Page 49 of Heartfelt Goals

Forget whatever else he was doing—whether it was for her pleasure, for his amusement, or simply to prolong this exquisite torment—because this kiss?

This was histaking.

This was himclaimingher, not with gentle coaxing or hesitant exploration, but with raw, unbridled need. His mouth slanted over hers, commanding, desperate, tasting of too many moments lost to hesitation from either of them. His fingers threaded into her hair, holding her close as if he was afraid she might slip away.

When he finally broke the kiss, he didn’t pull back entirely. Instead, he rested his forehead against hers, both of them breathless, both of them trembling. The heat between them was undeniable, but so was the emotion burning just beneath the surface.

“I want so much more from you…” His voice was husky, rough with restraint, and tinged with something she dared to hope was love.

“Hallelujah – I’m ready.”

He exhaled a quiet laugh, nodding as he brushed his thumb over her cheek. “I’m ready too—but I don’t just want a fling, Laurel. I want more than just this moment. I wanteverything… including dating my wife.”

Her breath caught, and she blinked up at him, her vision blurring almost instantly with unshed tears at the sweetness of that singular sentence. Her crush, her new husband, wanted to date her? To get to know her better? Dating meant ‘falling’ eventually, right?

“Really?” she whispered, her heart cracking open at his words.

“Yeah,” he said softly, smiling as if she was the only thing in his world. “I think we should spend a little more time alone getting to know each other. Want to go out with me tomorrow evening?”

She let out a shaky, disbelieving laugh, still overwhelmed, still floating. “I’d love to.”

“There’s a kids’ craft place near a hot yoga studio, and I thought…” He hesitated, grinning. “Maybe we could try it together? And then we can all grab dinner afterward so Kendall is included, but for a while – it could be just us.”

Laurel raised a brow, warmth spreading through her at the thought of them—together, as a unit, as something real. “You want to do hot yoga with me?”

“I thought we could give it a shot,” he teased, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Besides, after all that stretching, I figured we’d earn ourselves a good meal.”

She tilted her head, considering. “That does sound divine…” A playful glint sparkled in her eyes as she added, “But only if those kisses come as my dessert.”

His gaze darkened, lips curving into a slow, knowing smile. “Anytime. Now, do us both a favor and go get ready for bed so I can take a cold shower for the next hour or so.”

11

LAUREL

“Areyousureyou want to do hot yoga?” Kendall asked warily from the back seat of the car as they parked. “Hot yoga doesn’t mean your buddy next to you is ‘hot’ – it’s the temperature, knucklehead… and you are not exactly the athletic type. If it was a spelling bee, maybe? But hot yoga – nuh-uh. I can’t see it.”

“I’ll be fine,” Laurel said nervously, glancing at Dustin only to see him smirk knowingly… and then he gave her that wink.

Curse the wink!

Wars were fought over that sexy, cutesy wink. Countries invaded and lost because of a spasm of the eye. In fact, if she was a betting girl, Laurel would have sworn that Paris gave Helen the accursed wink from across the palace courtyards of Troy… and Menelaus freakin’ knew it. That wink came with mindless destruction and the more she found out about hot yoga – she was pretty sure the destruction was her.

“You drank plenty of water this morning, right?”

“Sloshed all the way to the potty…”

“See Kendall – she’ll be fine,” Dustin smiled. “It’s just for forty-five minutes and then we’ll all meet up, grab dinner, and head home.”

“If I make you a coffee cup, will you use it?” Kendall asked openly.

“Proudly.”

“And if it looks like a commode?”

“Even better,” Dustin taunted approvingly making Kendall laugh in delight as they got out of the car. Laurel saw the exchange between the two of them and was glad they were getting closer, growing together as a family, but she hoped he understood what he just signed off on. He was getting a toilet-shaped clay coffee mug – courtesy of her sister.

Taking Kendall next door, Laurel quickly explained to the woman that they were going to be next door at the Yoga studio, and she immediately handed Laurel a rubber band.

---