Page 20 of Dining for Love

I nod, feeling my cheeks heat again. “Just from four to four-thirty.”

His lips quirk up. “That specific, huh?”

I sound ridiculous. I pull my shirt up for the millionth time that night, attempting and immediately failing to cover my shoulder. Reid’s eyes flit to the exposed skin as I say, “You know what? Never mind. It’s silly, and I can deal?—”

“I’ll do it,” he says gruffly, dragging his gaze back.

I stare up at him. “You—you’ll do it?”

He does that thing again where he seems to take in each part of my face, from my eyebrows to my chin and every millimeter of skin in between. It’s unnerving. “You deserve whatever you want, Willa.” His voice is rough.

I lick my lips, and he follows the movement.

A flash of lightning streaks across the sky out of nowhere, and with it comes the realization that this man might actually see me as more than Willa Dean Dash, sheltered daughter of Barbara and Dean Dash and sister of Goldie. He doesn’t see the awkward girl from the reality cooking show who got yelled at so badly that she came running home to hide in her parents’ diner. He sees…me.

So, I do the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Instead of turning to run, which is definitely what should be happening, I give voice to the one thing I want. “Kiss me.”

He tilts his head, studying me. “Kiss you?”

I stand taller. “Yeah. Kiss me.”

“Why?”

“Why not? Isn’t it what Agatha wants?”What I want?

He smirks, the peacock in him evident. “First, you shouldn’t base your actions on what others want. Second, I don’t think you’re ready for this.”

My cheeks heat once more, this time with the sting of his rejection. I was wrong. So wrong.

He doesn’t want me. If anything, he probably feels sorry for me, and he certainly doesn’t want to make Agatha mad. Who would? I nod. “Okay, got it. I’ll just—” I start to go around him, but he grabs my arm and spins me to him.

I slam into his chest, the masculine scent of him immediately surrounding me. His eyes are molten. “Willa,” he says. “I told you that you deserved whatever you wanted.”

Then his lips meet mine.

Heaven opens, angels sing, the whole thing. There might be another strike of lightning, or it might be my brain exploding.

I can affirmatively state that movies and books haven’t gotten kisses right. They’re not even on the same planet as what’s happening with this kiss.

Because this is something from an entirely different galaxy.

His hands wrap around me, one on my waist and one cupping my chin, both of them pressing in. Instead of feeling trapped, I feel as though I’m being held for the first time. His scent, cedar and honey tasted at the height of summer, surrounds me like always. I hear the cicadas again. I’ll never be able to separate the sound from this feeling.

In mere seconds, Reid has completely ruined me for anyone else. There’s a sense of safety within his arms, against his chest. Like this man would do anything for me. It’s intoxicating. His hand slides down to my rear and squeezes, and I slide mine beneath his shirt. His skin is smooth, the muscles compact andtense under my touch. Our chests heave, and I’m moments away from begging him to come inside my house and continue the kiss.

Then he slants his mouth over mine and pushes his tongue in, making me see stars. He tastes like the wine we had with dinner, and as his tongue slides across my own, his stubble scrapes deliciously around my lips. His thumb traces circles over my chin that feel erotic.

This isn’t real.

It can’t be real.

I break the kiss, both of us breathing hard. He tips his forehead to mine, his eyes searching for…I have no idea what.

But I do know that I need to be done. That I need to stop the dream before it’s ripped out of my grasp. I pull my hand away from the glory that is his chest and step back. “Thanks.”

“Thanks?” The disbelief in his voice is evident.

“Yeah. Thanks.” And before either of us can say another word or make another move, I swivel and go inside.