Page 24 of Candy Canes & Peppermint Kisses

“Like…” She exhaled slowly. “Like you’re still hungry, even though we just ate.” She picked up her wine glass, and I saw the way her hand shook.

I forced myself to lean back nice and slow, resting against my chair, my gaze locked on hers.

I am hungry, Blythe, but it’s not food that can sate me. It’s you.

I didn’t say that, didn’t want to freak her the fuck out with the possessiveness I felt toward her.

I knew one thing for certain. I didn’t want this night to end. I didn't want my time with Blythe to end. Ever.

Blythe

I’d only hadtwo glasses of wine, but already I felt like a lush, a buzz moving through my veins enough that I knew if Logan asked me to go home with him tonight… I would.

Who the hell am I kidding? I would have gone home with him even if I only drank water with my meal. I wanted him that much.

I glanced at Logan as he paid for our meal, and then he was standing and helping me out of my seat before I could even do it myself. Listen, I was an independent, strong woman, but I wasn’t going to lie and say I didn't like the way he did these old-school practices.

Opening the door for me.

Holding the chair out for me to sit down.

Allowing me to order first.

It was nice and made me feel wholly feminine, like this was just who he was and not someone trying to impress me.

As we stepped outside, a gust of wind slammed into me, and I tightened my coat over my body, tucking my chin to my chest as the chill raced over me. Logan had driven us to the restaurant right from Morton’s, but now I was contemplating maybe having taken an Uber here because the thought of being closed in with him again had my body heating painfully.

But who was I kidding? Because as I looked up at him I knew what I wanted to do and going home alone wasn’t it.

But I didn’t have the hypothetical balls to just tell him I wanted to sleep with him. Likereallybadly.

He held out his arm for me, and as I slipped mine in his, I was struck again at how big Logan was. Heck, my head barely came to his pectoral muscle. And didn’t that just make me feel all feminine and warm.

“Um,” I said after we’d taken that first step toward the parking lot.

He stopped and looked down at me, the wind whipping my hair all over the place. “I…” I inhaled sharply, which had nothing to do with the frigid air. I pulled my arm from his and took a step back, mainly because I knew if he kept touching me I wouldn’t be able to think clearly.

But moving away from him felt all kinds of wrong.

His brows were furrowed low as he stared down at me. “What’s wrong?” God, he sounded so concerned.

“If you didn’t have a good time, that’s okay.” His jaw was set hard after he spoke. “I can take you home right now. No worries.”

I really didn’t know him, despite having spent the last two hours eating dinner with Logan. We might have spoken about everything and anything under the sun, and I may know far more about printing and his business than I ever thought possible, and I may have told him everything about me, even when I’d gotten gum stuck in my hair when I was five years old.

But in the grand scheme of things, I didn't reallyknowhim. Well, that was what others would say anyway. In my heart—as strange as it was—I felt like I’d known Logan for years, like he’d been this integral part of who I was before I even knew it.

“I had a nice time,” I whispered but knew he heard me. “I had a really good time, Logan.” I saw him visibly relax, and then he smiled.

Take me to your place, I thought, my mouth opening as if I had the courage to just say what I wanted.

My silence must have set him on edge, because he got that concerned look on his face again and took a step closer. “Blythe? You okay?” Yes, concern, that's what was laced in his voice. “I don’t want to be pushy. I just want to help if you need me to.”

God, I was falling for this man.

I’ve fallen for him.

“Let’s go to your place.” The words tumbled out of me on their own. I watched as his eyes widened for a second, then his nostrils flared. God, the surprise on his face was clear as day.

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