His shoulders slumped, the fire going out of him. “Maybe not.” He studied the fire for a long moment. “Did you ever think what would have happened if we had gotten married back then? What our lives would have been like?”
The fire mesmerized her, the dancing flames lulling her into visions of the past and what might have been. “All the time,” she finally admitted. “What do you think?”
He sighed and didn’t answer for a long time. “I think you were right. We would have married. Had a couple of kids. I would have worked eighty hours a week. You would work on some charity organizations. We would have been polite strangers with our children raised by nannies.”
She shrugged. “That was our expectation, the lives we knew. So sad, isn’t it?”
He pulled away and turned sideways on the pillow. “Maybe the split was the best thing. I don’t want that life anymore. My life is good. I want to live here, with a family, working the vines.”
“So why are you going back to Houston?” she asked softly.
He sighed. “I have family obligations. But I can split my time between both places.”
She laid a hand on his arm. “Ethan, you can’t live your life split in two, torn between loyalties. Trust me, I know this. It tears you apart inside. I tried it and it almost destroyed me.”
He swirled the wine in his glass, studying the play of color, and she laid her head on his shoulder, letting him think. They were both at a crossroads in their lives, both having families and duties that pulled at them. She was still trying to figure out her next steps: stay in Houston and fight for a chance to be someone at the museum or leave and start anew somewhere else. Ethan had to decide to be what his father wanted or follow a dream he never knew he had. Could there be a place in there for a relationship or had too much time passed? Had their time come and gone?
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I don’t know where I’m going, Delaney, but I know this. I want you by my side. I want to see where this is going.”
She avoided his gaze and considered his words. What was really keeping her in Houston? Her mother was moving to Arizona, and her job wasn’t exactly a career. But a farm, even a vineyard? Her mind had been filled with ideas for his events barn, for what he could do with that space. She had always known how to throw a party, often coordinating the museum fund-raisers over the past few years. But first, she had to be sure.
She raised her face and met his gaze squarely. “Ethan, what are you saying?” Dare she hope he was saying what she wanted to hear?
“I’m not sure exactly what I’m saying. This week has been great, spending time with you, figuring out what went wrong. We’re both different people now, and I think I want to try again.”
She considered his words, her heart pounding in her chest. “The past few days have been wonderful, stressful, but I’m glad I came to the wedding. Seeing you again brought back all sorts of feelings that I thought I had dealt with but, honestly, they’re all coming back again. I don’t know where my life is going. I’m still trying to figure everything out, but I can tell you this. I’m a different person, as are you. I’d like to get to know the new Ethan. I’d like to try this again.”
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, a light kiss, a tentative foray into this new space. She kissed him back, pouring her newfound hope and dreams into it, willing him to understand what she was saying. He plunged his fingers into her hair, tilting her head for better access. His tongue swept along the seam of her lips, teasing and taunting her, igniting a heat she hadn’t felt in years. She slid her hands up his chest and curved them around his neck, pulling him closer. He shifted and laid her down on the floor, coming on top of her, lips never breaking contact. He braced himself on one hand and traced her cheek with the other hand, eyes full of tenderness.
“Are you sure, Delaney?”
She smiled. “Definitely. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
* * *
Ethan lowered his head and took her lips in a deeper kiss, their tongues tangling with each other’s. He swept a hand down her side and slipped under her shirt to caress the soft skin on her belly. She moaned into his mouth, her hands tugging at his hair, holding him close to her. He stroked higher until he felt the soft curve of her breast and he pulled back.
“You’re full of surprises today.”
She grinned. “Everything was soaked. My bra is still hanging in your bathroom. Unless you mind.”
“God, no,” he replied fervently, and swooped down for another kiss.
She wiggled a leg free and wrapped it around his thigh, settling him more firmly against the soft vee of her core. The position felt like home, where he was supposed to be. He flicked his thumb over one nipple and her laugh turned to a gasp.
She arched her neck and moaned deep. “Oh, my God, Ethan. Again.”
He chuckled and flicked it again, over and over, until she was pushing up into his hand and begging for relief. He pulled the T-shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. He slid down farther and took the same nipple in his mouth, sucking it deep, then tweaking it with a gentle nip of his teeth. He switched hands, bracing himself on one, and using the other to torment her other nipple, pinching and kneading it. She burrowed her hands in his hair, flexing her fingers, holding him close, her body twisting beneath his, grazing his cock with every movement, making him harder and closer to losing control.
His hand swept down her body and plunged into the front of her soaked panties. She arched into his hand with a small cry. He rose up and pressed his lips to hers, drinking in her cries, while his fingers plied her soft, wet flesh. Her head twisted back and forth and he watched the play of emotions on her face, something he never thought he’d see again. He found the hard nub and circled it harder and harder until her back bowed and she came with a loud cry. He covered her lips and drew out her orgasm until she rested boneless on the floor.
While she rested, he slipped out of his sweatpants and placed a couple of foil packets on the table next to them.
“You’re feeling optimistic,” she said, her voice low and languid.
He turned back to her and smiled. “I have a lot of time to make up for.”
He reached for the condom on the end table and tore it open with his teeth, hands too shaky to manipulate the small packet. When he rolled back, Delaney had propped herself on one elbow and was watching him. Her eyes drifted downward and her hands quickly followed, pushing him on his back so she could explore. She ran her hands over the hard ridges of his muscles, his cock twitching as she caressed closer and closer to his groin. Finally, she gently circled him with her hand and began stroking, up and down, harder and harder. He threw his head back and groaned.