Page 35 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“Better?”
“Yes,” I say, quietly closing my eyes. Lord, he smells good and feels good.
“You’re short.” He rests his chin on the top of my head, and I tip my head back to glare at him.
“I’m not short. I’m average.”
“Four foot nine is not average, babe.”
“I’m five two, which is normal. You’re just abnormally tall.”
“Hmm.” His eyes roam my face.
“How do you know Ken?”
“I don’t.” His hold on me tightens. “I was outside waiting for Margret to arrive, and him and I just started talking. Then you showed up.”
“It seemed like you knew him. You were sitting down with him at the table like you two were best buds.”
He shakes his head. “When I saw you head for the restroom and him back at the table, I decided I’d feel him out. Now I wish I would have pulled you away from him the second I saw you outside the restaurant. That’s what I wanted to do.”
“After what happened, I wish you would have.” I let out a long breath.
“That guy was a dick.”
“Yeah,” I agree, then notice him looking down at my side and feel cold paws land against my calf.
“He’s back.” Bummer, I think, letting Maverick go and starting to take a step back, but he stops me by grasping my jaw and tipping my head back. When he dips his head and touches his mouth to mine in a soft, sweet kiss that makes my toes curl, I know I could definitely get used to him kissing me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pulls back to meet my eye before he lets me go.
“See you tomorrow.” I pick up Pebbles so that he doesn’t run out after Maverick when he walks out, then wait until he’s at his truck to shut the door. I hear him drive away as I enter my place, then lock the door and let Pebbles down. After picking up my stuff, I get into bed, and I lie there for a long time, trying not to overthink things or get myself worked up about what might or might not happen. Still, it takes forever for me to find sleep.
With snow beginning to fall, I turn into Maverick’s driveway the next evening feeling butterflies fill my stomach. All day I’ve been anticipating seeing him, and he made it obvious that he was feeling the same way. Not only did he text me his address like he said he would, but he sent me a message asking what I was in the mood to eat, another asking if I wanted to have wine with dinner, and another just checking in, asking how my day was going. It was sweet and unexpected. I also really appreciated knowing that he was thinking about me as much as I was thinking about him.
As I park in front of his house next to his truck, I grab my purse from the passenger seat and get out, tucking my keys into my bag. When I start for the house, the front door opens and Maverick steps outside. His eyes roam over me from the top of my head to my feet, and surprisingly I don’t feel uncomfortable, even though I worked until after six and didn’t go home and change, so I’m in my jeans, sneakers, and a long-sleeved T-shirt with the coffee shop’s logo on the front. Not something I would normally wear on a date.
“Hey.” I walk up the steps, and he meets me halfway across the porch. “It’s starting to snow.”
“I see that.” He leans down to kiss me like it’s something he’s always done, then slides my bag off my shoulder. “I didn’t hear your car pull up. How was work?”
“Good, slow until after three; then we were slammed until six.” I enter the house before him, and my stomach rumbles when the scent of garlic and bread fills my nose. I slip off my shoes as he places my bag on one of the hooks near the door. “Did you have a good day?”
“I had a meeting with the architect that is helping me design my house.” He places his hand against my lower back and leads me to the kitchen. “He’s submitting the paperwork this week to get approval so that we can hopefully break ground next year.”
“That’s exciting.” I take a seat at the island when he pulls out a chair for me.
“How did it go with you and Cybil signing off on the space for the store?”
“Great.” I watch him open a bottle of red wine. “Gene told us that we can remove the wall that’s between the front room and the back, which will make the layout of the store a lot less office-like. Thank you.” I accept a glass when he passes it to me, then hold it as he fills it. “So I think that tomorrow while I’m at work, Cybil is taking Tanner over there to show him what we want done exactly and then putting him to work.” I grin. “Don’t be surprised if you get dragged into helping him out.”
