Emerson nudged him in the shoulder, a casual gesture that told him they were back on even footing. “You’re really lucky.”
Relieved that he hadn’t miscalculated by being so bold this morning, he folded his arms on the rail and leaned beside her. “That he’s cute? Yeah, I figured that out.”
“That, too. But no, that I already have a fenced yard. If I didn’t, you’d get drafted to help build me one, since this is all your fault.”
“Technically it’s Fiona’s fault. I was just keeping a promise.”
“The pair of you are both sneaky sneaky, and I ought to be mad, but it’s hard to hold on to when I see how happy we just made this guy.”
The dog had stopped to roll on his back and wriggle on the grass in ecstasy. Emerson laughed. She looked free and unburdened for the first time since he’d known her, and the sight of it struck Caleb in the solar plexus.
“Have dinner with me.” The words were out before he could think better of them. Damn it. She’d only just relaxed around him again.
She cut him a glance. “Are you under the impression I can’t feed myself if I’m not wrangling a teenager? I promise, I’ll eat a vegetable.” Amusement glimmered in her eyes instead of this morning’s panic. She’d shut him back in that friend box, talking herself out of believing whatever it was that had prompted her to rush him out the door.
Because he didn’t want her to forget it, he pivoted toward her, deliberately edging into her personal space to test them both. “You can eat whatever you damn well please. Have dinner with me.”
She blinked at him, the smile sliding into confusion as she leaned back, just a little. Caleb liked seeing her off balance, liked knowing he could keep her guessing.
“I appreciate last night. Really, I do. But you don’t need to babysit me. I’m not fragile, and I’m not going to fall apart again.”
He got that she was embarrassed about last night’s breakdown. This, at least, was a worry he could put to rest. “Fragile is the last way I’d ever describe you. You’re one of the most terrifyingly competent women I’ve ever met, and I find that sexy as hell. This is not about babysitting. I want to spend time with you. On a date.”
Taking another step toward her, he reached out to cage her against the porch rail, close but not quite touching. He hadn’t meant to get into all this quite yet. He’d meant to give her more time. But, after last night…this morning…it was hard to remember why he was still holding back. Hell, hadn’t he given her the last four years?
Emerson’s mouth dropped open, part surprise, part arousal, if those dilated pupils were any indication. The pulse at the base of her throat fluttered like mad, and a flush worked its way up the column of her lovely throat.
“A date? With me? That’s…ridiculous. I’m old enough to be your—”
Caleb arched a brow, waiting for her to finish that sentence. There wasn’t that big an age gap between them, and what there was had ceased mattering years ago. He was a grown-ass, responsible man attracted to a mature, amazing woman.
“I…I’m older than you.”
The stammer almost made him smile. He liked making her nervous. “So?”
A little furrow of consternation dug in between her eyes. He wanted to kiss it away. “So, it’s weird.”
Yeah, he’d been prepared for this. He knew damned well the only reason they’d gotten this close as friends was because she didn’t think he looked at her as a woman. She’d confided, let him in, let him close, without all that self-consciousness because she hadn’t been worried about what he thought or trying to impress him. Damn if he didn’t love that about her.
“Let’s just get clear about this, okay? If we were the same age or I was the older one, would you be hesitating?”
In the face of his logic, she stammered. “I don’t—this is weird. We’re friends. Neighbors.”
He was in it now. Might as well make himself perfectly clear. “And I’d like to be more. If you’re legit not interested, that’s completely fine. I’ll back off right now and we’ll go back to the way things were.” He hoped like hell she didn’t choose door number one. “But if your only hangup about this is some silly number, then I’m sorry to say, I’ll have to change your mind.”
“Change my—”
Choosing to take that as an invitation—maybe the only one he’d ever get—Caleb captured her mouth with his.
Chapter 5
At the first soft touch of Caleb’s lips, Emerson’s brain short-circuited, spilling out whatever protest she’d been about to make. Immobile with shock, she could only stand there. No one had kissed her in four years, and never, ever like this.
He wasn’t touching her anywhere but her mouth, each tender brush a question that made her knees go weak. That was her only excuse for sagging into him, curling her hands into his shirt. It wasn’t because she wanted to get closer for more of this gentle assault on her senses.
But his arms came around her, and one hand slid into her hair, cupping her nape with those strong, capable fingers in a way that made her want to whimper. He angled her head to take the kiss deeper, his tongue tracing the seam of her lips. She opened for him on a greedy moan. But there was no room for embarrassment, only need, as her world tilted again at the taste of him. It hit her blood like a double shot of top-shelf whiskey, lighting her on fire.
Caleb was kissing her.
Not a pity kiss. Not a distraction. A toe-curling, no-faking, I-am-into-you kiss. His shorts did nothing to hide his reaction to her. This was not a drill. He was impossibly, improbably into her.
And, God, she was so tired of denying her attraction because it had been longer than she could remember since she’d felt like this. Hell, she’d never felt like this, and she was so here for this madness.
Sliding her hand up his chest, behind his neck, she dragged him closer. On a groan, he pressed into her, backing her up until she was trapped between his body and the railing. Why wasn’t there a wall handy?
His hand slipped beneath her shirt, gliding up her back. Just that simple touch of skin on skin had Emerson rising to her toes and considering climbing him like a tree.
Caleb jolted, his head whipping up. “What the—?”
“Wha—?”
Paws thunked back to the deck. The dog. They’d just been interrupted by the dog. As they watched, he grabbed the hem of Caleb’s shorts in his mouth and tugged in a very clear signal to Get away from my mama.
The affront on Caleb’s face almost made her laugh. Almost. But her lips were still tingling and swollen from the kiss she wished wasn’t over. Because now that it was, she could think again.
He let her go and the dog immediately wormed his way between them, plunking his butt down right on Emerson’s feet.
Caleb scowled. “Nobody asked you to play chaperone.”
It was a good thing he had because they’d been practically dry humping on her back porch. Jesus, had she no self control?
Face flaming, she dropped down to love on her neglected pooch and worked on catching her breath. “You were the one who thought it was a good idea for me to get a dog.”