Page 25 of Designs on You

How could dessert be so sensual? Tasting each other’s food, playfully feeding each other, enjoying the textures and flavors and laughing so easily, while knowing something intensely sexual simmered just under the surface.

Once they finished, Eugene drove them back to Natalie’s house. The entire way home she wondered how she’d react when he put his mouth on hers. It was all she could think about, really.

He pulled into her driveway and turned off the engine. Sherubbed her sweaty hands against her thighs and blew out a breath as he opened her car door and reached for her.

“I hope you had fun tonight,” he said as he walked with her to her front door.

She smiled up at him. “I did. Did you?”

His smile was filled with promise. “Yeah. I really did.”

She pulled her keys out of her bag and unlocked the door, then turned to face him.

This was it. This was where the kissing would start. And after that…

He picked up her hand, pressed a kiss to the top of it. “Goodnight, Natalie.”

Wait. What? No make-out session on the porch? No pushing her inside to get hot and heavy? A kiss on the hand? That was it?

He walked away and got into his car. Mortified, she went inside, shut and locked the door, leaning against it, utterly confused.

What the hell had just happened? Or, rather, what the hell had justnothappened?

CHAPTER EIGHT

Eugene took a break from the endless meetings that were a necessary but tedious part of his job. He stepped outside for a walk, letting the sun shine down on him.

It had been three days since his date with Natalie. He’d texted her the day after to tell her he’d had a great time. She’d replied with a politeMe, too, but that was about it. He smiled at that because he knew there’d been a lot more going on between them that night. But she’d been a little inebriated, and he wanted her clearheaded and certain.

It had taken everything in him not to kiss her. The chemistry between them was volatile. Like a sexual itch that crawled over and inside his body, refusing to let go.

He wanted her. And walking away from her last weekend had been the hardest thing he’d ever done. But he didn’t want to be some fuckboy. Not with Natalie. He didn’t know why, but there was something special about her. Maybe it was the fact that she had kids, and he wanted to be respectful about that. About her. He didn’t really understand it himself. All he knew was that he wanted to reconnect with her soon.

His phone buzzed. He grinned when he saw it was a text from his brother Warren.

Just left court. Went against some asshole.

Made me think of you.

He laughed and replied with:So you lost, huh? Feel bad for you. You should go get a drink and drown your sorrows.

Warren came back right away with:Hell no I didn’t lose. Kicked his ass like I always kicked yours. That’s why I thought of you.

Typical Warren. Always bragging. They’d done this one-upmanship with each other for years. Though he had to admit, his brother was a damn good attorney. He texted back.

Did you want something specific?

Warren replied with:Nope. Just wanted to say hi. Call you later.

He shook his head and put his phone to the side.

Time for him to get back to work, too.

• • •

“It was the most humiliating experience of my life.” Natalie hated admitting that, especially to her sister, but she needed someone to talk it over with, and she trusted Hazel more than anyone.

“Why?” Hazel was in the process of grooming Freddie the dachshund, who stood patiently on a table out in the backyardwhile Hazel trimmed the hair around his feet. “Because you were slightly inebriated, obviously turned on, and he acted the gentleman and walked away?”

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