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“I’d like to meet your mama,” Gretchen said. “Because we ladies who like sour in our desserts need to stick together.”
Will put down his spoon and wiped his mouth. “I’d like you to meet my mama too.” He’d been conversational during dinner, and they’d talked about the food and the farm and not much else. Gretchen knew there’d be plenty of time to get to know him, and it was nice to not have to be learning something new about him every second.
She had learned that he liked his bacon extra-crispy, and even men would eat vegetables if there was enough honey glaze to go over them.
“Your mama and your horse,” she teased. “That’s what’s important to most cowboys.” She put both hands on the table and leaned forward. “Do you have a horse, Will?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice a bit guarded. “He’s kind of like your cat. A little standoffish to people he doesn’t know.”
“What’s his name?” Gretchen asked.
“Leonard,” Will said.
Gretchen burst out laughing, sure Will was pulling her leg. He smiled, but he didn’t join in the laughter, and she realized he wasn’t kidding. “Leonard?” she repeated.
“He was a rescue,” Will said. “I didn’t get to name him.”
“You can’t rename a horse?”
“He likes his name.”
Gretchen blinked at him, still trying to decide if Will was joking. He could flirt with her, and he could be playful, but he wasn’t the kidding type. “All right,” she said. “Leonard it is.”
He tossed his napkin on the table, over the mostly gone glass of pudding. “Yep.” He sighed and looked out into the darkness. “Should we go?”
“Sure,” Gretchen said, standing up and putting her napkin on the table too. Will tossed a bill on the table, and Gretchen took one last drink from her water glass.
Somehow she walked back to the truck, and then before she knew it, Will had pulled into her driveway.
He held her hand on the way to the front door, and Gretchen wanted time to slow down now. Everything in the past half-hour had happened too fast, and she didn’t want to miss her first kiss with this man.
Her pulse beat like a big bass drum as she faced him. She wanted to say something quippy like,If my breath is too oniony, you can stop kissing me.
She simply looked at him, the reverberations of her heartbeat filling her ears and throat.
He reached up and slid one hand along her jaw and neck to the back of her head. “I haven’t kissed a woman in five years,” he whispered.
“I’m sure you still know how,” Gretchen said, taking a small step toward him. His hand brought warmth to her whole body, this single physical connection between them.
She put her hands on his chest, and they moved together—her inching up and him leaning down. His other hand landed on her hip, and her eyes drifted closed.
Will touched his lips to hers, and Gretchen felt like she’d left her copper kettle over the flame for far too long. Heat soared through her, making her feel like steam was rising from the top of her head.
He moved slowly, almost experimenting to make sure he did remember how to kiss a woman. She slid her hands up and across his shoulders, then into his hair as he brought her closer and kissed her deeper.
All she could do was kiss him back and hope that she tasted as delicious as he did. She got chocolate and sugar and cream, and an earth-moving, life-changing kiss that shifted everything inside Gretchen’s life.
