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She tasted sweet, like chocolate and peppermint.
Perfect.
A pointed cough broke us apart. "Mom?"
I blinked, a lanky young man coming into focus, staring at us. Meg's face registered shock. "Banner! Oh my gosh, I didn't know you were in town!”
She bounded forward, hugging her son tightly, her smaller form a contrast to his taller one. She had to stand on tiptoe to reach her arms around his neck. Turning back to me with a brilliant smile, Meg dragged him closer to introduce us.
I stepped forward, pulse kicking up a notch.
Clearing my throat and nodding my head, I extended a hand. “You must be Banner. I'm Ryker. Nice to meet you. Your mom talks about you a lot.”
He shook my hand, his eyes assessing. "So you're the new boyfriend."
Meg, a faint blush on her cheeks, downplayed it. She ran her fingers through her son’s rumpled hair, and he allowed it, though his expression was mildly pained as she spoke. “Oh, we're just, you know, seeing where things go, babe. No need for you––or your brother––to worry about me.”
She gave him a pointed look loaded with subtext.
Banner's skeptical gaze flicked between us. "Uh huh."
An awkward beat passed as I scrambled for something else to say, something with the right tone. Friendly, but not trying too hard. Finally, I managed to croak out, "Your mom's an amazing woman. You're lucky to have her."
Banner seemed to thaw a little at my words. Maybe he picked up on my sincerity.
I hoped he did.
“Yeah, she's pretty great." He offered his mom a fond smile and she smiled back, giving his arm a squeeze.
“So Banner, babe, what are you doing in town? Are you here with friends? You haven’t been back here since Granny passed.” Meg lifted an inquisitive brow.
Banner flushed, guilt crossing his face. I could tell he was making excuses. It was evident he was only in town to check up on his mother and I totally respected him for it.
“Oh, yeah, Mom, just here hanging out for the weekend with some old friends. Haven’t seen them in awhile, so Christmas break seemed like a good time. In fact, I should probably get back to them…” He puffed out a breath, trailing off.
"Of course. Let’s have coffee or breakfast or something, before you leave. Stop by when you’re free, and I’ll give you the grand tour of my new place. Also, be safe babe!” Meg gave him a mock stern look and kissed his cheek before Banner loped off into the crowd.
I exhaled, shoulders loosening in relief. "Well, that was..."
"Awkward? So sorry about that." Meg gave my arm an apologetic squeeze. "He's just protective. But you handled it well.”
Her laughter tinkled on the night air. “Thank you for being so patient. It was obviously an ambush, he hasn’t been to Seashell Cove in forever. And I know meeting kids is a pretty big step..."
Before she could ramble on, I brushed a windblown strand of hair off her face and slid my arm around her waist, yanking her close and cutting her off with a hard press of my lips to hers.
I leaned back to stare intently into her eyes. “Stop. He loves you. I'm glad he's looking out for you."
Meg melted against me, her lashes drifting down over those beautiful irises as her lips moved under mine, opening for me, letting me taste her, meeting me tit for tat. I knew then that I was falling hard––again––for this remarkable woman.
"Your place or mine?" she murmured, her voice husky, her gaze bold and dark with want.
A foolish grin spread across my face.
I didn’t give a damn.
“Your place, obviously. It’s closer,” I growled in her ear. I felt a small shiver wrack her body, and my pants tightened.
Anticipation slid through me.
