I laughed. “Just answer.”
“Sorry. What?” She held the phone to her ear. “I’m on it, Halley… Wonderful. I’m glad Ava shared that with you… Do you mind? ... Is Preston dying? ... Right. Are the raccoons dying? … No. Lovely. The only reason you should be contacting me right now is if you have a picture of Betty’s babies to share with me… Right. Get lost, then.” She pulled the phone down and hit the ‘End Call’ button before swiping again. “There. Problem solved.”
I raised one eyebrow. “I feel like I want to ask about Betty.”
Reagan groaned as a sizable portion of cake was put between us. It smelled absolutely incredible, and I had never been happier to see cake than I was right now.
I barely even liked cake, but this one looked like I’d love it.
“So, Betty,” I said, handing Reagan a fork.
She took it with raised eyebrows. “I’ve mentioned Halley and the raccoons, right?”
I put my fork into the cake. “I think I remember something about it.”
“Well.” She scooped some cake up onto her fork. “Betty is the mama coon and she just had two babies. Boris—he’s her husband—is a horny little bastard, and their other kids come and go. And when I say Betty just had babies, I mean she just had them. They’re days old, and I want pictures.”
“And she feeds them?”
“She’s not raising them for slaughter.”
“I don’t think people eat raccoon.”
“People will eat anything if they’re hungry. That’s why cannibalism exists.”
I put my fork down. Now that was the thing that would put a guy off hot, chocolatey cake.
Reagan paused with a forkful of cake near her mouth. “Cannibalism probably isn’t a great thing to mention on a first date, huh?”
“Or any date. Ever.” My lips twitched.
She looked down at the cake with a forlorn expression before setting down her own fork. “Yep. I ruined my own dessert.”
I scratched my jaw, fighting a wider smile. “Shall I get the check and you can show me the beach? As long as you promise not to eat me and kill me.”
She stared flatly at me. “Oh, look, that was so funny I can’t stop laughing.”
“That’s what that sound is. Pure amusement.”
She sighed. Heavily. Then reached for her wine without another word.
If I was exasperating her, that was a good thing. She was pretty exasperating herself.
I motioned for the check and put down cash as soon as the little leather wallet was laid down. Reagan nodded that she was ready to go when I shot her a questioning look, and I got up to get her chair for her.
She took the hand I offered her after making sure she had everything. Her soft fingers wrapped around mine as I guided her out of the restaurant, and a startling thought flashed through my mind.
I would be happy to never let go of her hand.
I squeezed it lightly as I held the door for her and let her step outside before me. I expected her to drop my hand, but she didn’t. Instead, she stayed close enough that her grip barely loosened.
Her entire body shuddered as a cool evening breeze whipped past us. It would only get colder on the beach since the sun was all but fully set, so I leaned in.
“There’s a sweater in my truck. You want it?” I asked her quietly.
“I’m fine.” She wiggled her shoulders like she was fighting a shiver.
“Wait here.” I released her hand and walked to my truck, retrieving the sweater from the back seat. “Here,” I said, holding it out for her to slip her arms into. “I keep it there for when I finish late and it’s pretty cold.”
“Thank you.” She put her arms in and freed her hair. “You ready?”
“Let’s go.” I took her hand again, this time sliding my fingers between hers. Silence stretched between us, but it was a comfortable one.
Reagan stepped in closer to me, wrapping her free hand around my wrist as we walked. I did my best to keep us on the flat path since she was wearing heels, but it wasn’t too long before the sidewalk disappeared and we were on what was, essentially, a dirt road.
“Are you okay?” I looked down at her.
“I’ll be fine,” she answered, right as she almost fell.
I caught her with one sweeping arm. “Do you want to stop to take them off?”
She shook her head. “The path will cut my feet.”
It was pretty rough. “That leaves us with one option, then.”
“Which is?”
“This.” I bent my knees and hauled her up onto my shoulder.
A squeal escaped her, but it quickly turned into a laugh as she grabbed at me to keep hold of me. “Noah!”
I jogged the rest of the path, ignoring the squeaking noises that escaped her, until we reached the top of the dimly-lit path down toward the beach. “Here we go.”
Carefully, I released her. Her body slid down mine, every single curve brushing against my front. My hands found her waist as I moved to steady her, and her feet touched the ground right as her fingertips brushed my chest.
She was right in front of me—right against me. Pressed firmly as if I’d yanked her to me and held her in place. And she didn’t move. The rise and fall of her chest moved with mine, and her throat bobbed as she dragged her gaze up to meet mine.
Her blue eyes were bright, like a beacon in the darkness. I couldn’t look away from her. I was fucking captivated by her, by the way she laughed and the way she looked at me and the way she smiled.
She was fucking magic.
And I wanted to kiss her.
Probably more than I’d ever wanted to kiss anyone else.
Reagan’s tongue darted out and swept across the curve of her full lower lip.
Scratch that.
I definitely wanted to kiss her more than anyone else. The temptation beat across me like a steady drum. It was almost overwhelming. To just cup the back of her neck and press my lips to hers to see if it was as good as I thought it would be.
I just—shit.
I just wanted to kiss her. To see if she tasted like the chocolate fudge cake that was smudged at the corner of her mouth, darkening her lipstick.
I reached up, slowly, and held out my thumb. With my eyes still on hers, still fucking consumed by hers, I gently wiped my thumb over the corner of her lip. I dropped my gaze for all of two seconds to see if I’d gotten it all when she knocked my hand out of the way.
Reagan leaned up and kissed me.
Her lips were soft and full, firm and fucking perfect. Her nails lightly scratched my chest as she grasped my shirt in her fist, pulling me closer to her.
Desire slammed through me. She tasted like that chocolate cake and so much more.
She tasted like temptation and the death of all my self-control.
She tasted like someone who could be the rest of my fucking life.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
* * *
REAGAN
Pucker Up, Bitches
I was kissing Noah.
Here, in the dark. At the top of the old steps that gave access to Creek Falls Cove. I was wrapped in his arms and gripping onto him like my life depended on it. My heart was doing the freaking flamenco inside my chest and there wasn’t a part of me that wasn’t on fire thanks to the heat of his lips.