At my comment, his hands moved to grip my head on each side—his thumbs sliding along my jaw and his palms just under my ears.
His head moved toward mine slowly, as if to give me a chance to change my mind.
Instead of backing away, I arched into him just as his lips connected with mine.
My whole body lit up as a buzz swept through me.
The kiss was soft and gentle at first, as if he were trying to savor the moment. But as electric tingles coursed through me, I moaned, which caused him to tilt my head and deepen the kiss.
“Get a room,” a male voice called out, breaking me from the dream stupor Axel had put me in.
I looked up to see Milo’s back as he chuckled while carrying the trash bags to the dumpster behind the building.
“Let’s go before we miss our reservation because I can’t stop kissing you,” Axel said as he moved his hand from my face to hold my hand.
I was going to say goodnight to Milo, but Axel pulled me in the opposite direction. His car was parked in the front, and he moved to the passenger side to open my door and let me in.
As he walked around the front of his silver SUV, I took a deep breath, trying to calm the nervous excitement bubbling through me.
That kiss.
It wasn’t a long kiss, but it was memorable for all the best reasons.
“Do you like living above your bakery?” he asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.
“Yeah,” I responded. “It’s super convenient if I need to pop down to the bakery for anything. Plus, it helped me save all my money for one building instead of having to buy both a spot for Scandinavian Sweets and another for me to live in.”
“Smart,” he replied. “I’m glad it worked out for you.”
“What about you?” I asked. “Do you live close to work?”
“Yes. I only live about three blocks from the office and pub. While I do have a car, I spent most of my life walking or taking public transportation wherever I needed to go in Sweden, so I wanted to be able to walk to work if I could.”
We spent the rest of the fifteen-minute car ride talking about cars, the lack of public transit here, and how American traffic might be one of the biggest sources of his stress since moving here. Even though I had lived here all my life, I felt that.
After we pulled into the parking lot, Axel came around to get me at my side, though I wasn’t used to that, so I was already getting out of my door when he arrived.
“You make it hard to be a gentleman,” he grumbled.
“Sorry,” I told him as he closed my door and grabbed my hand.
It was a simple gesture, but I loved the connection.
We walked into the restaurant still holding hands when Axel gave the hostess our reservation name. The restaurant was nice—modern and sleek but still cozy. I had looked up the menuearlier, and they specialized in Mediterranean food, which I loved.
The front waiting area, though, was small—as in very small. There were four other people in that area with us, and it felt crowded. A woman in a wheelchair came into the restaurant, and Axel and I moved out of her way, over toward the side wall to give her and her date more space to get in. That put me chest to chest with Axel. His hand, which had been holding mine, now moved to my lower back, his fingers skating over my bare skin at the triangle opening of my dress. His thumb began to draw casual circles against my skin, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up and goosebumps to form all over my skin—just from his touch.
My gaze, which had been off to the side taking in the restaurant, now turned to meet his. I knew he felt the goose bumps when I saw the lustful sparkle dancing in his eyes and the small smile form on his lips. Lips that had just been on mine not even thirty minutes ago.
God, this man was so attractive, I could just stare at him for hours, but that would be weird.
“You keep looking at my lips like that, and I am going to have to kiss you again,” his murmured voice teased me, but I couldn’t break away from staring at him. That magnetic pull was too strong.
He leaned down, putting his mouth next to my ear as he growled my name. “Stella…”
I couldn’t help myself. His close proximity to me, the way his body enveloped mine. And his scent was intoxicating, making it hard to focus on anything else around me. Which is why I turned my head just slightly to softly kiss his cheek.
His hand that was on my back tightened and his fingers flexed into my skin, sending even more tingles through me.
