She gave me a sly smile and said, “I heard there was a celebration here this evening?”
I barely remembered to breathe. Before I could stop myself, I wrapped my arms around and gave her a hungry kiss. I couldn’t get her close enough to me, but luckily it seemed Emma felt the same, as she melted every curve of her body against mine and kissed me back.
After a moment, we both came up for air. I rested my forehead against hers. “Thank you so much for coming.” Then I surprised her by dipping down, scooping her up in my arms, and carrying her into my home.
Emma giggled as I buried my face next to her neck. Her warm breath on my skin started to give me the good kind of goose bumps. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
“I have to admit I didn’t know that about myself either.” I chuckled. “But you bring out parts of me I never knew I had.” I set her gently down on her feet next to her chair.
She turned and saw the table for the first time. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “You really are being romantic.” Then she leaned up and whispered in my ear. “I love candlelight.”
I turned and gave her a small kiss, then pulled her chair out for her to sit down.
Emma did so gracefully, then quickly unfolded the napkin and laid it across her lap.
I sat in the chair next to her and did the same. “I hope you like farm-fresh food.” I really hoped she liked it, because if she hated it, we were going to have to eat Wheaties.
Emma gave me a beautiful half-crooked smile. “Who from Montana doesn’t like farm-fresh food?” She looked around the table. “Lula’s! I love their salads.”
I let out a breath of relief. “You must really like it if you recognize the food out of the containers.”
“It’s where Becca and I go when we have something to celebrate,” she said lightly. “It’s usually too fancy for us, but they make the most amazing ribs, so we splurge for special occasions.”
“Well, lucky for you.” I chuckled, pulling the lid off of the tray that contained the main meal. “Ribs were included with dinner this evening.”
“This is the best day,” Emma said in all earnestness.
The rest of the meal passed happily while Emma and I discussed the food and shared every serving so we could savor the taste.
When it came to the ribs, I could tell Emma was trying not to get herself dirty, but the sauce was messy and she ended up with it on her cheeks and nose. As she pulled a rib away from her mouth and savored the taste of the meat with her eyes closed, I couldn’t help but chuckle again. I liked that the smallest things in life made Emma this happy.
Emma heard the chuckle and opened her eyes. “What?” she asked, using the back of her hand to wipe at her face.
“You have sauce …” I motioned to my own face.
She got a mischievous smirk on her face and said, “Maybe you should come help me clean it up.”
“I seem to remember you getting me dirty once already with some blue cotton candy,” I said, trying to give her a hard time.
She blew a lock of hair off her forehead. “Apparently, Dr. Mitchell, I’m a messy eater, but with the cotton candy I was getting you. This time, I’ve asked you to come get me.”
“I’m coming.” I made a show of opening the moist towelette that came with the meal, drawing out the anticipation with smoldering looks.
She leaned forward, her lips slightly puckered.
I swiped the wipe across her forehead. “Did I get it all?” I asked.
She lowered her eyebrows. “Why don’t you take a closer look?” The next thing I knew, Emma had scooted onto my lap.
I couldn’t handle having her this close and not touching her, kissing her. My body no longer desired food; all it wanted was Emma. She put her hands on both sides of my face and leaned in, giving me a slow and spicy kiss that fed the flame inside my chest.
Everywhere we made contact, heat pooled. As Emma gently pulled on my lower lip with her teeth, I had to lower my head and take a deep breath.
“I don’t know how you do this to me, Emma. You are going to make me lose control. I never thought I would let that happen, but you make me want to.”
The spell we seemed to be under calmed a bit as Emma took a deep breath. “You’re right. Maybe we should switch gears for a little bit.”
“All right. Did you have something in mind?”I swallowed, hoping she was clearer in the head than I was at the moment. My brain was covered in cotton swabs and stuffed with kindling. It wouldn’t take much for me to jump back in where we’d left off. But I didn’t want to push Emma beyond her comfort zone. As much as I was falling in love with her, I had this feeling that I needed to slow us down or I might explode.
