The Remake (Second Chance Flower Shop #4) - Noelle Adams Page 0,24
more relaxed.
His nonchalant act had clearly relieved her. “Of course not. I just thought it was nice.”
“It is nice. It’s perfect.” She used one finger to stroke the enamel petals. “Thank you. For thinking of me.”
“You’re welcome.” His voice sounded too gravelly. He cleared his throat before he added, “And thank you for thinking of me too. I wasn’t expecting a gift from you even if it was kind of a bossy gesture.”
She laughed softly, her eyes warming and a smile breaking on her face like the sun. “It wasn’t bossy. It was helpful.”
He rubbed his newly trimmed beard, hoping he wasn’t gazing down at her too sappily. “But, as always, I defied your attempts to supervise me by beating you to the punch.”
Her mouth wobbled in amusement. “I can’t believe you did that.” Her eyes dropped before she gave him a tantalizing upward glance. “You do look good. All trimmed up like that.”
His heart was pounding like a jackhammer now. His skin was getting hot. “Thanks. I can’t believe I managed to impress you with such a little thing.”
“I didn’t say I was impressed. Meeting the minimum bar in grooming isn’t all that impressive.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. Then he realized they were still standing in his doorway, and it was almost nine o’clock in the evening of Christmas. “Your date didn’t last very long.”
She glanced away. “It wasn’t really a date.”
“It wasn’t? So it wasn’t what you were hoping?”
“I wasn’t hoping for anything.” Her chin went upward in a familiar defiant glare. “He asked me to drive around and look at some lights, so I agreed. It wasn’t like I was expecting to be swept off my feet.”
“So you weren’t?”
She frowned, obviously trying to follow the line of questioning. “Weren’t what?”
“Swept off your feet?”
“Why would it matter to you if I was?”
The question was too direct. Too close to the truth. He almost, almost told her. But some long-held lifeline of self-defense tightened at the last moment. So instead he said, “I thought it might matter to you.”
For some reason his response seemed to take the air out of her. She drooped and dropped her head. “I don’t know. I thought... I don’t even know anymore. It was fine. He’s a nice guy. I like him just fine. It just feels like I should...”
“You should like him more than you do?”
“Yeah.” She glanced up and shook her head. “That’s the problem with having so little experience with relationships. You don’t know how you should feel at any given time.”
“It seems to me like you should be excited about a relationship if it’s going to go anywhere.”
“Yeah. That’s what I thought too. But I just feel...” She gave a shrug and shifted from foot to foot.
“You feel what?”
“Kind of sick,” she whispered. “That’s not good, is it?”
He laughed, knowing he shouldn’t be so thrilled by her admission but unable to stop himself. “No. I wouldn’t think that bodes well for a long-term future.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
They stared at each other across the threshold until Belinda suddenly took a step back, as if she’d realized she was still standing at his door. “Anyway,” she said, lowering her eyes again in that delectable way. “Thank you for the necklace. It’s beautiful.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I ran across it. Thank you for my gift too.”
“Yeah. You’re welcome.” She glanced behind her. “Okay. I’m sorry to just show up like this. Have a good evening.”
“You too.” He wanted to reach for her, touch her, pull her into his arms. He wanted it so much he was shaking from the effort. “Merry Christmas, Belinda.”
“Merry Christmas.” She swayed forward before she pulled back. “Okay. Bye.”
“Goodbye.”
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
She turned halfway away. “Okay then.”
The surge of need that had swallowed him up was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. She was there. Right there in front of him. At arm’s length. She was everything he’d ever wanted, and she was about to walk away.
“Belinda,” he said thickly.
She turned back around to face him, her eyes big and rich and expectant. “Yes?”
He tried to say something. Anything. A single word. But his throat was tight, and his eyes were blurring over.
He couldn’t hold back anymore. He took her face in his hands and leaned down into a kiss.
She made a surprised sound in her throat when their mouths met, but it was just a few seconds before her lips softened and her hands raised to hold on to his shoulders.
Pleasure and excitement and possessiveness was pulsing