Page 45 of Stacked
“It should have. Your float was great.”
She shrugged.
“I mean that. You and Morgan should be proud of what you submitted.”
“I am.”
“Good.” I slid forward on the chair and put my elbows on my knees. “Listen, I’ve been thinking—”
“Me too.”
I stared at her, a pit forming in my stomach. Did she regret the kiss? Think it was a mistake? Want to stop this before it truly begins?God, I hope not.
“About what?” I managed.
She regarded me for a long moment. “I don’t regret what happened earlier, and I hope you don’t either.”
My shoulders relaxed.Excellent.“I don’t.”
“Perfect.” She blew out a breath. “I mean, I’d be lying if I said that kiss didn’t shock me too.”
I raised my eyebrow. “It did?”
“Just been a long time since someone has been so... sure of themselves.”
I nodded as I remembered her words.“That’s the problem with you. You’re so... entitled, so arrogant, and so annoying.”
“I believe your words were entitled, arrogant, and annoying,” I said now with a smile. The blush that grew on her face was worth the risk of repeating what she’d said earlier.
“Oh man.” She shook her head. “Words obviously got a bit heated earlier. I am so sorry for what I said. I was just so upset, so shocked, disappointed, you name it. So, I’m very sorry—”
“Stop apologizing, beautiful.” I reached out and held her hand. “It was a heated moment, and even though I don’t know all the details about The Green Frog’s finances, I do hope the shop will continue to open its doors. It's a New Burlington icon,” I said. She sighed.
“Well, accept my apology. You are welcome here, Robert. New Burlington is a good place to land.”
“And I was serious when I said I was glad we reconnected. And I was only sure of myself because it was you that I was kissing.”
“You’re a great kisser, Robert,” she added, and the comment was almost a whisper. “In case nobody has ever told you.”
I moved a bit closer to her until I teetered on the edge of the chair, my body a few inches from Anya’s, every cell inside me activated and aware of her presence. Forget the food. And the wine. All that could wait. I only wanted one thing.Will she give it to me?
“I’m not sure you got enough data earlier to make that kind of assessment,” I said, my voice as low as hers.
“I didn’t?”
“Nope. One kiss isn’t enough to determine whether I’m that good.”
She inched closer to me too. “That’s a shame.”
“If only there was some way you could find out more,” I said. “Some way you could—”
Anya reached forward and collided her lips with mine, her mouth silencing what I’d planned to say as she enveloped me in another kiss. This time, we didn’t have an audience. This time, we weren’t in the middle of a fight. We weren’t cutting tension by finally giving in to what had simmered between us since our first conversation.
No, this time was different.
This time, we were just there, just us. There was no unknown, no fear, no concern that the other person wouldn’t welcome the connection. This time, our mouths collided in shared hunger, and the kiss deepened with a swift rawness that could only happen when two people were sure they wanted each other. I moved onto the couch and pinned her beneath me as we embraced, my body wanting and welcoming the connection that came from this acknowledged desire.
The more time I spent around Anya, the more I felt an undeniable attraction to her, and it wasn’t just because she was one of the only viable single women in a town full of families and senior citizens.
