“Um, Charlotte, why don’t we … uh … take the veggies and dip into the dining room.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Marigold jerk her head in the direction of the other room.
“But I …” Charlotte looked back and forth between Boone and Luna. “Oh, yeah, we should definitely do that.”
They grabbed the platter and bowl of dip and scurried out of the kitchen.
“How are you?” Luna asked. “I was thinking about you today.”
“I’m doing much better now.” Just being with her made him feel better.
She gave him a small smile that chased away his agitation.
“Did you make those?” he asked her without breaking eye contact.
“Make what?” Luna still held the knife against the top of the cupcake.
“The cupcakes.”
“Cupcakes?” Her eyes were still locked on his. “Oh, yeah, I was just putting frosting on them.”
Boone couldn’t help himself—he stepped right into her personal space. “Can I help?”
“Sure.”
A single tiny word, uttered in that raspy, needy whisper of hers, was all it took to snap his tightly wound control.
He resisted the impulse to yank her into his arms and kiss the shit out of her. Instead, he locked down his control, set the vodka on the counter, and carefully took the cupcake and knife from her hands to set them next to the booze. He moved up to her slowly, as if approaching a newborn foal, crooked one finger beneath her chin and tilted her face up to him. He lowered his head until he was an inch or two from her face and waited to see if she might pull away from his touch.
Boone wanted—needed—one taste of her, that’s all. One little taste to satisfy his curiosity.
Her eyes searched his face, and she whispered, “Please, Boone.”
Far be it for him to ignore a lady’s plea. He closed the scant distance between them until he felt her warm breath against his mouth and was just about to settle his lips against hers—
“Boone, my granddad …” Calliope’s voice crashed through the haze of lust. “Ah, shit.”
Luna’s eyes popped open, and she dropped her forehead to his chest. To his surprise, she didn’t jump back from him.
He couldn’t measure how pleased he was that she hadn’t pushed him away.
“Sorry, guys.” Calliope cursed and started backing out of the room. “Return to what you were doing.”
“It’s all right, Calliope.” As much as he’d like to do just that, he thought it best to pick up where they left off another time. A time when there wasn’t a roomful of people mere feet away.
“You sure? Because I can—” His sister pointed over her shoulder.
“It’s okay, really.” Luna looked up at Boone, gave him a sweet smile, and turned to Calliope. “What were you going to say?”
“Boone, my dad and granddad would love to meet you and hear about your ranch.” She snorted. “They’re both really into that Kevin Costner TV show about that ranch in Montana, and they’re curious to find out how true-to-life it is.”
“Come on.” Luna surprised him again when she looped one arm through his and started toward Calliope. “I’d love to hear more about your ranch, too.”
His whispered close to her ear, “We’ll pick up where we left off later.”
She faltered a step and gave him a long look.
Boone grinned, and they followed the birthday girl into the large great-room area. Calliope introduced him to the men who’d raised her on their own after Boone’s and her mom took off on them.
He was five years old when his parents sat him down and told him he was adopted. They talked about how difficult the adoption process had been and the numerous disappointments they’d faced. They also shared that they’d almost given up hope.
