She quirked a saucy brow. “Not yet...”
He chuckled. “Uh-oh. Now I—as the guy—have to figure out what that means exactly. Will a kiss make her regret the evening, or will she be disappointed if he leaves her with only a hug?”
“And it’s the part where I have to wait and see what he wants to do...”
“Isn’t it obvious?” His soulful eyes searched hers for a long breathless moment. “He wants to kiss her.”
Her throat closed up, making her next words barely audible. “She’d like that very much.”
His gaze fell to her lips.
She forgot to breathe while she waited for his lips to touch hers. When they did, she instantly forgot where she was. Forgot everything but the feel of his mouth, warm and soft, on hers.
He stepped closer—or she did. His hands came to her waist, and she moved her palms up the hard planes of his chest. He kissed her as though he had all the time in the world. As though he were savoring her. The thought made her insides melt a little. His touch, reverent and undemanding, kindled a fire inside. Connor Sullivan knew how to kiss a woman.
His hands clenched at her waist an instant before he drew away.
The cool evening air pressed in on her, and a breathy sigh escaped. Her fingers were tangled in his hair, she realized as her eyes fluttered open. And they were unsteady as she let them glide down his chest.
She’d seen many looks in his expressive eyes, but this sleepy-eyed gaze won top spot in her favorites list. She’d put that look there, she thought, amazed.
“Okay, then...,” he said shakily.
Maybe she wasn’t the only one whose knees were about to buckle. She withdrew her hands but couldn’t pull away from the look in his eyes.
“That was...” He seemed at a loss for words, shook his head.
“Yeah,” she said with a tremulous smile. “It really was.”
Chapter 25
Washing the draperies was on Maddy’s to-do list on Wednesday. Judging by the dust puffing from her armload of curtains, it had been a while. She felt a tickle in her nose an instant before she let out a big sneeze.
Her eyes drifted out the living room window as she passed through. It was beautiful out today, but a tropical storm was brewing in the Caribbean, and a likely path had it coming their way in a couple days.
Emma and Nora had gone to the grocery to stock up on basics and to the hardware store for batteries and flashlights in case they lost power. In addition they were getting new cabinet pulls, lightbulbs, and a new seal for the bathroom faucet. Might as well get more work done around here, impending storm or no.
Their grandma was going to be tickled pink with their progress. She was finally flying home tomorrow—just in time for the storm, it sounded like. The walls were freshly painted in neutral colors, and Connor planned to finish the exterior Sunday.
Connor. She couldn’t help the smile that curled her lips as she dumped the curtains into the washing machine. He’d been around a lot this week, lending a hand. They’d worked and talked and laughed. But it seemed as though her sisters were always nearby—there hadn’t yet been a second kiss.
She couldn’t get the one they’d shared off her mind. She went to sleep thinking about it and woke up thinking about it. She was also pretty sure it had filled her dreams.
They were falling into a new routine. He’d started texting her good morning, and they shared a few texts in the afternoon. After work he came over for supper, and they went to work on the house again.
The doorbell rang as Maddy closed the washing machine, and Pippy ran to the door, barking. Maybe it was Emma and Nora, their arms full of groceries. Although it didn’t seem as if they’d been gone that long.
She rushed to the door, lifting a feisty Pippy into her arms, and swept it open. Her lips parted at the sight of the man on the front porch. He was dressed business casual in khakis and a slim-fit shirt.
Nick.
Maddy’s breath escaped, her stomach diving for the floor. He looked exactly the same, that dark hair flopping over his forehead, those ice-blue eyes warming on her as a smile lifted his lips.
“Hello, Maddy,” he said.
She gave her a head a shake as if he were a mirage she could make disappear. But no, he was here in Seahaven. On her porch, nothing but a screen between them. And he was smiling as if he hadn’t recently betrayed her in every way possible.
Of course Maddy had chosen this morning to throw on her ugliest paint-stained T-shirt and oldest pair of shorts. She hadn’t bothered with makeup either and had thrown her hair into a sloppy bun that was now falling down around her face. It bothered her most that she even cared.
