We might have acted out a fantasy in her shop, but that didn't lessen what happened between us. It was big, and I wasn't afraid to acknowledge it.
"I like that."
"I want to call you mine."
She looked around the room. "Are you sure? I might not get my lease renewed and then what? I'd have to find a new location for my store or get a real job."
"Hey, you have a real job. You're a business owner."
"I can't help but think that everything has been going so well lately. I mean, not the flooding obviously, but us. The online store. It can't stay this good, right? Something has to give."
"Who says anything has to change? What if it's only up and up from here?" I asked her, feeling that hope grow in my chest.
She smiled softly. "I like the sound of that."
"There's nothing wrong with believing it's all going to work out. I don't think Eve will give into Bill's demands."
"I don't know. I'm new. Everyone else has been in town for a while. Other than Belle of course. But no one is going to argue that we don't need a bookstore. There's nothing nefarious about that. Unless Bill is going to start complaining about steamy romance books."
I waggled my brows. "Don't put it past him, and you are selling your panties there."
I couldn't make promises because I didn't know Eve or Natasha that well. I didn't know anything about the businessside of Christmas town or how much pull Bill had with the other shop owners. It bugged me that I couldn't reassure her. "We should relax tonight and not think about Bill."
She let out a breath. "You're right. I don't get out often enough that I want to ruin it by talking about him."
"That's my girl," I said, loving the sound of that.
She smiled.
Our food came, and we ate, talking about the town and upcoming events. Eve's desire to continue to bring people in year-round and whether it would work. I spoke about the renovations, and how I was managing so many requests for repairs at once. "It's hard to prioritize. But I kind of want to do Bill's first, so he'll leave you alone."
She rolled her eyes. "I hate that he gets what he wants by being a pain in the you-know-what."
"I don't want you to have to deal with him." I didn't like that he came to Angela's store and harassed her.
After we'd eaten, we ordered dessert to share. The chocolate cake was decadent, and we took turns feeding each other.
She'd reapplied the red lip stick, and all I could think about was her lips wrapped around my dick. I shifted on my chair, wondering how long it would take to get her home.
When the check came, I whipped out my card, eager to finish the meal.
As soon as I signed the check, I stood and held my hand out to her. "You ready to go home?"
She placed her hand in mine. "Yes."
I grabbed her coat, helping her shrug into it, and then we walked toward the back parking lot, where we'd both parked our cars. "I'll drive."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I don't want to be apart." Not even for the ride home. I wanted her in my passenger seat so that every time I looked over, I'd be reassured that she was here with me.
On the drive home, we were both quiet. I was thinking about how she looked in her shop earlier this evening. She still wore the same lingerie under her black dress, and I couldn't get the vision out of my head.
I parked in the driveway, her house lit with the lights that we'd installed.
On the porch, I waited for her to unlock the door. Inside, she shut it. Then I pressed her against the wood and kissed her. "I waited all night to do that."
She tasted like chocolate and whipped cream. A decadent mix I couldn't get enough of. My hand slipped under her dress, reveling in her soft skin. My fingers drifted higher, to the familiar snaps between her legs.
