Page 42 of Cornered

He turned to face her and took her gloved hand in his. “I’m not very good at small talk, Steph. You probably noticed that in the car.” She chuckled and he quirked a small smile at her. “So I’m just going to throw something out there.”

“Throw it.”

“I like you. A lot.” He drew in a deep breath.

“I like you too, Tate.” Then she stayed quiet, letting him figure out how he wanted to say what he wanted to say.

“For what seems like my entire life, because of what happened to my friend, I’ve been focused on making detective. I’ve been determined nothing would derail my plan and I’ve sacrificed a lot. Including personal relationships. And since I’ve met you, I’ve realized something.”

“What?” She kept her voice low, almost a whisper.

“That I don’t want whatever might be there for us to be part of that sacrifice.” He cleared his throat and squeezed her fingers. “The last few weeks have been so busy I haven’t had time to really see straight, but when the day is done and in those moments before I drift off to sleep, you’re on my mind. I think about you, I want to see you, to talk to you.More than can be said in a few short texts. And I wonder about you.”

“You wonder about me? What do you wonder about?” This she had to hear.

He laughed. “What you’re doing, who you’re with, if you’ve had a good day. How you’re doing processing Brenda’s death and everything else that went on.”

“I see.”

“Full disclosure?”

“Absolutely.”

He pushed stray hairs behind her ear, leaving a trail of heat that had nothing to do with the flames from the firepit.

“Mostly, I wonder what it would be like to kiss you.”

She let a smile curve her lips and leaned toward him. “Then why don’t you find out, because I’ve been wondering that too.”

Apparently, that was all the encouragement he needed, because his lips were on hers almost before she finished the sentence. His kiss was sweet, respectful ... and hot. Definitely hot. Holy wow. She kissed him back, feeling his simmering passion and restraint while they both reveled in discovering the wonder of that first kiss and all the questions it answered.

Like she could do this for the rest of her life and die a happy woman.

He finally lifted his head and let his eyes lock on hers. “That was better than what my limited imagination came up with.”

She laughed, a sound that came from her soul. “Same.”

“Think we need to do that again and make sure it was real?”

“For sure.”

He started to pull her in for another round when the sound of footsteps on the dock stilled them both. “Later,” he whispered.

“Later.”

James and Lainie stopped next to the swing. “Glad you feelcomfortable enough to make yourself at home,” he told her. But the look in his eyes said he was happy for her.

Lainie elbowed him and he caught her to him and kissed her forehead. “I’m going to get stuff for the s’mores.” He eyed Steph and Tate. “You two don’t look like you want to move, so...”

“Yeah,” Steph said, “why don’t you and Lainie go get the goodies while Tate and I finish our conversation.”

“That’s what it’s called these days?” He narrowed his eyes at Tate. “Remember that’s my baby sister.”

“A baby sister who’s about to start telling all of her brother’s secrets if he doesn’t go away.”

James frowned. “Now, see here—”

Lainie giggled. “Stop it. Both of you.” She dragged her fiancé back toward the house. “Oh, look, Jesslyn, Cole, and Kenzie are here. Let’s go keep them away from the dock for a few more minutes.” She looked back at Steph and mouthed, “You’re welcome.”

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