He kissed the top of her hand and then squeezed it between his. “I can’t promise that I’m not going to be difficult sometimes. I can’t promise that my past won’t still bite me on the butt on occasion. I work a lot and I’m a know-it-all. Feel free to kick my ass about those things.”
She laughed at that.
“But what I can promise you is that when I’m with you, I’m one hundred percent with you. You are not competing with a memory. And I will never be so stupid as to turn down a date with you again. I want to know you, Maggie. And I … want you to know me.”
Her gaze went soft, shiny.
He stood and took her face in his hands. “So Mistress Maggie, artist extraordinaire, will you have pie with me?”
She put her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around him. “Nothing would make me happier, Dr. Theodore Montgomery.”
“Don’t call me doctor.”
She gave his hip a hard pinch. “I’ll call you whatever I want, mister.”
He laughed. “Yes, mistress.”
“And if you’re good, after pie, maybe I can find that Weird Science outfit for you.”
He groaned. “Are you trying to get me to propose? Because now I’m thinking about it.”
She grinned. “One thing at a time, Doc.”
Yeah. One thing at a time. One sweet, beautiful thing at a time.
He kissed her then as the rain pounded the windows and all the farm animal paintings looked on, and knew without a doubt that the sun would come out for him today and was going to stick around.
It’d been a very long time since he’d seen it.
Look out for the next book from Roni Loren
Out October 2015
Click here to pre-order now or turn the page to read an extract
BREAK ME DOWN 9780008108274
“Are you trying to torture me? I thought your husband was the sadist.” Sam dropped the tray of clean glasses onto the rack behind the bar and gave her best friend the stink eye.
Tessa frowned. “Kade didn’t tell me Gibson was coming along. I would’ve suggested another bar if I’d known, but I wanted to see you before we left for Bermuda in the morning.”
Sam sighed and snuck a glance over at the table where Tessa’s husband, Kade, was chatting with his brother. Gibson didn’t look her way, but she got the distinct impression he knew she was watching him and was purposely not looking her way. Good, she didn’t need to see those gorgeous blue eyes, didn’t need to remember how he’d looked at her when she put him on his knees. “Does he have to look so goddamned good in a suit? It’s ridiculous. Who gets to look that good after a whole day of work? By the time I’m out of here, I look like I’ve been rolled around in a pile of sweaty bodies and beer. He looks like he’s ready to pose for an Armani ad.”
Tessa smirked. “You know, pining isn’t good for your health.”
Sam rolled her eyes. “Please. I’m not pining. I just went on a da
te two weeks ago, and last weekend I scened with Julian at The Ranch. This girl”—she swept her hand over her black T-shirt and jeans—“is moving on.”
Tessa lifted a brow, clearly not buying it. “If the date was two weeks ago, that means it wasn’t worth a second date. And you and Julian are friends. I bet you didn’t even bed him.”
Okay, so she hadn’t. Julian was a fun submissive to scene with and more than a little hot, but Sam had never taken it very far with him. In fact, none of the submissives she played with at The Ranch ever inspired her to take it to that level. She rarely let them touch her. She enjoyed the dynamic, the power, but she always took care of her own needs afterward. The only one she’d ever allowed to truly touch her was sitting at the table a few yards away. And the minute she’d crossed that boundary with him, things had gotten complicated, and he’d bailed like she had some plague.
Shit, maybe she was pining.
“All right, the date was a bust. But I really am moving on. If Gibson wants to pretend that what happened between us was a fluke, that’s his business. I deserve a guy who’s not ashamed or afraid to be with me. I don’t have time for games.”
Tessa leaned against the bar. “If it makes you feel better, I think he’s pretty miserable over it, too. You should’ve seen his face when he found out we were coming here.”