Page 46 of This Moment

I shook my head and covered my mouth again…this time with both hands. I closed my eyes and slowly turned away from him.

“Tom Ford, Oud Wood. It has an earthy smell to it. Sandalwood and tonka bean, which they say can smell like vanilla.”

“Well, you smell divine. I mean, it smells good. Or maybe it’s the food. I’m not sure. It’s making my mouth water.”

His brows shot up.

“Not your smell; that’s not making my mouth water. The food,” I said as I pointed to the food. “That’s making my mouth water. Not you or your smell…or…”

Open a hole in the floor and let me fall in…please.

“Or?” he asked, setting the bottle of wine on the counter.

I could feel the heat move from my chest up to my hairline. “Or nothing.”

He laughed. “No, what were you going to say?”

“I would be very appreciative if you just let it go. Otherwise, I’m going to really embarrass myself.”

His eyes widened. “Well, damn, now I want to know.”

It was clear he wasn’t going to let it go. I would never know what had possessed me to blurt out the following words:

“Your abs! Happy now?” I said, waving my hand in the direction of his mid-section. “You clearly need to buy cotton shirts that aren’t so thin. I can see…”

Kian glanced down and then looked back at me. “My abs?”

“Yes! I can see your very well-defined abs. Which, by the way, do not make my mouth water.”

He pouted, and it was adorable. “Well, that sucks. Guess I need to work them more.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know damn well you do not need to improve anything in that area.” I closed my eyes and groaned. I would keep sticking my foot in my mouth if I didn’t stop talking.

Kian laughed. “We should probably focus on eating this lunch Sally made for us.”

Nodding quickly, I replied, “Please. Yes. Let’s. If food is in my mouth, I won’t talk.”

He laughed once again.

Looking around at the spread of food, I asked, “What did she pack?”

“Here we have some chili in these two containers.”

“Oh, yum! I haven’t had chili in forever. Are those Ritz crackers? I love those!”

“We’ve got some cut-up fruit and fruit dip. Sally makes the best fruit dip. Not sure how she does it, but it’s delicious.”

Rubbing my hands together, I smiled. “I can’t wait to try it.”

We had decided to eat from the containers, so we didn’t have more dishes to wash. As we ate at the island, I asked Kian about the book he would start writing.

“Do you have a plot for your book yet?”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “I know I want it to be suspenseful.”

“Are you going to have some romance in it?”

“Maybe a small storyline, but I don’t think the romance readers will be breaking down doors to read it.”

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