“I’m really moving here. Gotta watch my great grand babies grow up, sweet pea. Between your DNA and your fiancé’s, I bet they’re going to get into heaps of trouble. You’re going to need me.”
“You’re right about that.” I lifted my mug in the air.
He raised his and we clinked.
“Now explain to me how the hell you fell into a mine shaft.”
“I’d rather talk about my bookstore,” I said.
“First the mine shaft, then the bookstore.”
I was dancing barefoot in the kitchen when Brooks opened the apartment door.
A smile bloomed across his face when he saw me. He set down the brown paper bag and his keys onto the counter.
I picked up my phone and paused the music. “Hi ya,” I greeted.
“Don’t stop on my account.”
I bounced toward him, the song still jiving in my head. I wrapped my arms around him. “Hello.”
He peered down at me and placed a kiss on my lips. “Hello.”
“You okay with spaghetti and meatballs?” I asked as he released me.
“Sounds good to me,” he said. “We’re not having dinner with Grampy?”
I shook my head. “Nope. He’s hosting poker night. No young people allowed.”
“No kidding,” he said with a chuckle. “He’s already got a poker night? He’s been here what? A week?”
“Ten days,” I said. “What’s in the bag?”
He pulled out a bottle of sparkling apple cider. “I sold the RV.”
“Yay,” I said with a wide grin. “It’s official. You have no place to run to when we get into a fight.”
I looped my arms around his neck and stood on my tiptoes.
He bent his head down and captured my lips with his. His hands shook as he reached up to cradle my face.
Brooks kissed me with tenderness, with passion, with promise.
He dropped his hands from my face as his fingers went for the buttons on my shirt.
“What are you doing?” I asked, breathless.
His grin was wolfish. “Burning the meatballs.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
The Barn
“You’ve got the prettiest gourd,” Brooks said as he draped his arms around me from behind.
I looked at him over my shoulder and grinned. “How did you make that sound sexual?”
“I didn’t make it sound sexual,” he said. “Youwith your hormones took it that way.”
