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“Isn’t it sad that we don’t really send letters in the mail anymore? These are a treasure to have,” she told him as she reached out and held his arm. His skin practically burned her, but she knew he was feeling raw emotion in that moment, and she wanted to offer him a bit of comfort. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
He looked at her and time stopped. For a moment they weren’t in Nana Bee’s office, they were alone and bonding over their mutual love of Nana Bee. The way he was looking in her eyes took her breath away.
“Ella,” he whispered. She should tell him to stop. This was crazy. She couldn’t get words past her closed throat though.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She couldn’t stop it . . . didn’t want to stop it. This was insane, but her body reacted to him as if she were starving. Her hand slipped to the back of his head and she opened to him.
His hand rested on her hip and pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss, his mouth masterful as he seduced her into submission. She strained to get closer to him. This was a bad idea, but it felt too good to stop.
His hand moved from her back and climbed up her side, gliding across the side of her breast, making her ache in ways she hadn’t ached before. She groaned against his mouth.
His fingers tangled in her hair as he kissed her harder, pressing his hips forward. She could feel how aroused he was, and it made her want no clothes between them. How had that happened? It didn’t matter as long as it continued.
She moved, but barely acknowledged it until she was pressed against the wall. He reached for her butt and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around him, losing all semblance of control as he kissed her harder, his arousal pressing against her core. She ground against him and ripped her mouth away as she took in a deep breath.
It was too much. She buried her face against his neck as he pushed his arousal harder against her. They were both breathing heavily.
“I want you,” he said, his voice raw.
“We can’t,” she said, not knowing how she found the strength to utter the words. Nothing was said for a solid minute. She was still wrapped around him, neither of them letting the other go, but they were no longer kissing.
“We will, but now isn’t the time,” he finally said. She was glad he wasn’t pushing her, yet disappointed they stopped before they’d barely started.
She unwound her legs and he gently set her back on the floor. She wasn’t sure her wobbly knees could hold her up. He cupped her cheek and looked in her eyes.
“This isn’t finished,” he promised. He bent down and gave her a soft, brief kiss before he let go. She didn’t know what to do or say, so she said nothing.
He moved over to the box. “I’m going to put these in my car and give my body time to calm down,” he said with a humorless chuckle. “I want to look through the letters later,” he finished as he picked the box up and strode from the room. She knew he needed a moment alone to compose himself . . . she needed the same after that kiss. They both missed Nana Bee and seeing things in her house made that ache worse. That had to be why they’d lost control there for a minute.
Ella decided she didn’t want to be in that room anymore for the day. It was too much, too sentimental, and now she was thinking of sex with Bass in there. Maybe it was time to leave for the day. They had so much more to do, but being alone with Bass in the quiet house fried her senses. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
She moved into the living room just as the front door was shoved open. Laughter proceeded the three women who moved into the room.
“The party has arrived,” Lia Palazzo said with her arms in the air.
“Yes, because I’m here,” Rachel said as she bumped her hip against her sister’s.
“Or the tornado has arrived,” Ari said with a laugh.
Lia and Rachel were Rafe’s sisters. Their last names had changed as they’d both married, but Ella would always think of them as Palazzos. That’s who she’d known them as when she was a child. Ari was Rafe’s wife. They’d been married for about five years she believed. She’d never officially met the woman before.
After what Ella’s father had done to the Palazzos, Ella had tried to sneak away as far as she could. She might never have come back if it wasn’t for Nana Bee holding on. She was glad she had. It was still uncomfortable around the rest of the Palazzos though, especially since she believed they thought she might be a crook. Ugh, she wished this could be simpler.
“Hi. What are you doing here?” Ella asked. She wanted to kick herself as soon as the words came from her mouth. It wastheirgrandmother’s house. If anyone was the intruder, it was her. Just because this was what Nana Bee had requested in her will didn’t mean it was right. The girls might hate her for it. She hadn’t thought about that.
“We wanted to spend some time here before the house is ashes,” Lia said. She then shocked the heck out of Ella when she walked straight to her and wrapped her in a hug. “I’m so happy you loved Nana Bee enough to do this. We want to sit and have a cup of tea in her home, but the thought of having to go through all of this is just too hard to think about doing. Thank you for doing it, Ella.”
Ella couldn’t stop tears from popping to her eyes. The words were so kind and unexpected she didn’t know what to think about them.
“I just want to follow her last wishes,” Ella said.
“She loved you so much. I know you know this, but sometimes it’s good to hear how much we’re loved by someone else. You were one of her most favorite people on this planet and she talked about you all of the time,” Rachel said as she also came up and gave Ella a hug. She then stood back and looked Ella in the eyes, not allowing her to turn away. “Don’t you worry that anyone thinks you’re like your father. We aren’t going to say anything more about it, but we want you to know that if Nana Bee loved you as much as she did, that’s enough for us, and we love you too.”
Now Ella couldn’t stop tears from making their way down her cheeks. Ari walked up and gave her a gentle hug.
“These girls have a way of doing that to us outsiders,” Ari said with a laugh. “I’m very happy to meet you. I’d love to hear some Nana Bee stories.”
Ella gave the woman a grateful smile as she wiped the last of her tears away and took in a few deep, cleansing breaths.
