Page 53 of Vodka and Chocolate Drops

Amber set down the can. She’d done it. She’d thought of Scott before her own desire to be seen and heard. That had to be something.

But was it enough?

“What?” Scott asked. He was handsome, aware, and watching her in a way that made her feel seen. He would listen to whatever she needed to say because that’s who he was. Her Scott.

She shifted to face him. A cool wind whipped down the mountain, stirring her hair into a cloud around her head. Her lips met Scott’s and she savored the way his mouth was warm and giving--like him. As they continued he deepened the kiss, and Amber froze, uncertain whether she could keep up with him. If she could reciprocate on the same level. How could she ever be enough woman for a man such as Scott.

His hand went to her waist, and instead of shrinking back from the touch, she pressed against him, testing herself and her own limits. She trusted this man in a way she didn’t trust anyone else on planet earth.

They kissed as though the world couldn’t see them in the dusky evening, high up on the water tower.

Then Scott broke the kiss.

“You need someone you can trust.” His voice was low, gravelly.

It almost sounded as though he was about to break up with her, but they weren’t even together.

“Someone who is going to move at your speed. Who knows what you like. What you don’t like. Someone who puts you at ease. Someone who loves you despite your mistakes.”

She was still cradling his jaw from the kiss, but he leaned away, forcing her to release him or fall in his lap.

“What?” she whispered.

He watched her for a long moment, then gently laid kisses across her forehead in a way that was both heavy with sorrow and teasingly erotic.

“Not yet.” He cupped her head near her ear, keeping her close. She looked into familiar, kind eyes, her body begging to get more of what Scott had to offer.

“Not yet?” she echoed, pressing her hands against his firm chest, wishing she could wrap them around his neck, taste his skin, and for it to be okay.

“Not yet.”

Amber blinked back tears of frustration and rejection. Was he ever going to say yes? How much longer could she bear hearingno?

“I’m looking for a forever woman. A woman ready to commit.”

Her heart stuttered and her voice left her. He wanted forever. They hadn’t even done more than give each other a passionate kiss. How could he be so certain? How could he ask for more than she could offer? More than she had?

“That still makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”

“Can’t we just date for a while and then worry about forever later?”

He caressed her cheek in a way that sent shivers through her veins and made her body want to take up the cha-cha with his.

She’d comethisclose to kissing him on Valentine’s Day, because it had felt so right to be in his arms. Scott was always there and she could barely imagine life without him. But she was scared. Scared she was going to screw it up and lose not only a boyfriend, but her best friend. Forever was a very long time and was moving faster than the speed of light.

But she’d already made him wait so long. He wanted her. They knew each other better than anyone else.

She couldn’t chicken out. What if this was the only chance she got? She cleared her throat, placed her hands on Scott’s waist and tipped her head up to meet his half-amused eyes. “I’m ready.”

“Yeah? Then prove it.”

“I’ve been trying!” She pushed away from him. “I was going to do this grand gesture thing up here today, but I thought of what a pain in the butt that would be for you because you’d have to arrest me. I am so sick and tired of you telling me I’m not ready, and wanting marriage before we even have a date. I can’t promise you forever when we hadn’t even had today. You’re expecting too much from me, Scott. I can’t do it. I can’t give you everything because I don’t even have everything.”

She froze. What did that mean?

“You’re an incredible friend. I’m just…” She sputtered to a halt, Scott’s gaze so intense and probing it broke her heart.

“Just what?” His hands were flexed at his sides, his body coiled with something she wasn’t sure she liked.

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