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She shook her head. “That’s not real life. Real life is work and deadlines. Dealing with people and projects and trying to make a living.” Her dark eyes sank into his, and Blake really wanted to kiss her.
Don’t, he told himself.Do not. You’ll make a fool of yourself.
“Yeah, it is like that sometimes,” he said.
“That’s what makes the slow, carefree days so special,” she said. She took a deep breath. “All right, Mister Williams, I feel like I should confess something.”
“Ooh, a confessional. I like where this is going.”
She laughed as Blake got out of the SUV and went to get her door for her. She waited for him, and he took her hand in his as she stood from the vehicle. He gave her no room to move away from the car or him, and she stepped right into his personal bubble.
“I’m just the teensiest bit afraid of boats.”
Blake’s eyebrows shot up. “You are?”
“Mm hm.” She fiddled with his collar again, the length of her body nearly pressing into his. From toe to chest, all Blake could feel was her, her, her.
“Well, maybe we shouldn’t go on the cruise,” he said.
“Once I get on, I’m usually okay,” she said. “It’s bridging that gap between land and sea I don’t like.”
“Do you get sick?”
“Not usually.” She looked up at him, and Blake forgot about everything else. He forgot he wasn’t going to kiss her. He forgot they had a ticket and needed to be somewhere on time. He forgot all of the promises he’d made to himself about not falling in love too fast.
With her gazing up at him, the scent of her hair or skin or whatever that rosy, feminine smell was, her hands on his chest, all Blake could do was bend his head and kiss her.
He did, and Lauren certainly didn’t complain. Her hands slid along his shoulders and into his hair, and wow-oh-wow, he had not experienced fireworks like this with a woman in a decade. Longer.
Ever.
She seemed made for him to hold, her lips slick and glossed and tasting like cherries. He wanted more, and he deepened the kiss. She went with him, seemingly gladly, and Blake couldn’t believe he stood in a parking lot kissing the amazing, sexy, outstanding, totally out of his league Lauren Keller.
He finally remembered they had zero privacy and ducked his head enough to break the kiss. He had to pull in a long breath to satisfy the needs of his lungs, and with Lauren’s fingernails sliding along the back of his ear, pure electricity arced down his back.
Clearing his throat, he finally backed up to give her some breathing room too. He couldn’t go far, because of the car parked beside him, and she came with him anyway. He closed the door and took her hand in his again.
There was no awkwardness between them. No regrets. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it too. “You ready for this?”
She looked at him, and he liked that she wasn’t shy or giggling or acting like kissing him had been something silly or weird. “Yeah,” she said. “I think I am.”
He grinned at her and took her toward the small boathouse where they checked in. The sun had started to dip in the sky, and Blake’s stomach grumbled for food. The scent of steak rode on the air, and they checked in and joined the line of people getting on the boat.
It moved slowly, and Blake said, “When Tommy was born, he was balder than a billiard ball.”
Lauren grinned, and Blake sure liked that. Some women he’d dated hadn’t been thrilled that he had a son. “Do you like kids, Lauren?”
“Sure,” she said. “I don’t have any of my own, of course. And very little experience with them, so maybe? Maybe I like them?” She looked at him with sudden confusion in her expression. “I don’t really know.”
“Do you want kids?”
“Blake.” She glanced to the couple in front of them and edged closer to him. Her other hand came around his, and he liked how claimed he felt by her. “I think I’m too old to have kids. So if you want more…I’m not the woman for you.”
He ducked his chin to see her better, but he couldn’t. Not with how close she stood. “I’m fine not having more kids,” he said in an equally quiet voice. “But just out of curiosity. And you can break-up with me and stomp back to the car if you want. But…how old are you?”
“How old are you?” she asked.
“Forty,” he said easily.
