Page 25 of Guarding Colton’s Witness
“I’m glad I didn’t quit, but the only way I could continue was to build a wall around my heart where my children were concerned.”
He shifted to face her. “And then along comes another little boy who threatens to bulldoze his way through that wall. Scary, isn’t it?”
“So scary. If something happens to him, I…” She shuddered. It would devastate her. She really would quit.
“He doesn’t have any parents now who can come take him away, so that’s not a worry.”
“I hate being glad someone’s dead, but I am. I don’t care if that makes me a horrible person.”
“Well, I’m glad, too, so I’ll just be horrible with you.” He smiled.
How did he know all the right things to say? She couldn’t resist smiling back at him. And that silly heart-fluttering thing was happening, too.
His eyes darkened. “I want to kiss you.”
“Okay.” Okay? That was the best she could do when a sexy man said he wanted to kiss her and was looking at her as if he’d like to gobble her up? She really had no game.
The second his lips touched hers, she melted into his kiss, and all she could focus on was the warmth of his mouth against hers. He deepened the kiss, and a fire ignited within her the likes of which she’d never felt before. She lost all sense of time and didn’t know how long they kissed, but when they finally pulled away, she was breathless, her heart pounding in her chest.
He gazed at her with a mixture of tenderness and hunger. He trailed the tips of his fingers down her cheek. “I better go before I forget I’m a gentleman and take this further than either of us is ready for.”
She almost asked him to stay, that she was ready, but he was right, she wasn’t. So, she went for humor to keep things between them light. “A gentleman, huh? Didn’t know there were any of those left these days.”
“A rare breed indeed, but I think there might be a few of us around.” He stood, then held out his hand to help her up. “Thanks for a lovely evening, sweet Matti. And thank you for the pizza. I’m off tomorrow. You want help shopping for Sam?”
“I don’t want to mess up your day off.”
“Speaking of days off, you don’t have to work this week?”
“No, I cleared it with my supervisor to take a few days off.” Fortunately, Patty had been understanding of her situation and concerned about the threat to Sam.
“Then I’d like to go with you two…unless you’d rather I not.”
“No, that would be great if you really do want to. He also needs a haircut, so maybe you know where we can get that done.”
“I know just the place. What time should I be here?”
“Why don’t you come have lunch with us, then we can go, so elevenish?”
“Perfect. See you then.” He put his finger under her chin, lifted her face, and brushed his lips over hers. “Until tomorrow, Matti Colton.”
She walked him to the door, and after he left, she smiled, wishing it was tomorrow already.
Chapter 12
Ryan had always been a morning person, but on this particular morning, he woke up even earlier than usual. He hadn’t wanted to be attracted to Matti, and he’d tried not to be, but some things couldn’t be controlled. Attraction to a particular woman was apparently one of them.
He’d thought long and hard after returning home last night about doing what was probably the smart thing and cancel spending today with her. When he’d kissed her, he’d expected it to be good, but just good? He chuckled as he watched his coffee cup fill. Try earth-shattering. Amazing. Mind-blowing. Incredible. Any one of those words would do.
It had been almost impossible to walk away from her, but somehow, he’d managed to. And although he should do the smart thing, he didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to. That settled, he took his coffee with him to the bathroom to get ready for his date.
When he arrived at Matti’s, the door flew open before he could knock, and Sam barreled into him. “Whoa, little man. Where’s the fire?”
“There’s a fire? Are the fire trucks coming?”
“Sam!” Matti came out. “We do not open the door before we know who’s here.”
“But you said Doc was coming for lunch, and it’s time for lunch, so I knew it was him.”
