“Hey, come on,” Kyle said. “I think I deserve at least a taste.”
She fought a smile as she caught another morsel on the end of her fork and fed it to him. His lips closed over the tines, and she fought a little shudder, her mind conjuring images of those lips closing over her breasts and teasing her nipples.
Oh, Lord, what was with her? When she was with Kyle, even the most mundane actions seemed to raise thoughts of sex.
He licked his lips, and she fought another warm, gooey moment. “It’s good.”
She could only shake her head and laugh.
After a few more minutes she pushed back from the table and excused herself, giving Kyle a soft kick under the table. A message. Time for them to give the grandparents a little room.
She headed back to the small study near the front of the house to wait for Kyle. They’d already decided that they would disappear together for fifteen or twenty minutes. To give the grandparents a bit of alone time.
The room was lined with glass-fronted cabinets, each lit from within. They were filled with trophies and awards, and Mel eased forward, hoping tocatch sight of an Oscar. Instead she found a collection of honors in Kyle’s name.
Fascinated, she drew closer, like a moth to the flame. Here was Kyle’s past, his triumphs and dreams, and she wanted to suck in the knowledge and hold it close inside her.
She stared into the first case, then realized she was hugging herself. God help her, she wanted to know everything. Wanted to know what made that man tick.
Wanted to know if his father had taken time away from playing the diplomat to toss Kyle a football. Wanted to know if his mother had cried when he’d become a cop, afraid her baby would give his life for someone else’s.
She wanted to know all those things, but, damn it, she didn’twantto want it.
She drew closer, drawn by the call of the gleaming trophies. They were all from college, which made sense, she supposed, since he’d traveled so much when he was younger. Debate Team, Most Valuable Member. She smiled. That one wasn’t surprising; Kyle could argue with the best of them. State Chess Championship. Varsity Football. Track and Field.
The next case contained service plaques, alsofrom high school. Habitat for Humanity. Caritas. RIF volunteer.
The room painted a picture of an extraordinary man.
And right now—at this time and in this moment—that extraordinary man was hers. For once she really had gotten the prize…and she hadn’t had to steal it.
For a long moment she stared at the trophy case, then realized she was shaking her head. She’d always been such a practical, pragmatic person. And yet here she was, lost in a life she was making up as she went along.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was living in a dream, and that wasn’t a good place for a girl who’d been raised squarely in the harsh light of reality.
She wasn’t Cinderella.
Kyle wasn’t a prince.
And they weren’t going to ride away into the moonlight. No matter how much she might wish they would.
“Quite the tribute, huh?” Kyle’s voice behind her.
She turned and frowned, not sure what he meant.
He gestured toward the cases. “Most people keep that stuff packed up in the attic.” He shrugged. “Emily likes memories. Mine and hers.”
“I like your memories, too.”
“Yeah?” He moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she leaned against him, a solid male wall that wouldn’t let her fall. Unreasonably, her eyes brimmed with tears, and she blinked them back.
“Yeah,” she said. She snuggled closer, wrapping her arms around his. “How’s it going out there?”
His mouth brushed her hair as he chuckled. “I think we’ve got ourselves a winner.”
“Honestly?”
“Honestly, I think they’re in love. Whether they’ll admit it or not is anybody’s guess.”
Kind of like me. The thought came unbidden into Mel’s head, and she clenched her teeth together, terrified she would say it aloud. She’d been avoiding thinking thoughts of love, of futures, of a life she couldn’t have.
But shedidlove him, and she only hoped that she could walk away without tearing herself to shreds.
