Page 69 of The Runaway Bride of Blossom Branch

“Maybe.” Cate’s stomach rumbled. “Are we done? I’m starving. And I’m pretty sure I saw a food truck setting up down the street.”

“What kind of food?”

“Does it matter?” She smiled at him, teasing.

They locked up the store and made their way along the sidewalk, dodging kids with cotton candy and adults looking down at their phones.

Harry shook his head. “They’re missing all the ambience. Why come to Blossom Branch if you’re not going to take in the sights?”

“It’s hard for people to break away from work. You know how that is, right?”

He grimaced. “I do. But I’m trying to evolve.”

Cate burst out laughing. “Evolve into what? Sounds painful.”

“I’m serious,” he said. “I’ve spent almost twenty years chasing a dream. All I wanted to do was design buildings that would last.”

“And you have.”

“Maybe. But somewhere along the way, I’ve gotten stale. I lost the buzz. Walking through your building brought it back.”

“Glad to be of service,” she said. “Anytime you want to renovate a money pit, you know who to call.”

Eighteen

The food truck turned out to be homemade barbecue. Cate and Harry bought two plates and two soft drinks and ate on a bench in the shade of an old oak tree. With the sun filtering through the leaves and the touch of a light breeze, the summer heat was not bad at all.

Peace wrapped Cate in a mellow mood, though her feelings for the man at her side were anything but calm. She was intensely aware of him. The way he made a little sound of enjoyment as he bit into his sandwich. The strong line of his jaw. The casual shirt he wore that stretched to contain his broad shoulders.

Could she have a physical relationship with him and walk away?

It wasn’t so far-fetched. People did it all the time.

Besides, what she felt for Jason was so different from this explosive thing with Harry. Maybesheshould try something different, too.

With Jason in her life, she’d never had the experience of picking up a guy in a bar or going on a blind date with a stranger.

Now, contemplating sex with Harry made her stomach drop like she was at the county fair riding a roller coaster. She knew instinctively that intimacy with him wouldn’t be carefree.

Harry was intense. About everything. Even if their liaison was temporary and fun, he would expect Cate to be all in. No holding back.

He wouldknowher in every way. Was she ready for that? Some days she wasn’t sure she knew herself.

As much as she was drawn to Harry, she was also wary. She understood now that her reactions to him over the years had been prompted by an underlying sexual awareness.

What did she know about pleasing a man like him? A man of strong appetites. A man who would plumb the depths of her sexual desires and give her what she didn’t even know she wanted.

She fanned herself with a napkin, her throat dry. Unconsciously, she had pressed her knees together. It was broad daylight with fifty or a hundred people milling around in every direction.

Yet all Cate could think about was frolicking naked on the grass with Prescott Harrington.

He shot her a sideways glance. “You’re flushed. If it’s too hot, we can head back to the house.”

Her cheeks burned. “No, I’m fine. How do you feel about ice cream?”

His smile was quizzical. “In general? Or right now?”

She pointed across the quad. “I could introduce you to Ginny Black. She owns Peaches and Cream.”

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