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When she didn’t answer, I glanced over to find her head bowed, her fingers flexing on the spoon she was using to scrape the scored mango flesh into a bowl. Abruptly, she muttered something I recognized as a curse in Spanish and dropped the spoon and fruit. Then her hand was fisting in my shirt, dragging me closer to close her mouth over mine.
Oh, thank God.
I dropped the knife onto the counter with a clatter and gripped her hips, hauling her closer. Her arms twined around my neck, and her lips opened beneath mine. There was nothing hesitant or innocent about this kiss. It was incendiary. Everywhere her curvy body pressed against mine set me aflame. It took all the control I had not to take over and back her against the nearest counter so I could plunder her mouth more thoroughly. She’d started this. I wasn’t going to push for more than she wanted to give, even if my dick was standing up to shout, “Hooray!”
I was dimly aware of “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” winding down when she eased back. Her eyes were blown so wide, the irises had all but disappeared. Her breasts rose and fell against my chest with each breath, and those beautiful lips were pink and swollen from mine.
I couldn’t stop myself from asking the first thing to pop into my head. “Am I to take that to mean this dating thing is real?”
The corner of that gorgeous mouth quirked. “If you have to ask, I didn’t do my job well enough.”
I grinned, and this time I did back her against the counter, caging her in between my arms as I leaned in close. “Maybe we should try it again, just to be sure.”
12
Caroline
“Do you think Ford’s really serious about being done with Emily?”
Bree didn’t look up at my question, but her shoulders hitched in a shrug that was anything but casual. “Who knows? He hasn’t done more than mention it to me in passing.”
I could’ve let it go. Maybe should have. But the lull between lunch and dinner service left me with far too much time to think, and I couldn’t quite resist pressing, just a little. “Are you going to do something about that?”
Her gray gaze flicked up to mine. “About what?”
“The fact that he’s finally single and home for longer than a weekend.”
Was that a flare of panic in her eyes? She glanced down before I could be certain.
“Maybe he needs to be single for a while. To deal with whatever his shit is before he moves on with someone else.”
“Fair enough.” It would be truly crappy if Bree took a shot at something more with Ford, only to end up as his rebound. Still, he was showing some maturity on the relationship front that I hadn’t seen before. I could’ve said something to Bree about that, but ultimately, I let it drop. She’d make a move when and if she was ready. If that was never—well—that was her right and her loss. Even if I thought she and Ford were perfect for each other.
“What about you?”
Her question pulled me out of my musings. “What about me?”
“You apparently finally took a shot with the hottie firefighter. Everybody’s talking about you and Hoyt. How’s that going?”
I thought about last night’s dinner, and about that sexy as hell kiss in my kitchen. If there’d been any doubt that the attraction was mutual, he’d put it thoroughly to rest. “It’s going well.”
‘Well.’ Such a bland word for the reality.
I remembered Hoyt caging me in against the counter with that big, muscled body of his, and shivered. Hell, if there hadn’t been the chance of one of my siblings getting home at any moment, things might’ve gone a whole lot more than well. And that was a degree of reckless that was entirely unlike me. But I liked having his mouth on me. I loved the feel of those work-roughened hands touching me, and I wanted more.
God, when was the last time I’d actually wanted to be touched? When was the last time I’d trusted someone enough to want that?
Basically never.
So if I’d tossed restlessly half the night, imagining what it would’ve been like to drag him up to my room and explore each other as thoroughly as possible—well, at least I had a room to myself now.
“Uh-oh.” Bree’s muttering pulled me out of my fantasy. “Creep ahoy.”
I spotted Troy Lincoln settling in at a table in my section and groaned. He made no effort to hide the fact that he was watching me.
“I can cover him,” Bree offered.
“I won’t say no.” I hadn’t seen Troy since the showdown with Hoyt, and I wasn’t eager to start. Especially not with the obvious resentment written all over his face. At least he was sober this time of day. Probably.
