“Aren’t you hungry?” I asked, starting to feel a little sheepish.
He released a pent-up sigh and then mumbled something beneath his breath as he dove into the paper bag.
His response confused me, so I asked, “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
A husky chuckle left his lips, warming me from my head to my toes.
“Nothing.” He gave me a soft side smile as he reached across the car to wipe the corner of my mouth. Apparently, Ididhave salsa on my face. His thumb traced along the curve of my lower lip as he held my gaze, and I shivered despite the warmth in the air.
“Are you sure?” I repeated, my voice airy, barely audible.
Sully didn’t answer me for another prolonged moment, but his thumb still skirted along the underside of my mouth. Meanwhile, I couldn’t breathe, desperate for his response and wanting to lean into his touch. Staying still was a conscious effort.
“I’m just thinking about Boston,” he explained, a little tortured. “And your mouth. And how I didn’t get to…”
He dropped his hand, as though remembering he still wasn’t supposed to touch me, and a flare of disappointment landed low in my belly.
Deciding to do something about it, I boldly met his bright cerulean gaze beat for beat. “I believe I gave you an opportunity.”
“No, you didn’t.” A crease appeared between his brows. “You didn’t want me to kiss you. And now I—” He snapped his mouth shut.
“No…” I cocked my head to the side. “But I wanted you in my mouth in other ways.”
Sully released a curse that was more like a low groan, his eyes fluttering shut as he tipped his head back. Heat flooded my body as I watched his throat bob, swallowing hard.
God, this was going to be impossible, wasn’t it?
Years of old memories existed, and while those were incrediblypresent with being back here in Rosewood, I’d had a lot of practice suppressing them over time.
Boston, though? The things that happened that night, things that were the reason we were here today? I didn’t know how to push those thoughts away. They were fresh, in the forefront of my mind whenever I saw him, and I was starting to suspect it was the same way with him.
So maybe we should talk about that. Or maybe we needed to take a step back and talk about a few other things first. Despite feeling like I knew this man better than anyone, the truth was we’d spent the last several years apart. There were gaps now. And I wanted to fill them.
“I want to know more,” I said, and he frowned, lowering his gaze to mine again.
“What?”
“About you,” I clarified. “I think we should take some time to get to know each other again. Catch up? It would be a good thing if we’re going to, you know, do this together.”
Sully cocked one brow. “Oh, we’re going to do this together. But—” He cut himself off as he finally unwrapped his taco to take a bite of it, which prompted me to do the same. I gave him a curious look as I chewed, wondering what the end of his sentence would be.
“Hm?” I prompted when he continued to mull his words over after swallowing.
He shook his head, and then he did that soft laughter thing, which always filled my belly with butterflies, ever since I was fourteen years old.
“It’s just—” He ran a hand over his mouth. “If someone asked me what’s new, all I’d really have to say is that my ex-girlfriend’s pregnant, back in town, and I’m gonna be a dad. Ya know?”
I laughed a little, shaking my head. “There are other things, though,” I argued. “I mean, yeah, maybe that’s your news for the week?—”
“El, that’s my news for the fuckingcentury, are you kidding me?”
“I’m serious,” I insisted before shoving the rest of my taco into my mouth and giving him an expectant look.
“Okay, well…” Sully began as the car began to shake. “What would you like to know?”
I glanced at his knee bouncing up and down beneath the steering wheel and then let my eyes drift to his handsome face.
What did I want to know?
