Anna grinned. “He raised John and me.”
“Really? He was a stay-at-home dad?”
“Yep. Mom worked a lot of nights and weekends, so he was pretty much a full-time dad while we were growing up. The coolest dad too.” Anna’s expression was fond. “He took us to our after-school activities and went to all our games. My friends loved him because he was the dad who’d bring ice cream cups and drink pouches for the whole team.”
“Aww, I love that.” Eden tried to imagine her own dad doing anything similar and failed to form a believable mental image. When she thought of Anna’s dad, though, she could easily picture it.
“After we were out of the house, he worked a few odd jobs, but by then, my mom was making more than enough money at the restaurant, so eventually he declared himself retired and started building model ships.”
“Your family is really great.” Eden glanced out the window to her left, where golden sunlight bathed the treetops as the sun settled low in the sky. “Let’s clean up the kitchen, and then there’s something I want to show you.”
“Okay,” Anna agreed easily.
Together, they cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. Eden enjoyed these everyday tasks when she was in Vermont. As someone who lived a pampered life most of the time, she’d always found something soothing about the reminder that she could take care of herself when she needed to.
“This is really nice, you know,” she said. “You and me, working together in the kitchen.”
Anna bumped into her as she reached for the cutting board she’d used earlier. Eden dropped her towel and turned to wrap her arms around Anna. It was amazing how natural it felt now to hold a woman in her arms and kiss her. The heat she felt no longer frightened her, although it was starting to overwhelm her, after the amount of kissing she and Anna had done today. If she was already this aroused from a simple kiss, Eden could hardly fathom what it would be like if they took the next step together.
At the same time, she couldn’t imaginenottaking that step. She wanted Anna. She wanted to experience sex with someone she was actually attracted to, even if it also terrified her, because she liked to be in control, and she felt increasingly out of control when she kissed Anna. She had no idea what to expect once their clothes came off, but it was a risk she really,reallywanted to take.
“Come upstairs with me,” she murmured against Anna’s lips.
“Um ... really?” Anna’s eyes went wide.
Eden chuckled. “I mean, yeah, I was definitely thinking about sex just now, but first, I want to show you the balcony off my bedroom. We’ll have a perfect view of the sunset.”
“Oh.” Anna laughed, giving Eden a squeeze before she released her. “I won’t say no to sunset views ... or whatever happens after.”
Eden swallowed, her throat gone dry. “Let’s start with the sunset and take it from there.”
“Okay, I love it here.” Anna sipped her wine as she watched the sun settle against the treetops. Her right hand was loosely clasped in Eden’s. Despite it being late June, the air was pleasantly warm and crisp, not overbearingly hot. It reminded her of LA.
“Mm,” Eden murmured in agreement.
Anna tore her gaze from the sunset to look at her. Eden wore a sapphire-blue sleeveless top paired with black skinny jeans. Her hair was down. She wore minimal makeup, and she looked ... “peaceful” was the best word Anna could think of to describe the expression on Eden’s face. The sunset had cast a golden glow over her skin.
Birds chattered in the nearby woods. Nelle would love to sit out here with them if she were here. She loved bird-watching from the windows at home. Anna missed her. She’d never been away from her cat for this long before, but as much as she’d been looking forward to seeing Nelle this week, she was more glad to be here with Eden.
“Are there trails out there?” Anna gestured to the woods behind the house.
“Yes. They lead up that hillside you see there.” Eden pointed. “There’s a stream that runs through the middle of the property, and one of the trails leads along it. I put a little gazebo up there where I can sit and read while I listen to the babbling water. It’sbliss.”
“Wow, you know how to do your relaxation right. I definitely want to see that.”
“Good, because I was hoping to take you there after breakfast.” Eden slid a glance in her direction, a satisfied smile on her face.
Impulsively, Anna leaned over and kissed her, immediately lost in the warmth of Eden’s lips. They’d kissed more today than they ever had before, and Anna had been low-key aroused all day. Based on the slightly dazed look on Eden’s face, she might be feeling the same way. She tasted rich and spicy, like the wine they were drinking, her lips hungrily moving against Anna’s.
It was almost hard to believe this was real, that Anna was here in Vermont with Eden, kissing her like she couldn’t get enough,feelinglike she couldn’t get enough. Eden had acknowledged her sexuality and her interest in a relationship. They’d talked through all their stumbling blocks. There was nothing stopping them from going into the bedroom and taking this all the way ... if Eden was ready for that.
“Oh,” Anna gasped as she looked up and saw the orange blaze over the mountaintops. “Oh wow ... I almost missed it.”
“Gorgeous, right?” Eden sounded breathless, but when Anna looked over, she was watching Anna, not the sunset.
“So pretty,” Anna agreed, and she wasn’t watching the sunset anymore either. She could see it reflected in Eden’s eyes, like flames in her pupils. Anna felt those same flames blazing inside her as their gazes locked, and she was fairly sure the heat in Eden’s eyes wasn’t solely an optical illusion caused by the sunset.
“Come here,” Eden said.
