Page 45 of Wanting You

“That’s what mine is,” he explained. “It was a huge selling point for me.”

“Oh, so you bought the house?”

He shook his head. “No, just renting, but there were a few houses to choose from, and I liked that layout the best. I have a one-year lease, so I’ll re-evaluate then.”

“I have the lease too, with the option to buy. I really do like the house, but I’m not sure it’s my dream house.”

“So why not just wait until you find your dream house?”

Rather than answer, she just waved him off. “Other than the Jack-Be-Littles and leaf collecting, do you have any ideas about a fun fall activity?”

Reaching over, he placed a hand on her knee. “Hey, did I say something wrong? I didn’t mean to upset you. I just thought…”

She sighed loudly. “I got tired of living in an apartment. My siblings—who are not going to be the focus of this story, I swear—were all doing these great things with their lives and I kind of felt like I was standing still. My cousin Patrick and his wife Marissa were handling a lot of the real estate around here, and I went to them to see what I could do. Virginia has some great programs for teachers when they buy a home, so I’m obviously eligible for those, but what I consider my dream home and what I can realistically afford are two totally different things.”

“Ah. Gotcha. Yeah, I have that too. My place is perfectly fine, but I don’t see myself living there like a forever home.”

“Well, to be fair, you’re still not sure if Sweetbriar is going to be your forever home either.”

It was really too soon to tell, but so far, he didn’t see any reason to leave.

“Only time will tell,” he said quietly. His hand was still on her knee, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her lips, and as much as he was enjoying talking with her, what he really wanted was to kiss her. He was just afraid that he’d make it awkward if he just came out and said it.

“Tanner?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s okay, you know.”

“What is?”

“If you want to kiss me,” she whispered.

His eyes went wide. “Oh God. Did I say that out loud?”

She giggled. “No, but you’ve been staring at my lips, and I just thought…”

He didn’t let her finish. Instead, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, and they both seemed to relax almost immediately. Her lips were just as soft as he remembered, and this time he felt like he could take his time and savor the taste of her. As if of one mind, they each moved a little closer, and his hand skimmed up from her knee to her waist. She was warm and curvy and tasted a little like their spicy dinner, and it all equaled a very desirable package.

Chloe let out a faint little hum as her arms went around him. He took the kiss deeper—tracing her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue—and then it was like they both were so damn thrilled to be there. His arms wrapped around her until he was almost lifting her into his lap, and the kiss went on and on.

At some point, they shifted positions until they were lying down on the sofa and it reminded him a little of being back in high school and secretly making out with his girlfriend while his parents were upstairs reading. If anything, it made the moment even more remarkable because this made him feel happier than he’d been in a long time. He was enjoying himself—enjoying just simply kissing this beautiful, desirable woman—and he knew it wasn’t going to go any further than this tonight. It didn’t need to. They were just getting to know each other, and with the way she kissed and moved against him, Tanner knew he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

It could have been minutes, it could have been hours, but when they finally broke apart, they were breathless. “Wow,” Chloe whispered as she ran her hand through his hair. “That was…”

“Yeah, it was,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. “But it’s probably getting late, and…” He moved to sit up and reached for his phone. Sure enough, it was almost midnight. Then he said something he never thought would ever come out of his mouth. “I hate to say this, but…it’s late and I’m exhausted. You have no idea how lame that makes me feel, but…”

She sat up beside him and promptly yawned.

And then laughed.

“Obviously, I get it. I know I was up at six, so…it’s been a long day.”

Turning his head, he smiled at her. “I had a really great time tonight. I know we still need to talk about the curriculum, but…maybe you can come to my place tomorrow for lunch? I’ll order sandwiches from the café and the weather’s supposed to be great, so we can even go and walk in the park and you can show me some of the places you like to take the kids to.”

Her eyes shone bright with unshed tears again, and he didn’t know why.

“Did I say something wrong?”

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