Page 67 of Getting it Right (Addy's Rollercoaster)

Barry glanced at me. “I hope you’ll allow me back inside your thoughts like you used to.”

“My thoughts aren’t all that interesting.” I blew on the tea inside my cup and took a careful sip. It was delicious.

He watched me closely, his eyes darkening. “They’re interesting to me because they’re your thoughts.”

“Barry, I—”

“Eat your food,” he said, cutting me off.

“Okay.”

Dutifully, I lifted the bread from my napkin and bit off a bite. The cinnamon hit my taste buds first as I chewed, followed by the piney fruitiness of cardamom and orange, then the sweet starchiness of sweet potatoes. The chopped almonds sprinkled on top added a delicate crunch.

“Wow,” I said after chewing some more and swallowing. “This is so good. The tea and the bread.”

“You’re good too, you know.” Holding my gaze, he took a sip of tea from his cup. “What Martin did doesn’t change the way I view you. It shouldn’t change the way you view yourself either. The girl I know is still inside you, along with the stunning woman you’ve become. Brokenness can be mended.” He set his cup down. “You get that, right?”

I closed my eyes against that glittering and beautiful sentiment, but opened them a moment later, feeling his scented breath like a warm mist on my skin.

“Don’t hide from that. It’s the truth. Don’t hide from me.” His handsome face only inches away, he slid his fingers beneath my ponytail and cradled my head in one of his large, capable hands. “I lost you for too long already. I won’t lose you again.”

Bringing my forehead to his mouth, he kissed me. Surety washed through me, his warm lips imprinting on my skin.

Easing back, he studied me, and the rightness of the moment struck me. Being with him evened out something that had long been unbalanced inside me.

With him so close, I took advantage of the opportunity to study him like he studied me.

I noted the lushness of his dark brows. The thickness of his spiky lashes. I realized that his eyes weren’t merely brown. They were mahogany around the iris and a trio of harmonious brown, brilliant copper, and a greenish-gray taupe within.

“You’re so handsome.” I exhaled an awe-filled whisper. “I always thought so before, but now ...” I trailed off. It was too much to say.

“Now what?”

I laid my palm against his stubble-roughened cheek. “You take my breath away.”

“Babe, the feeling is mutual.” He covered my hand with his and lowered his head. “I was going to wait to kiss you,” he told me in a deep rumble, then lifted his gaze from my mouth. “But I don’t want to wait. Tell me that you don’t want to wait either.”

I didn’t, but I did. My heart racing, I licked my lips.

“You might be disappointed.” Before when we’d kissed, it had been so good. But I wasn’t that girl anymore, and it would kill me if he were disappointed now. “It’s been a long, long time since I kissed anyone I chose.” Martin stole many that weren’t given freely.

Shame filling my eyes at being forced to give affection where I hadn’t wanted to, I dropped my chin. Barry wedged a curled finger beneath and lifted it.

“There’s been no one since he hurt you,” Barry said, guessing the truth. He didn’t need to say Martin’s name. The angry arrow between his brows said it all.

“Please don’t wait.” My lips tingling, I wanted his mouth on mine more than I’d ever wanted anything.

“You never have to beg.” His lids lowered. “I want to give you what you desire.”

He brushed his mouth ever so gently across mine, then eased back to see how his kiss had affected me.

My lips buzzed as if all the blood inside me had rushed to the surface to pool there. Inside my chest, it felt fluttery as if it were filled with butterflies. The rest of me was buttery warm, like my entire body had been dipped in melted wax.

“More,” I whispered.

I reached for him. Grasping him by the shoulders, I drew him to me. His skin was warm, smooth like velvet, his muscles hard. He framed my face in both his large hands and brought our mouths back together. A tender introduction. A moment of pure happiness.

Warmth like the sun glowed in the center of my chest. Bliss, this was what bliss was.

---