“It’s not lame. Sometimes a coffee and good conversation are all it takes to start something special.” I meet her gaze, and potential energy thickens the air between us. My voice is huskier as I add, “So all that’s left is to set a few boundaries. Are you okay with holding hands?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“Other physical contact that’s appropriate for polite company?”
She nods again, slower this time.
“And what about kissing?”
She pulls in a breath, and I swear her eyes go a deeper shade of green as she says, “I’m okay with it, but I’m not sure I’ll remember how. It’s been a while.”
I arch a brow “Yeah?”
“Yeah. A…long while.”
“How long?” I step in, telling myself the umbrella is in a better position this way, and that the move has nothing to do with wanting to be closer to this woman who’s made every part of me sit up and take notice.
Her gaze cuts to the snowflakes as her lashes flutter. “Um, like…a few years?”
“A few years?” I ask, certain I must have heard her wrong.
“Like…four years.” She cringes. “God, that sounds even worse out loud than it did in my head.” Her eyes flick back to my face. “I’m a weirdo, aren’t I?”
“No, it’s fine,” I hurry to reassure her. “I’m sorry. I was just surprised, that’s all. You’re so pretty and easy to talk to, I just… I didn’t…” I shake my head, words failing me. “I’m sorry. I’m usually way smoother than this. I promise.”
She exhales. “Yeah, well, I’m sure you don’t run into women who’ve been on the shelf this long every day. You’re probably wondering what’s wrong with me, right? What hidden flaw has resulted in me becoming permanently unkissable?”
“You’re not permanently unkissable.”
“I’m pretty sure I am,” she says with a tight laugh. “The last four guys I went out with didn’t even try. I’m fairly sure one of them was gay, one didn’t like my sense of humor, and the other two were just really shy. But once you get on a bad roll it’s so easy to start thinking it’s your fault.”
“It’s not your fault.”
She lifts wide, sad eyes to mine. “But what if it is? And what if I really have forgotten how to kiss? I could make a complete fool of myself—and you—and Stephanie will have all the proof she needs that I’m going to be a lonely old spinster forever.” Her shoulders curl. “So no, I don’t think we should try it. Holding hands is fine, but—”
I move closer, cutting her off with a kiss as I wrap an arm around her waist. And in those first few seconds, as her lips move tentatively against mine, I know there’s nothing wrong with the way she kisses.
And then her lips part for my tongue, and she sighs into my mouth, and I know I’m going to remember this kiss for the rest of my life. It’s so sweet and sexy and…honest.
Kissing Maggie is like talking to Maggie—easy and real and so much fun I never want to stop.
But of course, I will.
But not now, not yet, not until I’ve memorized the way she wraps her arms around me, the way she tastes, the way she makes me feel not alone for the first time since I moved away from home.
Maggie is special, a gem in a city full of fakes and pretenders. She’s the kind of woman any guy would be lucky to call his, and before we part ways tonight, I’m going to make sure she believes that, too. Even if it means helping her get online to meet a man who isn’t me.
Even though I hate that guy already.
Hate him a lot.
A whole lot.
6
Maggie
Wow. Wow, wow, and more wow. All the wow.
Now this is a kiss.
This is a kiss, the kind that makes the entire world fade away until there’s nothing but the person in your arms. I’m standing in the snow, wearing pantyhose and heels and probably on the verge of losing a toe to frostbite, but I feel no pain.
No misery. No cold.
Just the pounding of my heart and the rush of my blood and the cheers of celebration as every cell in my body rejoices. I’m pretty sure my mitochondria are throwing a party in my cytoplasm because Coop’s lips…
Coop’s arm tight around my waist…
Coop’s husky voice murmuring against my mouth, “I think you’ve got the kissing thing covered…”
Everything about him is so sexy that by the time he pulls away, my bones are gelatinous ooze and if he asked me to bang in the baseball dugout, I’d kick the homeless man out of his nest and race Coop to see who could get their clothes off the fastest.
But that’s not going to happen, of course.
Because this is pretend.
Only it didn’t feel like pretend. Not even a little bit.