Virgin Daiquiri - Elise Faber Page 0,17

possessive and didn’t want to share any part of her with the rest of the world, that I was all in.

But she wasn’t mine yet.

I wanted her to be mine, wanted her to have me in return, even if it was stupid, even if the trade wasn’t remotely fair . . . I wanted her in my life.

If my mom was still alive, she’d have told me off for jumping into something so quickly.

If my dad was still alive, he would have told me that my jumping into something with a good woman like my mom had been, like Iris was, would be the smartest thing I’d ever done.

Impossible to please them both, even if we were on opposite sides of the grave.

But I still knew which one was going to be smiling down at me, telling me I’d made the smart choice.

And that parent would be my dad.

Then begrudgingly, my mom.

Because . . . Iris and her pies. Iris and her sweet smile. Iris and her passion for Christmas, the hurt in her eyes when she told me of the betrayal of her ex, her friends.

Because Iris was special and deserved to be with someone who recognized exactly how wonderful that special was.

Which probably didn’t make sense.

Or maybe it was all the big feelings filling me to bursting that had my mind going in ever-increasing circles. Those circles moving in one direction, growing larger and larger to encompass everything wonderful about the woman in front of me—the need to watch out for her, to care for her as she deserved, to prove I was worthy to make myself at home inside her soul, to promise that I’d make a safe space inside my soul for her in return, that had me doing some blurting of my own. “Do you want to go on a date with me?”

She frowned, head tilting to the side. “I thought . . . I kind of thought that’s what we were already doing?”

It wasn’t no.

It also wasn’t yes.

“I want to take you out to a nice restaurant. To dress up and hold your hand over dinner, to tempt you into dessert, then to drive you home and kiss you on this doorstep,” I said, cupping both of her cheeks. “I want you to have a nice night, to do this right. Because I’m into you, darlin’, and I don’t think I want to let you go.”

Her breath caught on an audible inhale.

Then, “I’m into you, too.”

My pulse had been thundering in my veins, but her words calmed the pounding, settled my heart.

At least until she said, “But—”

Thundering again, pounding so loud against my eardrums that I could barely hear her, and I definitely missed the mischief in her blue-green eyes. That I didn’t deduce until after the next exchange.

“You have two things wrong.”

I swallowed hard.

“First, you never have to tempt me into dessert.”

I relaxed, caught the mischief and smiled. “And the second?”

“I don’t think I want you to stop with just kissing me on this doorstep,” she murmured, body drifting forward, brushing against mine and making dread slide through me. “I’d be inviting you in, inviting you upstairs.”

Fuck. I hadn’t gotten that far.

I should have gotten that far.

I should have known it would lead there.

But I just . . . hadn’t let my mind go there.

Because I had a secret. A big, fucking secret that I needed to clue Iris into, one that would likely have all of her I’m into you, too turning into pity then turning into Yeah, no. That won’t work for me.

I had to tell her.

Now. Give her the out. Give myself the break of saving my heart from further damage when she invariably left.

A gentle palm stroked along my jaw. “Brent, are you okay?”

“Iris—”

My cell rang.

She stepped back. “It’s probably Kace,” she said. “You should answer it.”

I reached into my back pocket and silenced it. “No. It’s not important. Iris—”

It immediately began ringing again.

“Answer it, honey,” she said, pulling my cell from my pocket and handing it to me.

Kace’s name flashed on the screen. Shit. I’d been gone too long.

“It’s a yes,” she said, swiping a finger on the screen before putting it up to my ear. “To the date.” Then she waved, opened the front door, and disappeared inside.

I opened my mouth to tell her to wait, to stop, but then Kace’s voice drifted through the speakers.

“I’m sorry, man, but there’s been a disturbance in the bar.”

Fuck.

“I need you back here now.”

I didn’t follow Iris inside, didn’t tell