Page 57 of Merry Little Midlife Matchmaker

When Sean went still and loosened his grip on my thighs, I unhooked my ankles and let my feet fall to the ground. That’s when I realized there was no strength in my legs, and I slid down the wall until I was seated on the floor, stunned.

Sean leaned a shoulder on the drywall above me, then rolled to his back and slid down beside me. His breaths were deep and harsh, and I glanced over in time to see that his head was tilted back against the wall and his eyes were closed. He swallowed and peeled his eyelids open, blinked a few times, then turned his head to look at me.

I don’t know what he saw. My mind was in pieces, and I was sure I looked like a mess. My hair fell down in clumps around my shoulders, half of it still in the messy bun that had previously kept it out of my face. My shirt was askew, and my pants and underwear were still hooked around my left ankle.

Thought was difficult; speech was impossible. I licked my lips and tried to form words, but I had no idea what I was supposed to say.

Sean saved me by reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. He angled my chin up and kissed me, soft and tender, with one thorough lick of his tongue against mine. That kiss shocked me more than the sex did. It made me wonder what, exactly, had just changed between us.

Then he leaned his forehead against mine and said, “Something smells like it’s burning.”

TWENTY-SIX

SEAN

Lizzie leaped over my legs,caught herself against the wall, then sprinted down the hallway with her pants still strangling one of her ankles. “My cookies!” she yelled as she skidded around the corner and into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I picked myself up off the floor and dealt with the postcoital mess and the exploded wallet I’d tossed before following her. When I turned the corner, I got a wonderful view of Lizzie’s fabulous ass pointed in my direction as she pulled a tray of charred, smoking cookies out of the oven.

The smoke alarm began to blare in protest.

“Ahh!” Lizzie yelled, shoving the cookie sheet on top of the stove. She grabbed a dishtowel and started waving it wildly in the general vicinity of the smoke alarm while I flung the patio doors open to clear some of the fumes.

When I turned back around, Lizzie had given up on the dishtowel strategy and had resorted to glaring at the smoke alarm with her hands on her hips. Her pants and underwear were still caught around her left ankle.

I laughed, which made her turn that ferocious glare onto me. I threw my palms up. “Sorry.”

“Stupid thing,” she grumbled, and it went blessedly silent. Seeming to realize she was still naked from the waist down, Lizzie sighed and bent over, then struggled with the tangle of clothes until a cute little growl slipped through her lips.

I closed the door on a gust of cool wind, crossed the space between us, then slid my hands over her hips until she straightened and leaned against the counter. Her hands landed on my biceps, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel like heaven to be touched by her.

“You seem frazzled,” I noted.

“A lot has happened in the last few minutes.”

“That’s true.” My thumbs stroked over the soft curve of her hips. Touching her was a dream. “Are you upset about what happened?”

“Those cookies have been chilling in the refrigerator for two days. What a waste.”

“I wasn’t talking about the cookies, Lizzie.”

Her cheeks were red. Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, Lizzie flicked her dark-brown eyes up to meet mine. “Right. The other thing.”

“Yes. The other thing.”

“That was…nice.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh.”

I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers. “I thought so too.”

“So your date with Cindy didn’t go so well, huh.”

“It went fine.”

“Right. I just assumed, you know, since you broke my door down and then screwed me up against the wall, and all…”

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