Page 16 of Reclaiming Izabel

My eyes widened. “You’d do that?”

His chuckle deepened, and the walls around my heart cracked as laughter bubbled up my throat.

This was good. Laughter was good.

“It’s just dessert, Izabel.” Kyle stopped laughing and grinned.

“I mean, lavender crème brûlée isn’t exactly something I thought a man would be caught ordering.”

“Izabel Maddox.” Kyle’s voice held a tinge of mock censure. “Do I detect some form of sexist remark from your last statement?”

“Well, have a taste.” I held out my spoon.

He screwed up his face. “Uh, no.”

“See?” I laughed harder.

“What I meant was—you can have mine and I can order another one.”

“Well, I don’t want to waste food,” I replied pertly and dipped into my crème brûlée again as if to emphasize a point.

Kyle dug into the tempting layers of sinful chocolate and then held it out to me. “Well, would you settle for a bite?”

I smiled impishly. “I would love to.”

When Kyle took me home,I marveled at how differently I felt before and after the date. It had been cathartic to laugh and flirt again with a man. Kyle was good company, charming, and he wisely didn’t pry into my past with Drake. I’d been having such a wonderful time with him during dessert that I didn’t notice Hank leaving. Of course, being a former SEAL, he was stealthy that way.

As Kyle’s Porsche pulled up my driveway, I turned to face him. “Thank you for a lovely dinner.”

His face was shadowed, but I could feel the heat in his eyes. My breathing stuttered nervously when he leaned in closer until our faces were inches apart.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he murmured. “Okay?”

I gulped and nodded.

The first press of his mouth felt totally wrong. I opened my mouth to protest, but Kyle took that as an invitation to delve deeper. His tongue swept into my mouth and he pulled me closer. His kiss was gentle and coaxing, making me want to explore and give in to the moment. His hand slid lower to my hip before settling on top of a thigh, just at the hem of my skirt. Kyle’s breathing grew ragged and, although a spark had started low in my belly, I had to stop this.

A car alarm went off in the neighborhood and we both jumped back into our seats.

I ran awkward fingers through my hair. “Um…”

Kyle gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

I nodded, relieved to get out of the car.

He waited until I rounded the front of his vehicle and held out his hand. I had no choice but to take it. He tugged me close and together we walked up the pathway.

“I hate to see this evening end,” Kyle said as we turned toward each other at the door. The car alarm in the neighborhood was still blaring. “I really like you, Izabel. I know I should wait a couple of days before I call you and ask you for another date, but why waste time?”

“Are you asking me on another date?”

“Would Wednesday be too soon?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Let’s discuss details at the office.” He glanced around the neighborhood, a look of irritation crossing his face. “Someone needs to take care of that alarm.”

I unlocked the door and pushed it open. “I agree. So,” I said, peering up at him. “See you at the office?”

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