Megs shook her head and pursed her lips. “I get this feeling. Whenever there’s something I’m really excited about, it’s like my brain goes from being Main Street in Sugar Creek to the Las Vegas strip.”
“You get excited about gambling and strippers?” Megs pushed against his chest, and Gideon chuckled. “Seriously, though. Why would lighting up be a bad thing?”
“It’s not, it’s an incredible thing. But then I’m like a moth heading straight for those lights, and I don’t take a second to think about the fact that it could be a bug zapper.”
“You’re focused.”
Megs laughed. “No, I’m a seagull that just discovered something shiny.”
Gideon frowned. “I’m not following.”
Megs knew she was already sounding like a crazy person, but she couldn’t keep the words from tumbling out. “It usually ends up badly, Gideon! Look at the current scenario. I was so excited about the audition, I spent money I didn’t have, I nearly cost myself a job, and a place to live—”
“But you didn’t.”
“Because of you! You helped me get back into that certification course, and you helped me finish the audition . . .” Megs trailed off as an image coalesced in her mind. A strong branch. An aimless vine.Maybe a bit of a mess sounds like exactly what I need in my life right now.“You’re the shiniest thing, Gideon.”
He chuckled. “Most unique compliment I’ve ever been given.” His hand moved over her shoulder and up the side of her neck.
Megs had to work to keep her head from dropping back to give him more skin to work with. She couldn’t believe he was standing there. Pressed up against her just like that night at Sammy’s.All the lights were blazing for Gideon.“I don’t want to mess this up.”
Gideon smoothed his thumb over her skin. “Good thing it doesn’t only depend on you.” He lowered his head and kissed her, and Megs was immediately angry.Not at him but at her own memory. She’d relived that kiss with him a thousand times, and every fantasy had paled in comparison to this.
She arched into him, pressing her fingertips into his back and feeling the flex of his muscles under his shirt. He tasted like coffee and smelled like that hike they’d taken in the woods. Gideon slid his fingers into her hair, and Megs sighed against his lips.
“I should’ve dropped your class.”
Gideon’s voice sounded dragged over gravel. “Yeah. You should’ve.” He pushed her back until she nudged the stool at the edge of the counter, then lifted her up onto it.
Megs curled her legs around him and looped her arms over his shoulders. “But then I wouldn’t have seen you twice a week.”
“I thought that was torture.”
Megs’ eyes widened. “Iknewyou saw that text.” Gideon laughed and pressed his lips into the hollow of her neck. Megs flashed back to the last minutes of their drive from Sugar Creek. How she’d thought he’d been upset about her YouTube proclivities. “I thought I’d made you uncomfortable. It seemed like you couldn’t look at me after that.”
Gideon cleared his throat. “Because if I looked at you,Iwas right back in that parking lot. Once I knew you were still thinking about it. You don’t know what that did to me.” He murmured the words against her skin and sent tingles shooting down her spine.
Megs traced the curve of his ear then slipped the tips of her fingers under the collar of his shirt. Exactly what she’d wanted to do in that tractor. Gideon lifted his head, and Megs pulled his mouth to hers. She melted against his lips, memorizing the taste of him. Her hands took on a life of their own, pressing against any part of him she could reach and tracing each line she’d fantasized about discovering.
Gideon’s heart sped against hers, and Megs couldn’t force herself to go slow. How many nights had she lain awake in bed imagining this? How many times had she been sitting in class with her insides writhing because of that dimple in his cheek or his tongue flicking across his lips?
Now it was flicking across hers, and she couldn’t get enough of it. Gideon slid his hands along her hip bones and tugged at the strings of her apron. Megs had just reached for the loop around her neck when someone banged on the glass.
Gideon stiffened justas Megs startled and pulled his head against her chest. It took him a moment to orient himself, but once he did, he was more than happy to stay put.
“Haley?” Megs gasped. Gideon pulled back reluctantly, and she hastily let go of him with a panicked look on her face. “I’m sorry, I flinched.”
Gideon gave her a sly smile. “Don’t apologize.” He rubbed the back of his neck and turned to see what Megs was gaping at. The friend that had been at the coffee shop the first time he’d walked in was standing outside the glass, her eyes wide.
Megs jumped off the stool and ran to the door. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she flung it open. Haley stood there with her mouth hanging open as she looked between the two of them. Megs lowered her voice, but he could still hear her. “Spit it out!”
“I’m sorry, I was just a bit distracted by what I saw happening. Is that—?”
“Haley.” Megs hissed.
Gideon chuckled. It felt good to know Megs had been so hot and bothered that she’d complained about him to her friends. Seeing that text had made his decision today simple. He still couldn’t believe Megs had gotten herself kicked out of school, but more than that, he couldn’t believe that every barrier to wanting her had been swept from his path in under twenty-four hours.
Haley gave an exasperated sigh. “Fine, but I better get details.” She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket. “I was trying to call you, but it seems you were, ah, otherwise engaged.” Haley held out her phone screen in front of Megs’ face.
