Page 78 of Takes Two to Tango

Something moved in his eyes. Something possessive. Something that said he knew what she felt.

"I loved Phillip. He was a good man. Had a good sense of humor and he loved me. I would never have left him for you. He wouldn't have deserved that."

She pressed her lips together and looked away from his probing gaze. Looked at the tiny spiderweb in the corner of the porch. Laying her heart out, even with Brent, made her feel naked. So vulnerable.

"But Phillip isn't here anymore. And I think God gave me a second chance with you."

She riveted her eyes on his and tried like hell not to cry anymore. "I don't want to let that chance go, but you can't come to New York with me."

"But I will. I don't mind leaving Oak Stand if it means having you and Henry in my life." He rifled a hand through his dark hair, making it stick up. The pain in his eyes nearly undid her.

She smiled. "No, that's not what I meant. I don't want you to move to New York because I won't be there. I'll be here."

"You'll be here?'

She nodded. "Yeah. In Oak Stand."

"How? I thought you said you took the job?"

"I did."

"So... ?" He spread his large calloused hands apart. She took them in her own, marveling at the strength. The tenderness of this man who'd finally given his heart away.

"So the show is going to be produced here in Oak Stand. At the inn. The main reason why the offer didn't progress several months ago was because the network had too many instructional shows and viewers were flipping channels and not sticking around to watch how-to shows. The network has been brainstorming new ways to bring in viewers."

Brent's eyes narrowed. "So you had no idea they would do something regional?"

"Not really. What my agent pitched was more of an 'on the streets of New York' sort of thing, but when we sat down to talk in the production meeting, the producer already had Austin in mind. He likes the eclectic culture of the city. When l mentioned the launch of the inn, he really got excited. He liked the duality of the rural and urban settings.

"So, instead of a cooking show, mine is going to be a regional travel slash food show with one cooking segment each episode. Since Texas is a huge state with many cultures and we sit close to some of the best cooking in the South, the producer wants my show based out of Serendipity Inn but with segments filmed all over Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, even Arkansas.”

Brent looked shell-shocked. "You're kidding."

Rayne grinned. "Nope. I'm staying here. Of course, I'll have to travel some. But we'll film most segments from the inn with a few in the restaurant in Austin. The show will be calledSouthernKitchenand we'll start filming in the fall. So Henry can go to school here. Play for your baseball team. I will-"

She didn't get to finish. Mostly because Brent's mouth had covered hers. His mouth was hungry, driving her back. She stuck out one elbow to catch herself and wrapped her other arm around Brent's neck. He tasted so good. He tasted like coming home. For real.

Brent ripped his mouth from hers and looked deep in her eyes."Why the hell did you wait so long to tell me?"

She contemplated his lips. They were wet and tempting. She wanted to kiss him again. So she did.

He tasted as good as he had the first time.

"Rayne," he murmured against her lips.

She broke the kiss, but stayed in his arms. "Maybe because there was a tornado. And Henry. And a dog. And your mother. And-"

"Okay, but you drew this out. Like torture," he whispered, kissing her jawline, not bothering to pull away from her, and she knew he had to be uncomfortable. An acorn poked her in the back.

She shook her head."What did you expect? For me to blurt out everything?"

"Yeah," he said, falling so he lay flat on his back, tugging her atop him. He cupped her face and pulled her lips to his. Tenderly, he kissed her. Again. And again.

A flare of desire burst inside her as he loved her.

She slid her hand to the raspiness of his jaw, enjoying the difference in their skin.

"Whadda you guys doing? Kissing?" Henry's voice crashed into them.

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