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I wholeheartedly agreed with him there.
I lifted my face up to his, and he kissed me.Teasingly and softly at first, as if testing the waters, then deeper, more firmly, our tongues dancing.He tasted of the tang of ketchup and the sweetness of lemonade, and I knew I’d never forget today for as long as I lived.
Why did he have to be here, an ocean and several time zones away?
I let myself enjoy the moment; tried to push the worries to the back of my mind.Rick and I knew the score.We were consenting adults, and we both wanted to see where this would take us.If it ended when I got on the plane, so be it.I’d already had my heart stomped all over.I couldn’t feel any worse, could I?
Besides, Rick’s warmth, humor, and apparent desire for me was nothing but a balm on my soul.
He was one of the good ones.
“Man, you have no idea how much I wanna ask to be invited home with you,” he murmured.“I’d inviteyouback, but a toddler eavesdropper is not the best setup for long, slow making out on the couch.”
I dropped one last kiss on his gorgeous lips.“I wish I could, but I have a million things to do.This evening, I’ve got to call your cousin’s fiancée and talk through the cake.She, quite understandably, wasn’t happy when Aunt Laurie called and said I’d be the one making it, not the best baker in town, so I think I have some ruffled feathers to smooth out.”
He squeezed my hip comfortingly.“Cathy can be intense, but she’s a good person.Fair.She’ll deal, even if the curveball set her off balance.”
“I hope so.I do, Ireallydo, get how important weddings are.”I’d been in the middle of planning my own, after all.
He gave me a sympathetic smile, but said nothing.I liked that about Rick.No meaningless platitudes from this guy.
“Then, I’ve got to visit the Two Rivers ranch and scope out the layout of the wedding to work out if there’ll be any issues getting the cake in situ—”
“Be my date.”
I stopped mid flow to stare at him in surprise.“What?”
He threaded a gentle hand through my hair.“Be my date for the wedding.I’ve got a plus one, even though I RSVP’d without one.Ralph, the cousin you met just now, keeps trying to set me up, but so far I’ve resisted.”
“Do you need to check with him?”
“I will, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
My stomach clenched.“I don’t have anything to wear.Honestly, I arrived here in kind of a state.I’m sure it was very obvious when you picked me up at the airport.”
“You mostly slept.”
“You’re just being kind.”
He pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead.“If you don’t want to come, I understand.But I’d love for you to be there.I bet Jenny has something you can wear.Or, I could take you shopping.”
“Um.”My brain had short circuited.
“No pressure,” he added.“I don’t want to freak you out.”
Sweet man.“Honestly, I’m not freaking out.Not about being your date, I mean.My brain is just glazed over, imagining you in a suit.”
“A tux, actually.It’s black tie.”
“Oh, myGod.”
He tipped my chin up, pressed a lingering kiss to my lips.“So… You’ll think about it?”
“I doubt I’ll be thinking about anything else.A tux.My God, it’s like you’reactivelytrying to kill off my brain cells.”
He grinned, and his smile, as always, was deadly.“I mean, think about the invite.”He let me go, and I immediately wanted to burrow back into him, snuggle into his broad warmth and never have to leave.“Shall I drive you back?”
“Please.”I gave in and slid my hands up his chest, tugging him back for one more kiss.It lingered until a group of kids passed and wolf-whistled in our direction, and I broke the kiss reluctantly, red-faced.
