Jack tensed some more. “He’s okay. The divorce just made it easier for him to drink whenever he wants to. He stays sober long enough to work with the construction crew, so that’s good.” Jack looked over at her. “I think that makes him what you call a functional alcoholic.”
Emma reached over to squeeze Jack’s forearm. She knew Jack never drank, and she guessed it was because he’d seen what alcohol had done to his dad. His childhood couldn’t have been easy, watching his dad passed out all the time. He’d had rough teenage years too, not just her.
He pulled into her driveway and parked. The darkness seemed to fold around them as the lights in the truck went out.
“I’d invite you in for a nightcap, but I know that’s not your thing,” she said.
“Plus, you said we can’t be trusted to be alone together,” he pointed out, his voice low.
“I don’t think I said we can’t trust ourselves.” But yeah, that’s exactly what she’d meant.
“So I’ll just walk you to your door and leave it at that.”
She protested. “You don’t need to walk me to my door, Jack.” But he was already pushing open his door and stepping out. Emma got out of the truck as well. Jack walked beside her up the porch steps and to the door. She pushed the house key inside the lock, opened the door, and let Barnaby inside. She didn’t follow though. Instead, she closed the door again, leaving her and Jack alone. Barnaby barked his objections from inside. “Well, thank you for a wonderful evening,” she told Jack.
“The pleasure was mine.”
The way he was looking at her made her know they weren’t just words. He was looking at her like a man who was about to lean in and kiss her. His gaze solidified the fact that going inside together would be the worst idea in the history of bad ideas.
She sucked in a deep breath, her mind trying to determine if she should step inside her house or walk forward and meet him halfway. What would one little kiss hurt? “Research,” she whispered.
Jack raised one brow. “Hmm?”
She nibbled her lower lip, and his eyes lowered to watch.
“Well, we have a whole summer ahead of us, and I’m standing behind the idea that we should keep our boundaries. But maybe a kiss for research like you said…”
He leaned in, and one of his hands wrapped around her hip. Her body responded with a rush of need. Then he lowered his mouth, stopping just shy of hers. His gaze was pinned on her eyes, searching for permission.
She stepped toward him, her body pressing against his chest, and she went up on her toes just enough for their lips to collide. It was like a mini-explosion on her porch. Sparks times one million, lighting her up from the inside out. She didn’t think, she just kissed. Somewhere in the distance, she heard fireworks going off. It sounded like they were right overhead. Maybe she and Jack were the ones setting them off with this kiss.
“Where did you learn to kiss like that?” Jack said in a breathless whisper when they finally pulled away. “Please don’t say Tim, the firefighter,” he said, making her laugh.
“No. That kiss was…” Her chest rose and fell in quick succession. “It was…”
“Perfect,” he said, finishing her sentence for her.
She nodded, feeling awestruck by him suddenly. Who knew that Jack could kiss with such passion? Another question swam into her thoughts. Now that she knew it, how was she going to resist him?
* * *
Jack was searching for something to say and coming up speechless until Emma broke the silence.
“Well, thank you for taking me to the Music in the Park. Good night, Jack.” She pushed her front door open and crossed the threshold.
“Good night, Emma.”
She closed the door behind her, and Jack continued to stand there for a long moment. For what felt like his whole life, he’d been wanting to kiss Emma. He only wished he’d done it sooner.
He turned and headed back to his truck and reversed out of her driveway. He was consumed in his thoughts all the way to his cabin on Silver Lake. Technically, he wasn’t on Silver Lake. There was a forest of trees between him and the water, but it was his land and he could hike back to it anytime he wanted.
He parked and headed up the steps, letting himself inside his home. It felt like he’d had about three cups