But they needed to go into this with their eyes open. “I’m willing to consider staying in Riverbend. But I don’t know the future. I can’t make any promises.”
A smile tilted her lips. “It’s too early for promises. I realize that. I just needed to know you were open to the idea.”
“You have me open to all kinds of ideas.” His gaze dropped to those luscious lips of hers. Finally. He’d been dreaming of another kiss since early this morning. How had it been less thantwenty-four hours since he’d had his arms around her? He leaned forward, felt the warmth of her breath on his lips. His heart thudded heavily against the confines of his rib cage.
She placed a palm on his chest, stopping him.
His breath emptied in one long sigh. “You gonna make a habit of this, sweetheart?”
“Sorry.” Those worry lines appeared between her brows, and fear shadowed her eyes. “Just promise you won’t leave suddenly. That if you decide you can’t do this, you’ll be honest with me. You’ll tell me as soon as you realize.”
He wanted to eradicate her every doubt and fear. He wanted to make her smile and laugh and sigh in satisfaction instead. He ran a thumb across her cheek. “I promise.”
She held his gaze for a long moment. And then her lips were on his, soft and searching, giving and receiving.
He pulled her closer, sliding his arms around her at long last. She fit him just right. Familiar somehow, as if he’d held her a hundred times already. But new, too, like he could never get enough.
Her fingers scraped through his hair. A hand gripped his bicep. She had his full attention. He was lost and didn’t want to be found. When he deepened the kiss she mewled in response, and the sound sent a jolt through his system. This woman lit him up like a Christmas tree.
The kiss went on and on, stirring every cell to life, making him wish for things they weren’t ready for. He should tap the brakes. They shouldn’t rush this. He wanted to be careful with her feelings. With his own for that matter.
With the patience of a saint, he drew away, putting inches between them.
Her needy gasp was nearly his undoing.
Her eyes fluttered open, their depths mirroring his own feelings and desires. They took each other in, their ragged breaths mingling in the space between them.
“I guess it wasn’t a fluke after all,” she whispered.
A chuckle caught in his throat, tangled in a knot of need. “It definitely was not.”
Thirty-Five
It wasn’t easy. But as if by mutual agreement, Charlotte and Gunner settled into work with an unspoken rule. By day they were boss and employee, and by evening they were more.
So much more.
He made her feel so many good things. The fluttery stomach, the flush of anticipation, the sweaty palms. With him she felt joy and peace and comfort. Until she thought of the future. He hadn’t brought up Belle Vista since they’d been together. Had he given up the job, or was he waiting to see how things went between them? Maybe she should bring it up herself, but she didn’t want to rush him.
Over the next two weeks, Gunner came for supper several times. And tonight they went to Gavin and Laurel’s home. They had a wonderful chili dinner and finished it off with homemade apple pie, the fruit fresh off the trees in their beautiful Harvest Moon Orchard.
After Gavin put Emma to bed, the couples sat around the firepit on their patio, chatting like old friends until the moon rose high in the sky.
The guilt didn’t hit Charlotte until she and Gunner arrived at her place. Emerson’s car was gone, but that was no surprise. When she wasn’t out on a date, she was hanging out with Vivian from the bakery.
Charlotte walked up the porch steps, Gunner on her heels, and turned at the door. The porch light shed a golden light across his lovely features. Sometimes she just stared at him in wonder that he was hers. “Want to come in?”
“We’ve had a lot of late nights this week—not that I’m complaining. But I caught you yawning at least three times tonight.”
“A girl needs her sleep.”
“Exactly why I’m gonna get on my bike and let you hit the hay.”
“Listen to you, talking like a bona fide southerner.”
“I’ll leave the sexy drawl to you.”
She loved that he adored her accent. It wasn’t the first time he’d mentioned it this week. But her thoughts returned to her half brothers and turned sour. “Do you think Gavin and Cooper will be angry when they find out I’m their sister?”
