Page 60 of Long Story Short

Would she pull away if I tried?

“No smoke this time?” Josie quips, her gaze moving past me and toward the kitchen.

It takes me a moment to realize what she means, my thoughts still somewhere far less innocent.

I can’t help but laugh. “Nope. I’m trying to make a better impression this time, starting with no smoke and no alarms.” I pause for a moment as I pay close attention to her. “How am I doing?”

She playfully shrugs a shoulder. “We’ll see.”

Without even thinking twice about it, I take a small step closer to her.

“Would we be off to a better start,” I begin, my voice dropping slightly, “if I kissed you right now?”

Her eyes go wide, but instead of stepping away, she mutters, “Yes.”

That one word is all I need.

I close the distance, my hands finding her face like they already know exactly where they belong. There’s no hesitation.

Her lips eagerly meet mine like she’s been waiting for this just as desperately as I have.

Something falls to the floor next to her with a soft thud, but neither of us reacts.

Her hands slide up my neck as she pulls me in. I go easily, wanting to be as close to her as possible.

Now even closer than we were, the kiss deepens. Her tongue eagerly moves against mine, making it clear she’s been wanting a repeat of the kiss from earlier just as badly as I have.

We were only apart for half a day, and it still felt like too long.

We’ve only just met, and I’m quickly learning that no amount of time spent with her feels like enough.

I could spend my entire evening kissing her right here in the entryway, but I know it’s probably been since our brunch that she actually ate anything. It takes more effort than it should to pull away, but I don’t go far. I pull away just enough to break the kiss before I rest my forehead against hers as we both catch our breath.

Our chests rise and fall together, our bodies close enough that I can still feel the warmth of her.

I stroke her cheekbone with my thumb. “I made you dinner.”

Her lips—swollen and red from our kiss—curve into a slow, knowing smile. “What if we waited to eat?”

I let out a groan. “You worked hard today and need to eat. I didn’t mean to distract us. I just couldn’t help kissing you.”

“Maybe I’m starting to like distractions.”

My lips twitch as I take a moment to study her. The way she looks at me right now makes it very hard to stick to my plan of feeding her before anything else happens.

I press a kiss to the tip of her nose before forcing myself to take a small step back. “What a change of character for you.”

“I blame you.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I’ll gladly take the blame.”

My hand finds hers, like it’s something we’ve been doing for years. Our fingers intertwine easily. I let my thumb trace over her knuckles. “Come on,” I say as I lightly tug on her to lead her to the kitchen. “Let me at least impress you before I get distracted again.”

Before we get far, I crouch to the ground and pick up her purse. I can’t help but smirk as I hand it over.

“I think you dropped this.”

She rubs her lips together as she uses her free hand to take it from me. “Yeah…” She pauses. “I was preoccupied doing something else.”