None of those things are enough to take me from the gaze that Stallone has on me now. When he looks at me, I feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet, and all I want to do is melt into his arms. It's more than just feeling beautiful though. I feel seen and respected, so much more than I have ever. My thoughts are muted but insistent with the biggest thing being that we both agreed from the start we weren’t looking for anything long term.
“Would it matter if I didn’t?” I level my gaze with his, and he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me toward him with so much insistence I must place my palms on his chest to keep my balance. His hand finds my chin, tipping my face up with the same urgency, and his lips crash down on mine, leaving no room in my heart for doubts. When he pulls away, my fingertips rise to brush over my bottom lip that’s still tingling. I wait for him to say anything to hint of how he’s feeling.
When he speaks it doesn’t disappoint. “It could matter.”
I swallow, feeling my upcoming decision deep in my gut. I know what I want to do. I stare off past him, trying to think of what I’m going to tell my family. It’s not even so much my dad, but Christian. He’s so insanely protective of me, and when he finds out the reason I want to stay, he’s going to chew fire.
fifteen
Stallone
“I know you love coffee.” I bring her a mug of the piping hot coffee I had made as we move to the couch for after-dinner conversations. She takes her mug, and I plop down beside her, taking up so much room, it feels like a love seat.
I’m not complaining.
We ate our burgers side by side, bellied up on my kitchen island. She didn’t miss a chance to brush my shoulder or reach out to give me a soft touch. It’s more than the flirtation we’ve shared before. Those little touches do everything to ignite a fire in my heart and bond me to her.
“You make great coffee.” She hums between several slow swallows and focuses on the after the nightly news talk show that’s on TV.
"It’s the Keurig,” I reply, but then our conversation wanes. The longer our date goes on, the more comfortable we are sitting in silence. It doesn’t surprise me one bit when she slouches herbody against mine, pulling her feet up under her until we are fully snuggling. I wrap my arms around her and it’s a relief to feel her this close. She’s relaxed, not the hyper- competitive woman she was on our first date. I take the moment to lean over and drop a kiss on top of her head. Her sweet honey scent consumes me, and I marvel at how I’m one lucky guy.
Speaking of Lucky, I let him in the house after dinner, and he took right to El, curling up on the floor by our feet. The three of us are the picture of happiness I always had in my head. Only now I finally see El’s face in that picture, and it makes my heart pound so hard that if I didn’t know it was happiness, I would think I was having a medical emergency.
I grab her free hand and playfully rub my thumb over hers. “So, what’s your family going to say when they find out you met an old man?”
She tips her face up to mine. “You’re not an old man, and it doesn’t matter what they think. It only matters what I think.”
The thing is, I want to believe her.
But she’s so young.
Some would say too young, with wild oats left to sow.
But I believe her when she says she doesn’t care, because she doesn’t seem the type to care about sowing wild oats.
I’m in that place in life where I’m ready to make adjustments for someone special. I’m not so stubborn to think life must only be my way. If she wants to go slow, we will tiptoe together, relishing all the milestones we make. If she wants to move things along faster, and wants a family with me . . .
Then I’m an even luckier man.
I’ve never felt so still inside while knowing it’s all going to work out.
I roll my bottom lip, trapping it in my teeth. It’s crazy to feel this way so soon after just meeting someone, but I’ve never felt this kind of connection with anyone.
I’d say I’m falling for her.
It’s clearly too soon to tell her that, but I have something else in mind. Something to show her.
“Hey.” I drop my hand down to her hip and lean forward at the same time. “Come with me.”
Her perfect brow furrows together into a quizzical look, but she doesn’t hesitate to follow my lead. We rise off the couch together, and I take her hand and lead her to the French doors off the kitchen and onto the wraparound deck. I don’t need to tell her why I brought her out here. The ladylike gasp that slips from her lips the second she sees the sky tells me she gets it.
“I’ve never seen stars like this before.” Her tone is drenched in awe as her gaze glues upward, while she meanders all the way over to the end of the deck that overlooks the valley. Nothing blocks her view, and her expression morphs into one of childlike wonder.
I knew the stars wouldn’t disappoint as the sky was cloudless all day. Normally, when I’m out at night, I enter a haze where I can’t help but think this must be the most beautiful place on earth. Tonight, I just look at her. I walk up behind her and wrap both arms around her body. She doesn’t flinch, but covers her hands with mine, and we freeze together looking up. She fits so perfectly into my arms that my heart skips an actual beat, making my chest ache, and I suck back a deep breath.
I never planned on Arielle.
I certainly wasn’t out looking for something to consume my thoughts so much that it makes it impossible for me to concentrate on anything for longer than a few minutes, but I’m not going to run from this either. I dip my head down to rest it on top of hers.
