Zach looked as if he wanted to say more, but instead he gave a quick nod.If it was bad news from Rainey, Tilly would rather deal with it alone at her place rather than in front of Zach and her family.
“We’ve got the flowers settled and the rehearsals are going well.I’m so proud of everything you’ve done, Tilly-Pilly.”Chrissy came up and gave her a big hug.“You’re going to knock the socks off the town, as well as the judges, and you’re going to win the contest.”
Tilly had to blink rapidly.“Thank you, and honestly, if you and Ryder hadn’t agreed to be part of it, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Chrissy pulled back and smiled at her.“You would’ve worked it out.I know you would’ve.”
“Right?She’s amazing,” Zach agreed, his hand resting at the small of her back, a solid reminder that he’d always been there for her.
“We make a good team, don’t we?”She glanced up at him, their gazes connecting, and heat flared between them.
Suddenly she wished they were anywhere but at the family farm.
Chapter Twenty
The drive backfrom the high school auditorium after yet another rehearsal seemed interminable to Zach.It had taken everything he had in him not to ravish Tilly in the greenhouse, amongst the poinsettias and in front of her sisters.
During rehearsal, she’d put everyone through their paces.It was all coming together, and he knew that the actual event was going to be amazing.
Chrissy had been smiling big during the run-throughs, and it reminded him how much her sister’s words had meant to Tilly when she’d told her how proud she was of Tilly at the farm.He wasn’t sure of the dynamics between the sisters but, the few times he’d seen them interact with each other, Chrissy, while displaying signs she loved her sister deeply, also didn’t trust or believe in her.Like with the poinsettias today, Tilly had given a number, but Chrissy had doubted her.Hopefully, after the event, Chrissy would see her sister in a different light and know that, while she was the youngest of the family, she was more than capable of being a success.
Finally, they pulled up to Tilly’s house.He unclipped his seat belt and was out of his truck and around to her side.
“Madam?”He held out his hand and gave a short bow.
Tilly giggled and placed her hand in his.“Why, thank you, kind sir.”
“Can’t have you slipping on the black ice, now can we?”Zach said and then promptly skidded.
Tilly’s giggles turned into a full belly laugh.“No, we can’t have that.Do you need me to hold on toyou?”
“I think maybe I do.”Zach pulled her tight and nuzzled her neck, inhaling her intoxicating musky scent.He found out it was perfume and lotion that she used every day.He was addicted to it.
Her arms tightened around his and they stood in her driveaway, where everyone could see them holding each other.He could stay here all day.Words of love welled up inside him.He couldn’t deny it any longer—she owned his heart, and he knew she would look after it better than anyone else.
“Tulip,” he whispered.He smoothed his hand across her cheeks, his fingers cold because he didn’t have any gloves on, and he was glad he didn’t have the barrier of thick fabric.
He opened his mouth but found he couldn’t speak.In all his life he’d never said, ‘I love you,’ not even to his mother.“I like you a lot,” he said instead.
“I like you a lot too,” she said, smiling.
Groaning, he swooped down and caught her lips with his.He poured everything he was feeling into the kiss.Letting her know how important she was to him.The kiss saying everything he was finding impossible to say.
When they broke apart, they were both breathless.“I think we should go inside,” he murmured, needing more than just kisses to keep him warm on the cold winter’s day.
“I think we should too.”
They walked up the short path to her front door and the second they were inside, he slammed the door shut and pushed her against it, taking possession of her mouth again.
This unquenchable desire to lose himself in her every opportunity he could get was madness.Tilly had cast a spell over him, and he was more than happy to let it possess him.Tilly owned him—heart, mind, body, and soul.
*
Tilly awoke warmand hungry.Lunch had been a long time ago, and feasting on Zach’s body, while satisfying in one way, didn’t satisfy her empty stomach.
A gentle snore came from the man beside her, and she rolled over to look at him, still not quite believing that someone as handsome and sexy as Zach Langley liked her.
For a moment, as they’d been standing by his truck, she thought he might tell her that he loved her.Instead, he’d said helikedher, and then he’d kissed her silly, and they’d ended up back in bed.Not that she was upset about that.
