Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,84

at her favorite photo before bed—Ryan looking over at her with a sly grin, on a brief break at the jobsite—running her thumb across it in contemplation. There was Ryan. And now Madison. Why was this more complicated than it needed to be? With a deep sigh, she switched off her bedside lamp and vowed to figure it out. Just not tonight.

Chapter Seventeen

A week after they’d cuddled on her dock, Ryan woke up in her very favorite spot in the world, next to the woman who had her heart. She kissed an exposed shoulder and molded her naked body to Gabriella’s, squinting at the time on the digital clock on her bedside table. They’d been silently snuggling for more than ten minutes, so she was safe to speak. Somehow the silence was nice, though. They still had a little time before her official alarm, but Ryan wanted to get a jump on what would be a busy day because she had several new client consultations lined up and an estimate in addition to managing her active jobsites.

“You’re so warm. I love it,” Gabriella said, snuggling back against Ryan.

“And yet I have to get up.”

“No, you don’t,” Gabriella said in the cutest voice ever. She turned in Ryan’s arms and faced her, sliding one arm around her waist. She blinked up at Ryan with those big hazel eyes she adored. “Today is canceled. I checked.”

“Well, if you say so.” Ryan kissed Gabriella’s forehead as sunlight peeked in on them. “I guess we’ll have to just stay here forever.”

Gabriella, who had proven herself to be a fan of mornings for a variety of reasons, some of them adult, palmed Ryan’s breast. The sheet revealed a glimpse of one of Gabriella’s breasts, and that sent a whole separate kind of good morning vibrating through her system. “We’ll need something to do to pass the time.”

Ryan bit the inside of her cheek and closed her eyes while everything in her slowly came alive, thanks to Gabriella’s roaming hands. Her fingertips drifted down Ryan’s body, lightly skimming her stomach. They brushed the tops of her thighs, tickling them. Her stomach muscles clenched, and she began to ache pleasantly, which she knew had been Gabriella’s goal. “Oh, you have definite plans, don’t you?”

“Mm-hmm.” She ran her nails back and forth against Ryan’s inner thigh, and then ever so slowly let them brush over her most sensitive spot, causing Ryan to jerk. Gabriella did it again, grinning proudly, and again, each time taking Ryan to new heights, and quickly, too. She’d always been extra-sensitive in the morning, and Gabriella knew it. With her thumb, Gabriella lightly pressed and Ryan was gone, falling into that oblivion of pure pleasure, her hips tight and her body enjoying every second of it.

“Apparently not everything was canceled,” Ryan said, once she’d recovered. Every damn muscle in her body hung loose and happy. In actuality, she only had a few minutes before she needed to be up and moving, but these were not minutes she planned to waste, as she dipped her head and caught Gabriella’s nipple in her mouth.

“Well, Miss Jacks, whatever are you doing?” Gabriella asked in her best Southern accent, which made the morning all the more fun. Everything was fun with Gabriella. “Oh, I do declare.”

Following showers, a few more stolen kisses, and coffee in Ryan’s kitchen, they were ready to face their respective days.

“I’m nervous,” Gabriella confessed and blew on the contents of her mug. “I feel like this opening has a lot riding on it. I want Joey to be happy.”

Ryan quirked her head. “What do you have to be nervous about? Everyone is going to love the place and the food you turn out. You never miss.”

“I know. But what if they don’t?” She touched her chest absently. “This feels like a really big time in my life.”

Ryan came around the counter. “Look at me.” She wrapped her arms around Gabriella’s waist. “I’ve seen the look people get on their faces when they’re trying your food. It’s a little slice of heaven for them. Do you know what else? People love everything about the vineyard, and they will love Tangled just as much.” She raised her arm in punctuation. “Hell, even if it was an awful looking place, they’d love it because that arancini thing is addictive.” She moved a strand of hair off Gabriella’s forehead. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. We have some big deliveries coming in this week, then some detail