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“No.” She couldn’t believe she was thinking this, but... One little kiss wouldn’t hurt anything.
“No, you don’t want me to stop?” Gordy asked in a whisper.
“Stop being such a damn gentleman and kiss me!”
She didn’t have to ask twice. His hand slid behind her head and his mouth landed on hers, hard with need. She’d kissed men in the past fifteen years. Polite, end of date kisses. She’d once told her friends that it seemed men lost interest in kissing after a certain age. But that all changed in her kitchen pantry late on a sunny June afternoon.
Not only did she want Gordy to kiss her, but the man knew how to kiss. And he wasveryinterested in what he was doing. His mouth moved on hers in a way that made her knees go weak. And when he ran his tongue along her lips, she surrendered without a second thought. A soft moan rose in her throat, and he seemed to like that. He pulled her body against his and plunged his tongue deeper. Vicky lifted her hands and ran her fingers through his thick hair, causing him to growl in response. His hands slid down her body. She shivered. And suddenly it was all just...too much.
She couldn’t step back, so she put her hands on his chest. She didn’t have to push. He sensed her change of mood immediately and released her, stepping away. Vickie closed her eyes and focused on bringing her pulse and breathing back to the normal range.
“Are you okay?” Gordy sounded more amused than concerned.
“I’m fine.” She pulled herself straight, trying to muster some dignity.
He chuckled. “Yes, you are most definitely fine.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Don’t be crass.” But she couldn’t help smiling at the praise. “I just got overwhelmed.”
He laughed softly. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should. But I swear to God if you breathe a word about this to anyone...”
Gordy took another step back and raised his hands. “I’m not the type to kiss and tell. But if I was...” He turned to give her room to walk back into the kitchen. The pantry had suddenly become much too close. “...that was a kiss I’d definitely want to brag about. You haven’t lost a beat in over forty years, babe. Still the best kisser in Rendezvous Falls.”
She couldn’t hold back a short laugh as she busied herself folding her grocery bags and setting them near the door to put back in her car. “I’m seventy. I amnot anyone’s‘babe.’” She glanced his way, surprisingly pleased to see how rumpled his hair was from her fingers. “But...thatwasa pretty great kiss. I just don’t think it needs to happen again. I don’t see a future for us, so what’s the point?”
Better to end this now before she got any more invested.
He leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. “Why don’t we have a future?”
“Oh, come on. I’m not on the market. I don’t think there evenisa market for women my age.” That didn’t mean she wasn’t lonely at night, but still. “And you’re my contractor. Those sort of romances only work in romance novels—and the characters aremuchyounger.”
He studied her for a long moment, seeming unmoved by her rationale. “Sure, we’ve both got some years on us, but hopefully we’ve got some yearsleft, too. You can’t stop enjoying life just because of some date on your driver’s license.” He pushed off the wall and walked over to where she was standing. “We arenottoo old to enjoy a hot kiss. And we are also not too old to enjoy more than kissing, if you’re interested.” He winked as he headed past her and out the door. “Just to be clear...Iam very interested.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ZOEYSTAREDATHazel’s tablet screen in something close to horror.
“You want ablackceiling in your bedroom?” She’d promised her room would be next, and Hazel had been putting together her wish list.
“A black ceiling withglitter.” Hazel swiped from one photo to another on the screen. “See? You can buy the special flecks of glitter and add it to the paint. I’ll run strings of those soft LED fairy lights around the top of the walls and the whole ceiling will sparkle at night.” Hazel was kneeling on her bed, gesturing around the room. “It’ll be the perfect background for my videos.”
Zoey stared up at the currently normal, boring white ceiling. It was an old house, and the ceilings were tall—probably ten or eleven feet. A dark ceiling might make the room feel cozier. And shehadpromised that Hazel could pick any paint color she wanted. She never thought to exclude the ceiling from the list of options to be painted, but a deal was a deal.
“We’ll need to use alotof drop cloths, and we’ll definitely want to do that first, before we tackle painting the walls. What color are you looking for there?” Zoey was almost afraid to ask.
Hazel grinned, scrolling on her tablet again. “Look at this deep pink, Mom. Isn’t it gorge? And a perfect background color for my videos, right?” She rushed on before Zoey could answer. “If we could find a bed like this one...” She pulled up an image of a massive upholstered bed, studded with crystals. “It’s just like the one Marina Lee has on that fashion video account, remember? It’s sick.”
Zoey didnotremember. At this point, all she could see were dollar signs.
“Hazel...honey... I know I gave you free rein on paint...” She was already regretting that. “But thereisa limit to the budget. I want you to be happy with the room, but we may have to compromise on a few of these items. Deal?”
Hazel’s eyes went wide. “You mean I can do the black glitter ceiling?” She gave a wordless squeal and jumped into Zoey’s arms.
“ANDTHAT’SWHENI knew I’d been played.” Zoey set her coffee down and sighed.
Vickie chuckled as she refilled their mugs. “By a thirteen-year-old. I told you that kid was ahead of her years.”
