That kiss…the one that would forever be emblazoned in her mind as The Kiss, the kiss by which all others would be measured. It was the most amazing, incredible…mistake she had ever made.
Ever since then, she had been quiet, lost in thought. When Adam had questioned it, concerned that he had angered her or over stepped, she would joke that she was teaching him how to be alone…together. Honestly, she rather liked the very idea of it. As she packed up the last or her containers and ran through her checklist one last time before departure, Adam hovered nearby.
“I’ll help you load the car,” he announced. “I know that you’ll still have to do it alone when you arrive at your destination…unless you let me come with you…”
“Adam, there’s no way it would look professional for me to show up with you. I’m trying to build a business here.” She explained.
“True, but how will I know you are safe? You are going to a guy’s house. Maybe this is just some really elaborate ruse to get you alone at his house.” He stared at her seriously.
“I highly doubt that. Isn’t he one of your friends?” She reasoned.
Shaking his head, he admitted, “None of these people are my friends. Not one visited me in the hospital. Not one called, sent a card, or even sent a text message. We hang out and party together, but that is as deep as our relationship ever went. Now, not even that. I just want you to be safe.”
She tilted her head as she studied him, wondering what she saw in his face. He really was concerned. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to go. He wasn’t trying to ruin her business. “Why Adam Davenport, you really are worried.” She chuckled. It felt good to have him care. Maybe The Kiss had changed