I look down and he hooks a finger under my chin and tips my face up until our gazes lock. “You understand exactly what I’m saying. You’re faced with the past here, every time you visit.”
That truth strikes a tightly wound cord in me. I’m reminded of the pecking order whenever I talk to my parents or see my sister. And Stone understands.
He sighs. “Something was taken away from me—something very important, by someone I care about.”
“You were betrayed?”
He nods, tugging me closer, and I let him. Our bodies are only inches apart, and when I look up, his lips are right in my trajectory.
“Betrayed by someone I love,” he confirms, spinning me out and pulling me in so that I knock into him. His body is solid and warm, perfect for cozying up to. “I get the feeling betrayal seeded inside of me.”
“‘Seeded’?”
“You know, like it was planting a garden of rage and bitterness.”
I frown, a crease forming between my eyes. “Your heart is a garden of rage and bitterness? Must be a lot of weeds.”
“Okay, who’s the smart-ass?” His hand rises to my stomach and he tickles me.
I struggle to get away, but Stone’s got one arm wrapped around me, while the other tickles my side.
“Stop! Stop!”
He releases his hold, but I don’t move. I stay exactly where I am, pressed against him. His heart drums under my palm. His very presence is a luxury, and it’s melting me, bit by bit.
Here, I don’t feel like a castaway fighting to be seen. For just a moment, I feel like a diamond, a glittering gem.
“Were you ever going to tell me about your powers?” he murmurs.
My body goes rigid. “What?”
“I saw the sparks tonight.”
My insides crumble. “No, I wasn’t going to tell you. I wasn’t going to tell anyone.”
“Why not?”
“Because . . .”
My voice trails off, but he picks up the thread. “Because of how this town sees people like you? Coco, look at me.” I do as he asks. “You are special, more special than you know, and I will be damned before I let anyone hurt you. Not just because you’ve helped me so much, but because ... I just won’t.”
I’m completely gone. Lost. No one has ever seen my weakness, my messiness, and told me it’s okay. ThatI’mokay.
His lips drop toward mine. “I’d take fireworks on my fingers any day of the week if it would give me a hint of who I was. I can build a structure. I can swing a hammer. I can design a resort. I know jazz like it’s part of my DNA. But I have no idea if I was kind. If I was good. If I was the kind of man you’d kiss. And that’s who I want to be.”
I’m dumbstruck, blown away by his admission.
Then he lowers his mouth to mine, softly, gently, and I let him. This kiss is a question: Will I allow it?
I kiss him back, opening my mouth as his tongue sweeps inside. All of me dissolves.
It’s been ages since I’ve kissed anyone, and even when I did in the past, it was just kissing.
It wasn’t likethis.
Louis Armstrong croons a sweet love song in the background, asking the woman he loves to give her heart and soul to him, and I feel myself cracking open, breaking apart, giving more than I ever intended.
And still we kiss. We sway. A moan whispers from my throat, and Stone’s grip on me tightens in the most exquisite manner.
