Page 92 of Mine For The Winter

Toward her. The way it should have been years ago.

He lifted his hand out to Paul and the older man shook it.

“Take good care of my girl.”

* * *

She’d been sitting inside his cabin for half an hour. At first she’d stayed in the car, letting the heating warm her skin. But she’d needed to get out and move, so she’d walked up to his porch, a weird sensation pulling at her neck.

When they were kids he used to hide a key beneath a plant pot in case she or Lyle got here first. Mostly her, because she’d catch the bus home while he and Lyle would go to hockey practice. She’d let herself in, do her homework, and put on loud music because it wouldn’t disturb anybody like it would have at home.

And when her two best guys walked through the door it always felt like she’d finally come home.

Hunkering down, she tipped the empty plant pot next to his door on its side. And smiled, because there it was. His spare key. Had he left it there knowing she might come? It was in the same place it had been when they were kids, but the cabin had been remodeled since then.

His room was neat and tidy when she walked inside. His bed made, his shoes lined up carefully against the wall, and when she pulled his closet open his clothes were perfectly hung up. She was closing the door when she heard the rumble of an engine cutting through the night air.

When she peeped through the window she could see the glare of his headlights sweep across the drive.

Kelly pressed her face against the glass, watching as he climbed out and strode toward the cabin, his stride not faltering when he glanced to his left and saw Amber’s car parked there. He pushed the handle down and as the door opened her breath caught in her throat.

But there was a smile on his face when he stepped inside. “Hey you.”

“I let myself in.”

“So I see.” He kicked his shoes off, and removed his coat. He was wearing a black Henley and a pair of jeans that hugged his thick thighs. “You doing okay?”

“Aren’t you wondering how I got in?”

“The key under the pot.”

“Yeah.”

“I put it there for you. Figured if you ever needed to disappear you could use it.”

Weird how much that affected her. She felt her face flush. “You don’t mind that I’m here?”

He looked at her, his gaze warm. “I love that you’re here.” Then he smiled. “I always did. Escaping with you was always a blast.

“It was?”

He nodded. “Yeah.” He inclined his head at the kitchen. “Want me to make you something to drink?”

She shook her head.

“Want me to kiss you?”

She nodded. And his smile widened. Covering the small distance between them, he cupped her cheeks in his hands, tipping her face toward him, until she could see her reflection in his dilated pupils. For a moment she felt dizzy, like she was going to fall over. Curling her fingers into his shirt, she steadied herself.

“Okay?” he murmured, his strong fingers keeping her chin steady.

“Yes,” she breathed. She was more than okay. She was sure. This was what she wanted. What she’d possibly always wanted. The one thing she couldn’t have.

She’d been a kid then. Thought in black and white and wrong and right.

Maybe she still did. But this was right, she was sure of it.

They’d kissed before. But this felt so much more meaningful. Like a first kiss should. Warm lips curled into a smile. Breath feathering across skin. Then he tipped her head, his nose sliding against hers, his tongue slowly drawing a line across her lips. Begging for an entrance she was all too willing to give.

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