Their eyes met and Harlow shifted in her chair, moving closer toward him. His eyes went straight to her lips—her bow-shaped, extremely kissable lips. He leaned in just as Harlow did. He placed his lips over hers, feeling an instant rush as their lips met.How had he forgotten how good this felt?Harlow wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, if that was even possible. He explored her mouth with his tongue as the kiss intensified from tenderness to molten lava. Nick wanted this kiss to go on forever and ever. Time seemed to stop as they explored each other—hands, lips, tongues, necks.
The sound of Miles’s footsteps rushing down the stairs put a halt to the kiss. “Van’s at the door. I’ll let him in,” he called out, making a racket as he raced to the front door.
They slowly pulled away. For a moment, they simply stared into each other’s eyes, savoring the moment.To be continued.The words buzzed in his ear. Nick had every intention of kissing Harlow again, and the next time it happened, he promised himself, there wouldn’t be any interruptions.
***
Kissing Nick was just as good as Harlow remembered. His lips tasted fruity from the wine they’d been enjoying. Sweet and tangy. It had turned into a full-on make-out session, which had taken her by surprise. She felt a bit sheepish, because Miles had almost caught them in the act. She didn’t know what the rules were for getting romantic with a single dad. Did Miles realize they were sort of dating? Seeing each other? Harlow still couldn’t figure out how to label her relationship with Nick. Would Miles even care? For all she knew he would be protective of his dad because they’d been a dynamic duo for so many years.
“Let’s go, Dad. I need to fill this up.” Miles held out up an empty pillowcase as he stepped over the threshold. He didn’t seem to have any clue as to what he’d interrupted. Nick and Harlow exchanged a glance.
“Ready to get your trick-or-treat on?” Nick asked, reaching for her hand as she got down from the stool.
She grinned up at him. “I sure am. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since you invited me,” Harlow said. Suddenly she felt like a little kid again. A joyful sensation swept through her. It was a rare moment when Harlow felt carefree. Being in Nick’s presence made her feel lighter and more relaxed. An air of calm surrounded him. Maybe it was contagious.
As they walked toward the Maple Street neighborhood to meet up with Miles’s pals, Nick reached for Harlow’s hand and entwined it with his. She loved the way his hand felt in hers. It had been a long time since she’d held hands with someone special. Years, if she was being totally honest with herself.
This felt good. Better than good, as a matter of fact. Nick’s hand felt right in hers and she knew she’d never experienced an awareness like this before.
Harlow enjoyed seeing the wide range of costumes. Ballerinas. SpongeBob. Barbie. Pirates and Tinkerbells. And of course, an abundance of superheroes.
“Hey, Miles. Don’t forget that your old man will be taking your extras. Snickers and Reese’s,” Nick said. He rubbed his stomach and made a funny face.
“Not so fast. I love Reese’s too,” Harlow said, reaching into Miles’s sack and pulling out a few of the peanut butter cups. She let out a wild cackle at the shocked expression on Nick’s face.
“Hey. No fair,” Nick said, frowning at her. “I called dibs first.”
“You snooze, you lose,” she said, taunting him by waving the peanut butter cups in front of his face.
“Oh, you’re playing a dangerous game, Doc.” Nick advanced toward her and tried to grab the candy from her. Harlow darted away from him until he placed his hands on her waist and spun her around to face him. At the moment there was only about an inch separating their bodies. Having his hands on her waist was an intimate sensation. She could almost feel a heat radiating from him.
“How about we share?” Harlow asked as she held up a Reese’s as a peace offering.
“Deal,” Nick said as she tore away the wrapper and split the peanut butter cup in half. “Open up,” she said as Nick parted his lips and she slid the chocolate in his mouth. He instantly closed his eyes and let out a satisfied sound. Sharing the Reese’s felt like an intimate act between her and Nick. As he looked on, Harlow bit into the chocolate, savoring every ounce of it.
“You two are so weird,” Miles said with a shake of his head. “Peanut butter and chocolate are not as good as Sour Patch Kids or M&M’S.”
“Is that so?” Harlow asked. “Well, good thing we’re here to eat all the yucky candy.”
“Right,” Nick said. “Keep it coming, Miles. We’re not candy snobs.”
“Oh, there’s Tess,” Miles said, racing toward his friend. They linked arms and went toward another house along with Miles’s other pals.
Harlow was having fun. Wearing the Black Panther costume allowed her to be more outgoing and adventurous than usual. Because of the chill in the air, she’d brought along a black cape to keep her warm. Nick was cracking her up talking about how afraid he was of scary movies and Miles was running ahead with his friends to ring doorbells. He had already collected a massive amount of candy. She couldn’t imagine how he was going to eat it all.
“Come on, tell meCarrieisn’t terrifying?” Nick asked as Miles walked toward a house. “This girl killed an entire room of prom guests. AndThe Exorcist.” He shuddered. “That one gave me nightmares. Head swiveling and talking in tongues.” Nick made an exaggerated face. “And don’t get me started onTransylvania.”
“Nick, isn’t that a cartoon?” she asked, giggling. “I’m not sure even little kids think it’s scary.”
He made a funny face. “Don’t judge. Cartoons can still be really frightening.”
Harlow shook her head and let out a belly laugh. “If you’re five.”
Suddenly, Nick got really still like a statue. He let out what sounded like a growl. His eyes looked wild, and even though she’d thought for a split second that he was joking around with her, the air around him was charged.
“Miles, come back here,” he shouted. Nick stormed across the lawn at a lightning-fast pace. One moment he’d been standing right beside her and in the next he was a man on a mission.
Harlow’s gaze trailed after him as he took the candy from Miles and threw it down on the steps. Nick grabbed hold of Miles’s arm and frog-marched him away from the house. Suddenly, all eyes in the crowd were focused on father and son.
