AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’d just claimed a seat next to my sound engineer, Aspen MacGuire, who’d arrived about twenty minutes earlier. She’d dropped everything when I’d called and offered her double pay to work on a Saturday. Aspen promised she wasn’t giving up anything but cartoons with her small son. Her mother lived with them and was available to babysit. Wouldn’t have mattered if Aspen had brought the little man along. Tobin was a well-behaved young’un, and I would have welcomed him at the house. Had done so several times, in fact. I liked the kid.
The goal today was to lay down my track, and that required Aspen’s services. James would be in the booth to assist and to learn. I didn’t even bother to ask Carrie about studio time. This project wouldn’t wait and was too close to my heart to even consider a delay. She’d replied excitedly about adding another track to the album. She was down with whatever I wanted to do.
A prickle of nerves itched my spine as I wondered what Catie would think of the song, and the entire process. Damn, I wish Dad was here so I could spill my guts to him. About the song, about the woman, about my future.
I pressed a button and replied to James, “Sure, let her up. Be right back,” I told Aspen as I rushed from the room.
I made it to the front door just as Catie parked her SUV on the circular drive. She waved, then reached across the console and tugged out her backpack. I jogged down the three steps and then across the flagstone path to greet her.
I stopped short, dying to enfold her in my arms and lay a kiss on her pretty mouth. I’d missed her, and it had been a matter of hours. One arm swung uselessly at my side, and I gripped the car’s door frame with the other. “You made it.”
The glow in her eyes hinted that she’d have welcomed a greeting kiss. “Wouldn’t have missed this.”
We both just stood there, staring at each other, me aching to hold her, cursing myself for agreeing to keep things professional between us.
“I am a complete idiot,” I told her.
Her brows pinched together. “Um…”
“Catie-belle, I just want to snatch you up and kiss you. I think I might have jumped the gun when I agreed to wait until we were done with work stuff.”
A wide smile lit her entire face, awing me with its brilliance. Her whiskey-colored eyes glittered with mirth. “Better to jump the gun than dodge a bullet. But that’s probably enough references to weapons, don’t’cha think? The waiting will be hard, but worth it, I believe.”
There’d be a lot that was hard for the next few weeks, for sure. I tightened my fingers on the door.
She lifted her chin up. “I’ve made great progress on the initial design. I promised Carrie a preliminary draft this afternoon. So…” She glanced at my chest, then back to my face. “I think a little snatching would be acceptable. How about a hello hug?” She opened her arms wide.
I didn’t hesitate. Just sprang forward and engulfed the woman, drawing her close. One arm around her shoulders, the other low on her back, not quite to the top of her ass, the way I wanted.
She was so tiny compared to me that my belt buckle hit right about her solar plexus and her face rested against my pecs. She wrapped both her arms around my waist and damn it felt right.
Like peanut butter and jelly, we fit.
I drew her closer and then lifted her off her feet, swinging us around in a circle. “Just remember you started this,” I whispered against the crown of her head. “It starts with a hug, but I’m claiming the privilege right now to hold your hand, or touch your cheek, or whatever, any time I want.”
She laughed and moved her hands to my chest, lifting her face to mine. “That works for me. But for now, could you put me down and tell me how all this works?”
Reluctantly, I set her back on her feet. “My engineer, Aspen, is here, but it will be just her and James and you in the control room. I’ll be in the booth. The rest of the band isn’t necessary to this part of the process. I still haven’t decided what sounds I want in the accompaniment. I’m eager to hear your thoughts on the song.”
Catie turned and reached back into the car. She faced me again with a teal-colored box in her hand, labeledRaised Right. “You mentioned lunch when you texted. I thought I’d bring cookies.”
Dang, my mouth watered as if on cue. “I’ve heard about that bakery. Don’t they bake some world-famous chocolate cookies?” I eyed the box hungrily.
She lifted the lid and a sweet, heavenly aroma wafted out. My mom had always said that chocolate and brown sugar were two of the four major food groups.
“It’s Naomi’s bakery. She named these cookies A Moment On The Lips.”
I reached for one, grateful that she didn’t slam the lid back down on my hand. I bit into the big soft cookie and rolled my eyes. “Amazing,” I mumbled around a larger bite. “So worth the forever on the hips punishment.”
Catie eyed my hips critically. “Mm hm.”
She laughed and closed the box, then shrugged her backpack higher on her shoulder, but I promptly slipped the strap free and slung the pack over my own shoulder. I put a hand at the small of her back and guided her to the front door.
“Pretty impressive place,” she remarked as we climbed the worn granite steps.
“It’s a lot cozier inside,” was all I could say. I crammed the last of the cookie into my mouth.
Once we entered the house, I led her to the kitchen and motioned for her to leave the box on the marble countertop.
