He was a big guy – tall, broad, muscular.She liked to think of herself as strong and capable, but standing here like this, pressed up against him, she felt kind of small and… delicate wasn’t the right word, but it was something close.
His eyes seemed to shine as he lowered his head toward her.“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this?”
She smiled.“I think I probably do.I think… about as long as I have.”
He cocked an eyebrow.“Yeah?”
She nodded.“I think so.”
“I think it’s been longer for me,” he said.
She doubted that.
“See, I wanted to kiss you the first time I met you.”
A rush of warmth filled her chest.“I was right,” she told him.“That’s exactly as long as I’ve wanted to kiss you.”
He grinned.“I was hoping, but I never knew for sure if you felt the same way.”
Then his smile faded.She could guess what he was thinking.He didn’t understand why she’d left town, and she’d never felt able to explain it to him.They could’ve been at the beginning of something if she hadn’t gone.
“But I did feel the same way,” she breathed.“I do.And… I’m sorry.”
He rubbed his nose against hers.“There’s nothing to be sorry for.We’re here now.”His arm tightened around her waist.“We made it.In the end, that’s what matters.”
She tightened her arms around his neck and chuckled.“So, are you going to kiss me, or are we going to talk about it all afternoon?”
He laughed with her, his fingers tangling in her hair as he pulled her head back.He brushed his lips over hers once, twice, three times, then pulled back and looked down into her eyes for a long moment.
All she could do was cling to him and pull his head down to her again.The next time their lips met, all the hesitation was gone.He kissed her deeply, and she kissed him right back.
The rest of the world seemed to fade away.She was lost in the feel of his arms, the steady thud of his heart against her chest, and his lips – the last thing she wanted to do was come back to reality.
~ ~ ~
Jake kept looking over at her as he drove up the eastern shore of the lake toward the development at Four Mile Creek.Of course, he was thrilled that she’d let him drive her Camaro.Not only thrilled – he was honored, too.He knew she didn’t let anyone drive it.But he almost wished she hadn’t.If she were driving, he’d be able to watch her.She was just so damn pretty; he found it difficult to keep his eyes off her.
She grinned when she caught him looking again.“Go on — whatever it is, say it.”
He hesitated.Most girls seemed to like being told they were beautiful.But Savannah wasn’t like that.He wasn’t worried about embarrassing himself; he was more worried he’d embarrass her.
“You don’t like it?”she asked after a little while, sounding disappointed.
It took him a moment to understand what she meant.She was talking about driving the Camaro.“I love it!”he exclaimed.“I’m pretty sure I’ve told you before how jealous I am of this thing — but now I’m even more jealous.It drives like a dream.”
He glanced over at her.“Runs like a dream — and I know that’s all because of you.”
He loved the way she sat up a little straighter and nodded happily.“I’ve done a lot of work on it over the years.You should have seen it when Art first took me to look at it.It was a mess.”
“And you did the full restoration yourself?”he asked.
“Not really.I mean, I did all the work, but Art told me what I needed to do.I wouldn’t have been able to without him.”
“But you did it,” he said admiringly.“I’ve always wanted an old Camaro like this.”
“Well, you can’t have it,” she told him with a smile.
He laughed.“I know it’s yours.I’m just grateful that you let me drive it.”
