“I’m glad for everything that’s happened since,” I said. “Every moment.”
Taylor inhaled as my words hung between us. I hadn’t been thinking about our kiss when I said it, but I was now. So was she, if her dazed expression was any indication. Her gaze dropped to my lips, and it was my turn to suck in a breath.
She was the one who leaned in this time, but I met her halfway. Our lips brushed together, and just like last time, she tasted like apple cider. I was developing a thing for it, or at least for the taste of it on Taylor’s lips. I rested a hand on her jean-clad thigh as my lips explored hers. My eyes slid shut as I lost myself in the kiss, absorbing the pleasure of her mouth and the way it made my body tingle from my scalp to my toes.
After a long minute, we parted, both of us breathing hard as we sat up on our stools. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” She stared at me, blinking rapidly, like she didn’t know what to say. Maybe she didn’t know how she felt about our kiss. I wasn’t sure I did either, but I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
I reached for my wine to give myself something to do. I wanted to tell her that we should quit fighting this chemistry and just go for it, that we should drown ourselves in each other for the rest of my time in Vermont and see what happened. But, for any number of reasons, that might not be the best idea. I didn’t want to hurt Taylor when I left, and I didn’t want to get hurt either.
I was barely out of my relationship with Sabrina, and my feelings for Taylor were already deep and complicated. In the end, I polished off my glass of wine while she drank the rest of her cider, and we left the bar in an uncomfortable web of silence. It grew with every step as we crossed the marketplace toward the lot where Taylor’s SUV was parked.
“Holly texted while I was playing,” I said finally, desperate to get some conversation going. I couldn’t bear for our evening to end on this awkward note. “She said Violet and the puppies are fine. She stayed with them about an hour.”
“Good,” Taylor said. “I’m glad she was able to stop by.”
“I had a really great time tonight,” I couldn’t help saying.
“I did too.” But she didn’t look at me as she clicked the lock on the car. The lights flashed, and we each went around to our doors and climbed inside.
“And thanks for driving,” I added.
“Any time. I know these roads at night a lot better than you do.”
“That’s true.” I relaxed into my seat. After a week that had revolved almost entirely around a litter of puppies, it had been good to go out tonight. Everything about my life since I got to Vermont was unrecognizable to what my life in Boston was like, but I kind of liked it this way. I’d needed a change of pace, and I’d definitely found one here.
We were mostly quiet during the drive home, but it was a different kind of silence. This one felt comfortable. We were both tired after a long evening, although there was still an undercurrent of tension running between us. To me, it felt like a “what’s going to happen when we get to my house” kind of tension. Would Taylor come in to check on the puppies? And if she did, would we kiss again? Would she stay?
Did I want her to?
I did. Maybe it wasn’t smart, but I still wanted her, and I was tired of fighting it. Maybe we owed it to ourselves to find out what would happen if we gave this thing between us a real chance. Maybe we’d implode. Maybe we’d find something worth fighting for. The only thing I knew for sure was that I’d regret not finding out.
Taylor turned her SUV into my driveway. The windows in the master bedroom and the kitchen gleamed brightly in the darkness. Holly must have left the lights on when she visited. Gravel crunched beneath the tires as Taylor pulled in behind my car and cut the engine.
I looked at her, but she was staring straight ahead. “Do you, um, do you want to come in?”
She hesitated long enough for me to wonder if I was the only one ready to make the leap from friends to lovers. When she looked at me, I felt a punch of adrenaline somewhere in the vicinity of my diaphragm, making my lungs expand as I gulped air.
Her nod was barely perceptible in the dim interior of the SUV. “Yes.”
20
Taylor
My heart beat frantically as I followed Phoebe into the house. Tonight could go any number of ways, and it was probably up to me to decide what happened next. Phoebe had been quiet since our kiss, letting me take the lead, but she’d also invited me in. She’d launched the ball into my court. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it yet.
Violet greeted us at the front door, tail wagging so vigorously that it shook her whole body from side to side. I hadn’t seen her this animated before. She was blooming in Phoebe’s care, just like the roses out back and the puppies in the bedroom, while my self-control was withering.
“I’m going to take her outside,” Phoebe said.
“Good idea. I’ll check on the puppies.” I went down the hall to the bedroom, where the puppies were in a sleepy pile much as they had been when we left. I sat by the pen and rubbed them, loving the warm, soft feel of their fur beneath my fingers and the way they wiggled, feet flailing as they adjusted their positions.
While I waited for Phoebe to come back inside, I went into the guest bathroom to freshen up, and then I walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. I gulped most of it without stopping.
“Good idea,” Phoebe said as she stepped through the back door, unclipping Violet’s leash. The dog trotted over for a drink of her own while Phoebe joined me by the sink to pour herself a glass.
Violet looked up at us and whined before giving her empty food bowl a pointed look.