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“Yes.”
“Liar.”
“What?”
He arrived in front of her. “You’re lying. You can’t wait. No more than I can.”
A frown tugged at her expression. “What can’t you wait for?”
Forrest grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close. “This.” He kissed her like a man would eat his last meal. Savoring every tiny morsel. His hands couldn’t get enough of her. Her back, her sides, her cheeks, her hair.
When his hands cupped the sides of her hips and he felt the way her legs trembled, he picked her up. Setting her on his desk, he stepped between her legs, all the while never releasing her lips.
Her heels hooked him behind the knees, bringing them flush together, and a blazing inferno let loose inside him. The kiss could have lasted one, ten, or even thirty minutes—he lost track of time. All he knew for certain was that he wanted Twyla more than he wanted to fly.
Their kissing slowed, but the mood was just as heartfelt and intense, even when they parted by some sort of mutual agreement. Her blue eyes were twinkling and her soft palms rubbed his cheeks.
“I take it you’re happy to see me?”
“No, not really,” he teased.
She laughed and kissed his chin. “Liar.”
“We’re even,” he said.
“Yes, we are,” she said. “You were right. I couldn’t wait.”
He kept her sitting where she was, with him between her knees, massaging her hips with his thumbs. “Are you the one who fixed up the apartment?”
“I wanted your mother to have a nice homecoming.”
“What about me?”
“Oh, darn it,” she said, playfully slapping his shoulder.
“What? Don’t I deserve a nice homecoming?”
“Yes, but you made me forget something.”
“What?”
She reached behind her and then tugged a slip of paper between them. Holding it beneath her chin, she grinned. “Interested?”
Written with red lipstick, the words on the paper said, Kisses, Flyboys Free.
“I might be.”
It took some serious willpower not to lock the door and have his way with her on the lime-green sofa. It was several kisses later before Forrest released Twyla completely and walked around to sit behind the desk. A bit of separation was what he needed to cool down.
“The apartment looks great. Who do I owe?”
She’d spun around to sit sideways on his desk and swung her feet back and forth. “You don’t owe anyone. I found the paint in the basement, left over from remodeling the bowling lanes, and the hinges were all there for the cupboards. They just needed to be straightened, and the carpet just needed a good cleaning.” Rolling her eyes, she added, “Someone had nailed it to the floor, of all things. The hardest part was taking off the wallpaper.”
“You did all that?”
She laughed. “Don’t be silly. But I did oversee your employees and made sure they did it right.”
“My employees?”
“Yes, you have maintenance workers, cleaners. The apartment is part of the Plantation.” Resting one palm on his desk she leaned toward him. “Trust me, Forrest, your employees are not overworked. Other than the pin boys, of course—they run their tails off. Did you notice the ladies bowling?”
“I didn’t pay much attention.”
“They’re the women from Josie’s Ladies Aid Society,” she said.
“They are?”
She nodded, but it was the way she nibbled on her bottom lip that snagged his full attention.
He laid a hand on top of hers. “What is it?”
“Nothing bad,” she said.
“Then tell me. You’ve never been afraid of telling me anything.”
“I know, and this is good, I—I just—”
“Tell me, Twyla.”
“I set up a partnership between the resort and the Plantation,” she said.
His skin tingled eerily. “What kind of partnership?”
“For the Fourth of July. It’ll be beneficial to both of us, or both businesses. The whole town, really.”
Nodding his head as she nodded hers, he asked, “What’s the partnership?”
She jumped off the desk and crossed the room to where the pictures hung on the wall. “The day starts out with you flying Babe Ruth in from New Ulm. He was already going to be there on the third for a charity baseball game, all I had to do was ask him to come here on the fourth. He remembered you and said he’d do it if you flew him up here in the morning and back to New Ulm the next morning.” Scrunching her nose, she added, “I said you would.”
That didn’t sound bad. Unable to resist taking advantage of the opportunity, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, as if thinking for a few moments. “All right, then what?”
