Page 13 of Swooning for the Summer Manny

She stops walking and looks at me. “What?”

“If we started to date.”

“I think a lot of people would say it’s wrong.”

“What do you say, though, Karin? Because I don’t care what other people think.”

“I think it’s probably a bad idea.”

“What if we waited until after the summer? When I’m no longer working for you?”

“Well…sure. That would be different.”

“All right. I’ll be here, then. The first day of fall. On your doorstep with flowers.”

Her eyes turn warm. “Okay.”

“What’s your favorite kind of flower?”

“Oh, I don’t know. They’re all beautiful.”

“I’ll get you every kind, then.”

She laughs. “You really don’t need to do that. But the thought is sweet.”

The next thing I know, she’s stumbling forward. I reach out and catch her before she falls.

“Careful,” I say, giving her a protective squeeze.

“Damn it,” she says, shaking her head. “I swear, I can’t go a day without tripping over one of Amelia’s toys.”

“Does your foot hurt?”

“No.” She wets her lips. “I’m okay.”

“Good,” I say, still holding onto her.

“Ryan…”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kiss you. We’ll wait, like we talked about.”

Her chest rises and falls as she breathes. Then, quietly, she says, “I don’t want to wait.”

“No?”

“No.”

I move closer to her, desire pulsing through my body. “You’re saying you want me to kiss you?”

She nods.

“Anything else?”

“Yes. Everything else.”

My cock throbs, pushing against my fly. “I’d hate to keep you up all night.”

“It’s okay.” Her cheeks turn a pretty rose-pink. “I don’t need to sleep.”

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