Page 118 of My Heart Still Beats
Nothing else matters.
Not anything.
As the rain falls, the drops tumbling over us, for the first time in a long time—maybe since that last time I scrambled off Nana’s lap before my first communion—all is right with the world.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ben
I said I was waiting for the right moment.
Turns out the right moment was in her mother’s backyard, after her father’s funeral, while raindrops are pummeling us.
She parts her lips, and I dart my tongue between them. A soft sigh leaves her throat and vibrates against me. The kiss is gentle at first, exploratory, until—
Tessa wraps her arms around my neck and deepens the kiss. Shivers course through me—from the rain or the kiss?
It’s the kiss. This fucking spectacular, perfect kiss.
Our lips slide together, and the sensation is electrifying.
Yes, the perfect time. The right moment.
The perfect kiss.
She pulls back a few minutes later and gasps in a breath.
I slide my finger over the contours of her cheek and jawline and then over her bottom lip, which is swollen from our kiss. “You okay?”
She simply nods, grabs my hand, and leads me back into the house through the double doors that lead to her mother’s large kitchen. Before we enter, though, she stops me.
She smiles at me, drops of rain catching on her lashes. “You were right, Ben. The earth moved.” She grabs my hand and pulls me through the doors into the kitchen.
I inhale the spicy and robust scent of the Mexican food. I haven’t eaten anything, and my stomach responds with a growl.
“Tessa!” Mrs. Logan says, entering the kitchen. She’s a beautiful woman, but her eyes are sunken and sad. “My goodness, what were you doing out there? I thought you had gone to your room. You’re soaking wet.”
“I’m fine, Mom,” Tessa says as we drip all over the black-and-white tile floor. “You remember Ben.”
I hold out my hand, water dripping from my sleeve. “How are you holding up, Mrs. Logan?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess.” She turns. “Lily! I need some towels in here. A lot of towels.”
I look into the living area. “Looks like the reception is about over. Only a few people left, so I should be going.”
“Can you stay?” Tessa asks.
I chuckle, wanting so much to pull her into my arms, but her mother is standing right there. “I kind of need some dry clothes.”
“Then…” She turns to her mother. “Would it be okay if I went back to Ben’s place with him?”
Tessa’s Aunt Lily—who looks a lot like Mrs. Logan but with some gray in her hair—enters the kitchen, bearing two large towels and hands one to each of us. I dry off my face and hair, but there’s not much I can do about my black suit. It clings to me.
Did Tessa really just ask if she could come home with me?
Does she know what will happen between us if she does?
Perhaps she does know, and that’s why she wants to come.
