Page 6 of One Sweet Taste (Love with a Price)

“Now, Georgia Grace, you listen to me. You’re not going to put your safety at risk. Do you understand? We will be together next week. We’ll celebrate Christmas then. It doesn’t have to be on the exact day.”

When her daughter didn’t say anything, Linzee continued. “And if you get in that car during a snowstorm, I will take you over my knee and beat your ass. Don’t think you’re too old for that.”

A bubble of laughter erupted over the line, and Linzee smiled.

She and Georgia ended the call with plans to check in the next day. Linzee sank down onto a stool near the butcher-block island. She didn’t want her daughter on the road, but the thought of being alone on Christmas was not a pleasant one. Tears blurred her vision, and she made a miserable attempt to swipe at them. Dammit.

Covering her face with her hands, she let herself cry.

Chapter Six

Foster turned the lock on the front door after Becca and Tori headed out. He’d taken some close-up photos of Luke’s elaborate carving details on the bar, and he’d promised Ethan he’d lock up. Packing up his camera, he couldn’t stop his eyes from straying to the kitchen door.

Walk out, Price. You should leave.But no matter how many times he told himself to leave her alone, nothing diminished the fact that he wanted Linzee. She was all he’d thought about in the last forty-eight hours. His former misery of not winning the prestigious Donovan Award had taken a backseat to his need for her.

He’d played the kiss with Linzee over and over in his head. It had been perfect. The sounds she made at the back of her throat, the way she moaned into his mouth. It made him speculate more about what kind of sounds she made when she came. And he wanted to make her come. He’d thought of her in his bed so much in the last two days, he would swear he was almost insane with the need to have her. Never in his life had he craved a woman like this.

With a deep breath, he dropped his bag on the bar. He’d just go talk to her. It couldn’t hurt to talk to her, right?

When he pushed the door open, he heard her soft sobbing. He stopped dead at the sight of Linzee sitting at the island, her hands covering her face as she wept. His heart immediately ached. He wanted to hold her, protect that vulnerability. Who had hurt her? Whoever it was, he would fucking kill them.

She didn’t hear him when he walked around the island, or she would have looked up.

Not wanting to scare her, Foster stayed a few feet away when he spoke.

“Linzee? Sugar, what’s wrong?”

Her head shot up, and the pain in her eyes felt like a dagger to his chest. How could he care so much about this woman he’d only just met?

“I … uh … nothing,” she said in a wobbly voice as she wiped tears away.

He couldn’t take it. Foster stepped closer to her and gathered her into his arms. She immediately stiffened, and for a moment, he thought she was going to fight him, pull away. But then she relaxed and her shoulders shook as the sobs began again. Her arms went around his waist and held onto him like a lifeline as she cried.

And he just held her, rocking her gently as he stroked her curls. He kissed the top of her head, loving the smell of her hair. He’d never look at strawberries the same way again. His other hand stroked up and down her back as he held her, lending her his strength.

After a few minutes, her crying eased, and she pulled away. Her eyes wouldn’t meet his. She was obviously embarrassed. Foster walked over to the desk in the corner of the kitchen and grabbed a box of Kleenex, then set it down in front of her. She plucked a couple and dried her eyes before he spoke.

“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

After several moments of silence, Foster thought she wasn’t going to answer, but then she spoke in a quiet voice. “My daughter.”

Fear threaded through him. “Your daughter? Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

Linzee shook her head. “She’s okay. She’s at college. Northwestern. She was going to drive down for Christmas, but there’s a huge storm.”

He nodded, beginning to understand. “Yeah, I heard Chicago was getting dumped on.”

“Yeah, she, uh, she can’t make it.” She cast him a quick glance. “It’s silly, right? I’m sitting here blubbering. It’s just that I’ve never been away from her at Christmas.”

“Why is that silly? I’ve been with my family every Christmas. If I were away from them, I would be terribly upset. I know it’s not the same as having a child, but I do understand. I’m sorry, Linz. I really am.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking relieved. Why was she relieved? Why would she be nervous to tell him she missed her child? Why on earth would she think he would view that as silly? Then a thought hit him: someone had really done a number on her. Linzee was a strong woman, but she had scars. Foster was overcome with the urge to protect her.

Another tear leaked out of the corner of her eye, and he reached up to wipe it away with his thumb. Linzee closed her eyes and leaned into his hand as he continued to stroke his thumb over the soft porcelain skin of her cheek.

“You’re so beautiful, Linzee,” he breathed. She opened her eyes to look up at him, and he felt as though the bright emerald green of her gaze could see through to his very soul.

Foster realized how close they were. She was still perched on the high bar stool, her legs spread, allowing him to stand between them. His left arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her tight to him, and his right hand stroked over her face, her hair, as her arms encircled his waist.

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