Page 94 of The Charmer

"I don't know. The way you live life, the way you honor your nana with the shop, the passion you put in everything you do, the way you celebrate everything, even the tiniest of things."

"Why shouldn't I? My nana always said that things should be celebrated as they come, no matter how small. She was very wise. I tend to do a lot of the things she told me."

"You miss her," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Every day." My voice broke a bit.

She'd been gone for a long time, but I still remembered everything about her as if it was yesterday. Her perfume—she always used lavender oil in her hair, and it smelled amazing—the way she dressed herself, always just a bit more elegant than necessary.

I sighed. My eyes were filling up with tears. "Sorry, I'm being silly."

"Not at all. You just experience everything deeply: joy and sorrow. That's amazing."

He wiped away the tear sliding down to the corner of my mouth, then kissed my cheek there. Oh yeah, I was getting that kiss I was so hoping for, I was sure of it. But then he straightened up. I frowned, tugging at his T-shirt, pulling him farther down.

"Why did you stop? You were about to kiss me."

"That won't happen tonight."

I gasped. "Why not?"

"Because I need to kiss you very thoroughly, deeply, until I make you mine. And I can't do that right here in front of the church and the whole town."

"Good to know you do have some shame," I teased.

"Nah. One thing you should know about me, Georgie, is that I'm completely shameless. This was more for your benefit."

"Then I take it back. You don't have shame, but you are thoughtful. It's still a win."

"Are you sure you need to be at home?" he asked me.

My heart was beating faster. He was asking me over to his place, huh? Hell yes! But then I remembered that I didn't have another change of clothes at the store. The corners of my mouth dropped.

"Yeah, I do."

He took in a deep breath, looking down toward my shoulder. I felt his fingers press harder on my rib cage as if he needed to brace himself. For what? Then he dropped his hands and took a step back.

Oh, he needed to brace himself to let me go. I liked that a lot.

The fact that I could turn this man on so much made me happy. Our chemistry was mutual and intense. I hoped we could give this a chance, find out what it all meant... but then I remembered Julian wasn’t one for relationships.

"Then we should probably hurry, or you'll miss your bus."

"Oh my God, that's right. You made me forget my head."

I couldn't help but laugh when he grinned.

"Apparently not enough to forget you need to go home, so job only half done."

I gave him a sheepish smile as we walked toward the bus station. There were quite a few people waiting. Julian looked around us and then scoffed.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Thought I could give you one kiss, but it's impossible with so many people around us."

I moved closer to him, putting a hand on his chest and running the other one through his hair. "I see. So, your kisses have now evolved to being too hot for the public?"

"Something like that." He brought his mouth to my ear. "I can't start kissing you without wanting to devour you. I can't stop myself. It's bigger and more powerful than me."

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