Page 58 of Meet Me at the Grand

“They do care.” Dani paused. “Wecare.”

“That means a lot.” The singing grew louder around the campfire, so he leaned in a bit closer. “And I care about you too.” Oops. “The town, I mean.”

She drew nearer also, and her eyes searched his, a question in her gaze. Did she feel this pull toward him like he did to her? “Justthe town?”

“No.” How could he deny it? His fingers itched to trace every inch of her face—the faint creases in her forehead, the contours of her cheeks, the dimple right beside the lower bow of her lips. Would those lips taste as sweet as he imagined, like chocolate and cream? If he leaned in and kissed her right now, would her breath catch? Would his kiss elicit the same groan of pleasure as when she’d tasted that cookie earlier tonight?

Suddenly, he had to know.

Setting his drink on the ground, Liam reached up and grazed his thumb along her jawline, up, up, until he caught a strand of her silky hair between his fingers and brought it behind her ear. His eyes never leaving hers, he felt, more than saw, a shiver shake her as he leaned in closer, closer.

Finally, her eyes closed and so did his as he leaned in and skimmed his mouth against hers.

The kiss was soft, testing, and Liam sank into it, allowing himself the pleasure of this single moment with her, of his mouth moving against hers. Dani’s sweetness carried through from her very essence to her lips, and she tasted of chocolate and decadence.

He’d never sampled anything so delicious.

How could he have ever thought just a taste would be enough? Thewhat ifrose inside him. Suddenly he didn’t just want to test. He wanted to dive in. To belong to her, and her to him.

Liam’s hands cupped her cheeks and pressed closer.

“Ow!” Dani broke away and looked at him, stunned, before leaping up from her seat.

“What? Did I hurt you?”

“Not you.” But she was swiping at her pants, which were covered in a dark-brown liquid and—melted marshmallow? She pointed at the overturned cup on the ground at her feet. “My drink spilled during…” Her cheeks were red.

“You okay, there, Dani?” Seb approached, looking concerned.

“Oh yeah, just being clumsy.” She glanced at Liam quickly, then back at her pants.

Seb leveled him with a hard stare. Had he seen them kissing? Did he approve?

But then the consequences of the kiss crashed over Liam. Honestly, what had he been thinking? No matter how welcoming the people of Jonathon Island had been, after he and Dani got the hotel plans completed and the council’s approval, well, no matter what Elise had said, Liam was leaving.

Maybe Godwasin the business of working out details. But Liam couldn’t take a risk that things would just magically work out.

Seb cleared his throat. “Maybe you should grab some paper towels, there, son.”

“Right.” Liam took Dani by the hand. “Here, let’s get you inside.” Turning, he led her up the steps into the house where the kitchen stood empty, then assessed the damage. The spot on her pants didn’t appear too large, but she might have burns underneath. Then again, the cocoa had probably cooled considerably since the time he’d taken it out of the slow cooker. “Are you okay?” he asked as he gathered a fistful of paper towels from the dispenser near the sink.

“Fine. Mostly embarrassed.” Dani took the paper towels and dabbed at the spot. “Um, that was?—”

“I know. A mistake.”

She looked up. Frowned. And it was a spear to his heart. And he hated the look on her face. The frown. A slack jaw. The wrinkles in her forehead pronounced. Why shouldn’t she be confused? “Dani?—”

“No, it’s fine. You’re absolutely right.” Turning from him, she tossed the paper towels into the garbage. “We need to work together and get this job done and compromise. We can’t let ourselves get confused, can we?” Then she met his eyes. There was something unreadable in her expression.

Throat thick, he nodded. “Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course.” She pointed to her pants. “I think these are a lost cause, so I’m gonna go scrounge up some sweatpants from Aunt Elise’s closet. I’ll see you outside in a bit, okay?”

“Sure.”

And she left the room, taking all the air with her.

Blowing out a breath, Liam pushed his hands through his hair, and they settled on top of his head.

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