“Not like he did,” I admitted. “You can trust me to never lay a hand on you in anger.”
“Promise me you’ll never lie to me as well and that’s all I need.” She rose to her tiptoes, her mouth so close that I could feel the warmth of her breath on my chin.
I searched her eyes, both hoping she’d pull back and praying she’d give me the go ahead I craved.
Her head tilted. “If you don’t kiss me right now, this is going to get really awkward.”
My willpower shattered. I slanted my mouth over hers and finally got my first taste of her sweet lips. She gasped at the contact, and I took the kiss deeper. Slow and gentle, I slid my tongue beyond her lips. My cock throbbed while blistering heat raced through me, urging me to back her against the counter and part her thighs.
She fisted my shirt in her hand and swayed. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close. One kiss was all it took for me to know without a shadow of a doubt—my heart was hers now.
And I was truly, absolutely fucked.
CHAPTER 6
BROOKLYN
It had beenhours since Levi and I had kissed last night, and my heart still pounded every time I thought about it. If his phone hadn’t rung, no telling where we might have ended up. I skimmed my fingertip over my lips, unwilling to let my thoughts go there.
“Are you doing okay?” Lily asked as she passed behind me.
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” I refocused my attention on the buttercream frosting in the mixing bowl in front of me. No matter how much I wanted to daydream about what might have been, I needed this job and couldn’t afford to mess up.
“Are you sure you’re available to help me set this up on Friday? I can have Mack come with me if you have plans.” Lily pulled another layer of the huge cake we were working on out of the refrigerator and set it down on the steel countertop in front of her. “I could probably even do it by myself but time’s going to be tight, and I’ve never actually set up a cake this big before.”
“Yeah, I can help. It’s not like I have anything else on my calendar.” Besides, it would be nice to get out of Mustang Mountain for a little bit, and I couldn’t wait to see the finished cake. Lily’s company had been contracted to do the catering for the grand opening of a garden center outside of town, includinga huge, spring-themed cake. She’d trusted me to make the base layer of frosting but had been handcrafting every type of flower known to mankind all week.
“You think Levi will actually let you out of his sight that long?” She smiled and nodded toward the front window. I caught a glimpse of him right before he pushed through the front door.
“I’ll handle this.” I shut down the mixer before I made my way to the front counter. He must have been in the area. Him stopping by couldn’t have anything to do with that kiss. “Hey, do you need something?”
He slid a paper cup across the counter. “I stopped in at the Merc and grabbed you a cup of coffee since you didn’t get your fix this morning.”
My hand shook as I reached for it. I’d been too nervous to face him after that kiss last night, so I’d waited until the last possible second before leaving the bedroom this morning. Except for a few awkward exchanges on the way into town, we hadn’t really talked since last night.
“Thanks.” I lifted my gaze to meet his.
He didn’t look away. Instead, his lips curled up just slightly at the edges. “You’re welcome.”
“That was really sweet of you. Can I get you a pastry? My treat?” I moved over to stand behind the pastry case. I’d already had a cherry danish. Working at Lily’s was going to have a negative effect on my figure.
“I’m good. Just headed over to meet with a potential client about a new job. You’ve got plans tonight, right?” He seemed the same as he’d been yesterday, pre-kiss, but also a tiny bit different. A little softer around the edges, maybe? Or it might have just been me reading something into the situation that wasn’t even there. Levi got around. A kiss probably meant nothing to him.
“Yes,” Lily called out. “It’s girls’ night at my place. She can catch a ride home with me after work.”
Levi nodded but didn’t take his eyes off me. “Call me when you’re done, and I’ll come pick you up.”
“Mack can take her back to your place after if that’s easier,” Lily said. “Or she can even spend the night.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Levi tapped his cup against mine and his lips widened. “And I think Gus would miss you if you didn’t come home. Have fun and I’ll see you later tonight.”
I waited until the front door closed behind him before trusting myself to take a sip of my coffee and head back to the mixer.
“What was that all about?” Lily asked without taking her eyes off the pink rose she was creating.
“I guess he had some time before an appointment and wanted to check in.” No need to make it out to be more than it was. Levi had a break in his schedule and stopped by. There wasn’t anything weird about that. He was probably making sure I still had plans tonight and was looking forward to having the cabin to himself for a few hours. And that bit about Gus missing me… I’d grown pretty fond of his dog over the past several days and we had a nighttime routine involving tea and the shortbread cookies I picked up at the Merc. That’s all it was, nothing more.
“No man stops by with a cup of coffee to check in unless he’s interested.” Lily looked over and arched her brows. “Is there something going on between the two of you?”
