Page 25

Art dropped his clasped hands between his knees and huffed out a sigh.

“Is that what you want?” The raw hope in his eyes should have terrified me, but it just made me want to reach for him.

“No. That’s not what I want. But I think I forfeited the right to make that call when I hurt you, Art. What do you want?”

“I hadn’t planned beyond getting Viv away from those kids.” He grimaced and glanced away. “But if I’m being honest with you and with myself, now that I’ve found you again, I can’t imagine walking away. I just want to be near you, Meg.” His voice cracked on my name. “I think that being this close to you and not having any contact would be torture.”

Even though what he was saying should have horrified me, I understood. Being close to him soothed me, and I felt so drawn to him, it took conscious effort to resist reaching across the table to touch him.

His breath hitched, and his gaze fell to where my hand was resting on the table, as if he’d caught the small impulse before I reined it in. Hope flared briefly in his eyes, dying almost as fast as it had appeared, and when he spoke again, there was a heaviness in his tone that hadn’t been there before.

“This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have come.”

“I’m glad you did.”

Art’s hand fluttered toward mine before stopping in midair. With a muffled curse, he dropped it onto the table and smiled sheepishly at me.

His eyes met mine, and the heat and raw desire in them froze me in place even as they turned my insides to molten lava. “What do you want, Meg?”

“I don’t know, Art,” I said sadly. “I really don’t. I ran for the wrong reasons, but also for the right ones, I think. This is where I belong. At least for now. But…”

“But?” he prompted when I let my sentence trail away as longing tore at my heart and robbed me of my ability to articulate what I felt. He saw something in my eyes that made him speak before I could answer. “I won’t bully you into something you don’t want, Meg. In case it wasn’t clear, that’s not who I am. But, if you can look me in the eye and honestly tell me that there’s absolutely nothing between us, that you don’t feel strangely at peace when I’m around you, that you don’t feel drawn to me, and you won’t regret sending me away even for a minute, then I’ll go. I will walk out that door and you will never see me again. The children and I will go to Edinburgh. The place we were supposed to move into tonight sprung a leak, so I need to find us somewhere else to stay anyway. I might as well look there. I’ll figure something out for Merry’s schooling. And we’ll each go our own way.”

The finality of his words settled inside me, as I stared at the kitschy flowers etched into the glass tabletop and tried to assess how I felt. Despite the shame over how I’d attempted to break things off with him, the butterflies that flew into a tizzy whenever I glanced up at him, and everything riding on our conversation, my shoulders weren’t tight the way they usually were around men. And if I was hyperaware of his every breath and tiniest movement, it wasn’t because I was poised to bolt at the first sign of danger. I felt the pull he’d mentioned, like a rope tethering us to each other, along with deep warmth and affection for this bear of a man watching me intently as I worked my way through what he’d said.

The instant he shifted as though to get up, I knew without a doubt that if I let him walk out that door, I would regret it forever.

He misinterpreted my small whimper and headshake and, with a deep sigh, pushed himself back from the table.

We got to our feet at the same time, and I reached the door a moment before him, sliding my body between him and escape.

“Meg,” he said, looking down at me, his eyes heavy with regret of his own. “It’s okay. I understand.”

“No,” I replied, pushing myself up onto my toes for the few extra inches of height I needed to bring my face almost level with his. I rested my left hand on his chest and the right one on his cheek to tilt his face down so I could look him in the eyes. “I don’t think you do.” Gripping his shirt in my fist, I slipped my other hand to the back of his head and pulled him closer.

He resisted slightly, his lips poised right above mine, and murmured, “Are you sure about this?”

My heart pounded in my chest as the hair on his lip brushed lightly against my lip as he spoke.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” I replied, increasing the pressure of my hand on the back of his head.

With a soul-deep groan that spoke to how long he’d wanted it far better than words could ever have, he took my head in his hands and pulled me to him, closing the infinitesimal distance between our mouths. I couldn’t hold back another whimper as he brushed his lips across mine. The sensation of his mustache tickling my skin, combined with the lingering woodsy scent of his soap, sent tremors of need rippling right down to my toes. It was almost more than I could take, but the hands tenderly cradling my head were more than strong enough to keep me upright when my knees quivered.

He started to pull away. Assailed by the sudden panic that he might still leave, I tightened my arms around his neck and crushed my lips against his, kissing him the way I’d dreamed of doing since we’d parted ways at the end of our date.

The last of his resistance fell away, and I felt him moan my name more than heard it as he melted into me, like a wave of vibrations traveling through me. When I gasped in response, my lips parted just enough to give his tentative tongue a point of entry. I met it with mine, and everything faded away other than the feel of his mouth and his tongue exploring mine, his nose brushing against my cheek, and his hands holding me in place, exactly where he wanted me and where I wanted to be.

TEN

I stared at the door for a long time, my fingers dancing over my still-tingling lips.

He’d ended the soul-searing kiss abruptly, jerking back as though he’d suddenly remembered something important, then had briefly pressed his lips hard against mine again and cupped my face in his hands. Pressing his forehead to mine, he’d looked me intently in the eyes.

“Do not go anywhere or do anything. Stay right here. I will be right back. Right back. You hear? I just need to go check on the kids.”

It had been all I could do to nod yes as he kissed me one more time, then turned and bolted down the stairs.

“Right back. I promise!” he’d called up before dashing into the street.