Page 26 of A Crane Family New Year

He took the blow harder than he’d anticipated. Maybe because this was his first date since his wife had passed. Maybe because he felt a connection with Chloe. Or maybe, like Jaylyn had said, because he’d believed that Chloe and CurlyQSue being one and the same had been nothing short of magical.

Oh, how he’d needed a dash of magic tonight.

“I understand,” he said anyway.

He’d asked her out blindly, and on a whim. It’d been late, he’d been sipping a second glass of pinot noir… He hadn’t thought it through. Perhaps he should have.

He might be inexperienced in the dating world, but he knew when a woman was about to let him down easily. That he hadn’t been more careful with his approach to her—online and in person—would be something he regretted for a long, long while.

“I’m truly sorry to have disappointed you. It wasn’t my intention,” he murmured. Her hand still rested in his. He brushed her fingers with the pad of his thumb. “I asked you out because we had so much in common. I thought— You know what, it doesn’t matter what I thought. I’m sorry.”

A small laugh exited her lips. “You’re sorry?”

“Yes, I—I never wanted to disappoint you.”

“I’m not disappointed,” she whispered.

“No?”

“No.” She still wore a smile. A good sign. “Are you?”

“No.” His head gave an adamant shake. “The opposite. You here tonight is nothing short of?—”

“Magic,” they said at the same time.

“Yes.” He smiled, relieved. Maybe this wasn’t going as badly as he’d first assumed.

“You offered to kiss me at midnight.”

He zeroed in on her lips. “Yes.”

Her mouth opened to take in a quick breath before she whispered, “Do we have to wait until midnight to kiss?”

“No.” The word was a growl that ended when he set his lips on hers.

She shifted one hand to the back of his neck and pulled his mouth tightly to hers. He grunted, adjusted his weight so that he didn’t topple over, and looped his free arm around her waist. He tugged her body against his—every sparkling inch of it. Willing, she fell against him.

Her lips were as soft and inviting as they looked—and he’d been looking. She raked her fingernails upward into his hair and pulled. The move brought his mouth away from hers. Enough that he sucked in a cool breath before diving in again—this time with tongue.

She held onto him, one hand in his hair, one fisted on his jacket. As her tongue stroked his, his mind left the planet. She tasted like champagne and smelled of cinnamon. She was every hot sex dream his fevered mind had concocted. Only better. Because she was in his arms right now, right here, and turning him inside out.

It took some doing but he ended the kiss. He dropped his forehead to hers so that he could catch his breath. “Goddamn.”

She let out a husky giggle. “My sentiments exactly.”

He hadn’t kissed a woman other than Emily in years. Kissing this woman had sent his pulse skittering into a dangerous rhythm. His body had been on high alert for hours, and now it was nearing a meltdown.

She gripped his forearms with her palms and gave him a light shake. “This is crazy.”

“Is it?” He had no idea how he’d pushed those two words from his tight throat. His body was rigid and tense as he held himself in check. Never before had he wanted to hike a woman’s dress to her waist and take her against the nearest wall.

He wanted that with Chloe.

“I like crazy with you. It feels strangely safe.”

His smile went wonky. He liked that he made her feel safe. That she trusted him. From some uncharted place inside of him came the question, “Want to do something crazier?”

Her eyes sparked with interest, her auburn eyebrows lifting. “Does it involve more of those kisses?”

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