Page 40 of Sweet Deal
“Sure.” She set down the knife and headed toward the spacious walk-in pantry that the family joked held enough food to support half the town if Armageddon struck. Flipping on the light, she scanned the shelves, quickly spotting the tomato section.
“Need help finding something?”
The soft creak of the pantry door opening behind her made her jump slightly. She turned to find Jim in the doorway, his tall frame nearly filling the space. Holding up a can, she shook her head.
He stepped inside, closing the door partway behind him. “I…I wanted a minute alone with you. This seemed like my best chance.”
The pantry suddenly felt much smaller, the air between them charged with unspoken words. Rachel set the can down on a shelf, her pulse quickening.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice low, meant only for her.
She managed a small nod, her throat suddenly tight. “Yeah. Just… processing.”
The space suddenly felt charged, electric. “About earlier…” he began, his voice even rougher than before.
She knew he wasn’t talking about Michael, or the ledge, or the police. Her own heart began to hammer a frantic rhythm against her ribs. “I was okay, Jim. Really. You didn’t need to worry.”
Jim stepped closer, the space between them narrowing to inches. “It didn’t worry me. It terrified me. Not because I doubted you,” his gaze dropped to her lips, then back to her eyes, “because I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.”
“Oh.” Her heartbeat just a little faster, her mouth went suddenly dry, and try as she might, words simply didn’t come.
His hand came up to brush a strand of hair from her face, the gesture achingly tender.
Rachel leaned into his touch, her eyes closing briefly.
“About earlier. The kiss.”
“I understand.” Her eyes opened to meet his. “People do unlikely things in stressful situations.”
“Or when they’re in love.”
Her breath caught. “When what?”
“When they’re in love,” Jim repeated, more firmly this time. His gaze remained locked with hers. “I didn’t kiss you because of the stress or the relief or any of that. I kissed you because I’m in love with you.”
The vulnerability in his eyes undid her. All these weeks of careful distance, of reminding herself that this wasn’t real, that his heart belonged elsewhere—and he’d been falling just as surely as she had.
“Funny thing,” she tried to keep her tone light, “it seems that I’ve fallen in love with you too.”
A smile pulled at his lips. “Funny.” He lowered his head, his lips hovering a breath away from hers. “It’s always been you, Rach. Only you.”
Just like earlier, his mouth pressed hard against hers, and every nerve in her body came to life.
The sound of a throat clearing filled the space, breaking them apart. Jillian stood in the pantry doorway, one eyebrow raised, a smirk playing at her lips. “Mom sent me to find out what was taking so long.”
Rachel felt a blush rise to her cheeks, but she didn’t pull away from Jim. “We were just…”
“Right.” Still grinning, Jillian shook her head, reached around them to grab two cans of tomatoes, and without another word, returned to the kitchen.
Both Rachel and Jim burst into giggles.
“I guess we’d better get back to dinner.” Rachel forced herself to take a step in retreat.
“Right.” He nodded. “Dinner.”
Her cheeks tugged at her lips, her smiling stretching across her face. “And then… dessert.”
Fingers threaded, they strolled out of the pantry. Life was about to get a whole lot sweeter.
