watched her every move. “I may be out of practice with this, but I feel something between us. It’s not a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. It’s something else entirely.”
I placed my hands over my heart and looked wounded.
She smiled and I felt my knees give out slightly. “But…but…” she said as she pointed a finger at me. “There is something there. Do you deny it?”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. I was so tired of hiding from this. “No, I don’t deny it.”
She chewed on her lip. “Did we date, Nolan?”
“Do you think we dated, Linz?”
Her breathing picked up, and I watched her chest move up and down. One part of me wanted her to remember—the greedy side of me—so that I could kiss her. The other part was scared to death she’d remember. Because if she did, she would surely hate me. It was a fine line I was teetering. on right now.
She abused her bottom lip, catching it with her teeth as she stared at me. “I don’t know.”
A part of me deflated. But what could I expect when she hadn’t remembered me in eight years?
“Would you do something crazy, Nolan?”
I tossed my head back and laughed before I settled my gaze back onto her. She grinned and tilted her head, waiting for me to explain my laughter. “I just jumped out of a helicopter last week for the fun of it, Linnzi. Crazy is my middle name.”
Her cheeks flushed as she looked down and then back up at me. “Would you ask me out on a date?”
That was not what I was expecting. I swallowed hard. “Um…”
“If you’re dating someone, I…”
“No!” Shit, that sounded like I was desperate. “No, that’s not it at all. I’m only on leave for a few days. I go back on Tuesday.”
“Oh.” Her mouth tilted up ever so slightly. “Tomorrow, then?”
I drew my brows in and pushed off the gazebo. “Are you asking me out now?”
She nodded. “Clearly you’re not going to ask me, so yes, I am. Tomorrow. Do you have any plans?”
Slowly, I shook my head. Knowing that this was probably the best and worst turn of events.
Linnzi stood and clapped her hands together once as she walked over to me. She was still standing on the steps of the gazebo, so she stood directly at my eye level. Our eyes locked on one another. “Good. Then, it’s a date. Do you need my number?”
My eyes were transfixed on her lips, and I nodded—even though I already had her number.
A wide smile broke out on her face as she reached up and slid her fingers through my hair. Again, it was the best and worst turn of events, but I wouldn’t change a thing right now. Instead, I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. She would never know how amazing it felt to have her touch me again.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Linnzi’s tongue sweep over her lips. “I want to kiss you,” I whispered.
Her hand moved down and she stepped closer, wrapping both arms around my neck. “Then maybe you should kiss me, because I don’t make it a habit to kiss strangers.”
I smiled. “But we’re not strangers, Linz.”
Her eyes lit up as she glanced down to my mouth before our gazes met once again. “So it appears.”
Her fingers moved up and played with the hair at the back of my neck. It took every single ounce of strength I had to simply stand there and let her touch me.
She frowned and spoke in a voice so soft I barely heard her. “Why am I so drawn to you, Nolan?”
“Because we were much more than just friends, Linnzi.”
Her frown was replaced by a brilliant smile. “Another piece of the puzzle just fell into place.”
I tried to say something but couldn’t seem to speak.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
I placed my hand on the side of her face and then gently ran my thumb over her cheek.
“Please…” she said.
I lost the battle. But I would lose it all for this woman. With my fingers on her chin, I leaned in and swept a soft kiss over her lips. A jolt of something so powerful I couldn’t explain it raced through my entire body. I was positive Linnzi felt it too, because she moved closer to me. I wrapped my arms around her and gave in to the temptation. To hell with it all. If she remembered, she remembered. Right now, after eight years of