I grinned with her, imagining that would hit him where it hurt.
“I’m not going to though. That’s so much negative energy. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime.”
“That’s smart.”
“Careful, Luke Durham. You nearly gave me a compliment.”
“My bad,” I joked.
“I just want to move forward. Keep healing. Build my life as Magnolia Not-James. Maybe I could be one of those one-name people. Just Magnolia.” Her smile was fuller. More peaceful. Pretty.
“You’ve already started it with your business name,” I said, trying to shake off a spark of attraction.
That ship had sailed long ago and crashed into a giant iceberg. It was too late to send a rescue boat out.
Wasn’t it?
I stood. Time to take my leave.
“I’ll let you get to bed. Thanks for letting me in so late.” I laughed to myself. “Weird night.”
“That’s an understatement.” She rose and led me toward the door.
I specifically did not let my gaze drop to her ass. Instead I watched the way the damp waves down her back shifted as she moved. An image flashed in my mind of her in the shower, water dripping down her long locks as I joined her…
Forcing my attention elsewhere, I looked at my watch without really seeing the time, then made a point of noticing the flowered ceramic bowl with her keys in it on a small table near the door.
Magnolia opened the first door, led me to the outer one, and stood with her hand on the knob, facing me. When she looked up at me, her long lashes caught my attention as her lids lifted. Her blue-gray eyes met mine, unguarded for the first time in nearly two decades.
Without thinking it through, I stepped toward her, palmed the back of her head, and lowered my mouth toward hers. Inches away, I paused, checked those captivating eyes for a sign of hesitation. Her pupils enlarged as she peered back at me, seeming open, curious.
I kissed her. I intended to make it a brief touch of our lips, but as soon as we made contact, I was compelled to linger, to press my body against hers as I drew the kiss out for several seconds. I ended it before she could, staggering from the impact of that short contact.
“Good night, Magnolia,” I said in a rough voice and hurried out the door.
Magnolia
I shut the outer door, my heart still racing from the shot of ecstasy that was Luke’s kiss.
I went into my apartment, locked up, then leaned my back against the door, trying to gather my thoughts. That kiss was short but intense. It swirled the past into the present, leaving me…confused.
I felt lightheaded and bubbly on the one hand, because I’d never been kissed quite like that, with so much history and regret and apology and tenderness and…lust. I hadn’t missed his hardness as he pressed up against me.
On the other hand, how dare he just lean in and kiss me after everything we’d been through?
Worse? The thing that made me clench my jaw at the very thought?
I’d let him.
I’d practically welcomed him.
I could’ve stopped him at any time, but I hadn’t. I hadn’t wanted to. And that irritated me more than anything else. Because while I appreciated his apology and everything he’d said, I couldn’t just forget years of anger and be fine at the drop of a hat—or an apology. The emotions I’d gone through for eighteen years because of his actions… Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t just make all that baggage disappear.
But apparently I also couldn’t resist his kiss. I touched my lips, remembering how sure he’d been, confident, almost demanding. He was familiar and brand-new at the same time. Teenage Luke hadn’t been half as confident as mid-thirties Luke.
His self-confidence was a turn-on.
“Damn that man.”
