Page 66 of Almost True
She leaned against me, making my heart trip. We hadn’t actually gotten to touch all that much. We’d kissed a handful of times. I wanted to take some liberty and hold her at her waist, slide down to the curve of her hip, but no.No.
Pizza. Movie. Child in the other room.
But the impulse drove me to dip my head and whisper into her ear. “If we were alone, I would kiss you.”
She inhaled and bit her lip as I looked down at her. “I would kiss you back.”
And then we were in the kitchen watching Luca spoon jarred pizza sauce over a misshapen circle of dough and loading our individual pizzas with cheese and toppings. We were laughing over our meal, arguing over the best kind of cookie and whether it was legal to put ketchup on pizza.
I didn’t remember the last time I’d laughed like this. John kept me guessing and often made me chuckle, but something about Luca feeling so free and comfortable with Maddie loosened a tightness in me I hadn’t realized was there. It unwound me, unspooled this string of contentment and pleasure I wanted to follow.
We watched the movie from the couch, sides smashed together and one of my arms around Maddie’s shoulder. Luca sprawled in the chair and occasionally looked over at us and rolled his eyes, but after, he’d tuck his chin and grin to himself like he thought I couldn’t see.
By the end of the night, I felt like it was all a dream. Right up until she said goodnight to a sleepy Luca as he stumbled into his room with a mumbled “See you soon.” When his door shut, and we’d nearly reached the front door, she pressed against me until my back hit the wall, and I lost my breath.
Our lips met in a kiss that’d been building for what felt like days or years, not just hours since this afternoon. We chased each other, devoured, then lost ourselves for some span of time I didn’t calculate until my hands were in her hair and pressed against the skin of her lower back and hers had slipped under my shirt to grip my sides.
It was glorious. It was painful. And I would never have enough of her. So when she pulled away looking mussed and hungry, eyes flicking to my lips and back to meet mine, desire and affection twined together and wrapped tightly around me.
“So… I’ll see you Friday.”
My brain was still working to come back online, but I nodded. “Uh, yes. Friday.”
“The twenty-fourth?”
Ah.“Yes. Yes. But we could do coffee or something tomorrow? Thursday?”
She grinned. “I’m in Salt Lake tomorrow, and you’ve got a crazy schedule Thursday if I’m remembering right?”
I made a face, mind fully back to reality. “Sorry. I think my brain stopped functioning a few minutes ago.”
She chuckled and it sounded about as delighted as I felt. I cupped her face and kissed her again, loving having her so close.
Loving everything about this night.
Oh. Crap.
Loving her.
“Talk to you tomorrow,” she said, saving me from finding words in the midst of the realization.
“Yes. Text me when you get home.”
She tilted her head and gave me a look I couldn’t decipher, but nodded. “Of course.” After one more kiss to my cheek, my jaw, my neck, she slipped away and took part of me with her.
I hadn’t intended to give it to her, but in truth, I’d felt it coming. And now, I’d just have to make peace with that bit missing once she left for good.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SIX
Maddie
Anticipation twisted through me for the evening’s events. Not only was it July twenty-fourth, a Utah holiday celebrating pioneers and a local favorite excuse to throw parties and shoot off fireworks, it was also Aidan’s fortieth birthday.
And he hadn’t told me. Not a word of mention. Fortunately, John had. He’d planned an entire surprise party under the guise of the holiday and assured me Aidan would love it. I couldn’t see him being mad, but I worried. His day yesterday had been meetings back-to-back, one of which was with Rich and his realtor. He’d been too talked out to explain everything last night when I’d called, but it was clear Rich was resisting taking an incredible offer, the one Aidan was recommending he accept, and Aidan felt boxed in.
I didn’t fully understand why he couldn’t just tell his in-laws that he didn’t want the business. After some of Aidan’s comments, I’d started to suspect that Rich was waiting for Aidan to say he wanted to buy it or do something with it himself. If he was holding out that hope, I didn’t think Rich would ever sell, and that would only create more problems for Aidan.
I ached for him, and yet, I didn’t fully understand. On one hand, yes, I did, because of course he didn’t want to hurt or offend his in-laws after they’d lost their daughter. On the other hand, this was Aidan’s life and his Vivienne had died eight years ago. Obviously, I could switch into callous businesswoman mode on a dime, but I didn’t think suggesting he needed to be upfront with them was unfeeling.
