My mind was a little bit loopy, from all the lust I was feeling, but I was pretty sure this was a confession of sorts.
“I’m sorry.” He put his hands in his pockets. “It’s hard to say no to her.”
The corners of my lips tilted up. Seeing this mountain of a human who was a cross between Paul Bunyan and the Marlboro Man apologizing for reading my daughter too many bedtime stories might just be the most precious thing I’d ever seen.
It might be adorable, but I didn’t want him to actually feel bad. “Believe me, saying no gets easier. In a year you won’t even…”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth I wished that I could suck them back in. Why had I said that? Why would I assume he would be around in a year? Now he wasn’t just going to think I was a basket case; he was going to think I was a clingy basket case.
“I just meant you, or anyone will just, you know, build up immunity the more you’re…you know…” I heard myself stumbling over my words and I just couldn’t stop it. I wasn’t needy or delusional. I didn’t want him to think that I had some fantasies about him or us, even if I did. “The more someone, anyone is around a person, any person you build up an immunity.”
“You think so?” he rasped.
The grittiness in his response caused a tremor to run straight through me and my breaths were coming in shallow pants. The deep, gravelly quality in his voice wasn’t the only thing causing a shiver to race down my spine and my breathing to be labored. It was the way he said it. His words were charged with something that I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, but it was tangible.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be immune to you.”
I might have been breathless before, but now I stopped breathing altogether.
“Me?” I questioned.
He didn’t respond but he was communicating so much. There was a palpable energy in his eyes that I couldn’t look away from even if I’d wanted to. I was held captive in his stare.
“I want to kiss you,” he growled.
Yes, please! I tried not to appear too eager as I asked, “Is that just an FYI or are you going to do it?”
My response came out sounding a lot more like a challenge than I’d meant it to. Apparently, being this turned on made me sassy. Who knew? Not me, because I’d never felt this level of arousal in my life.
“Both.” His hands cupped my face, his thumb brushed across my bottom lip as he stared down at my mouth with an intensity that spread through my body like a fire through dry brush, I burned with need.
The look in his eyes sent all sorts of signals to my body that hadn’t been receiving messages for a long time. My core throbbed with pent-up arousal, my nipples hardened beneath the soft fabric of my cotton tee, the tiny hairs on my arm stood straight up, and my knees weakened beneath me.
He lowered his head and the moment our lips touched I was instantly swept away in the heady rush of this first kiss. My mind began to swim in the wave of sensation that I would willingly drown in.
My brain was screaming, he’s kissing me! It’s happening!
I wanted to remember every second, every millisecond of this encounter. As much as I wanted to be an active participant, I found myself surrendering to his masterful skills. At first the kiss was slow and tender. Then, just when the pressure began to build and I wanted more, his fingertips pressed into my skin as he tilted my head up. My neck bent back, and his tongue slid between my lips.
That was when everything changed. His left hand dropped to the base of my back and he tugged me flush against his body. Urgency roared in me as a passion that I didn’t even know existed came to life inside of me. As his tongue explored my mouth and his lips brushed against mine, I grasped his shoulders and pressed my body as close as physically possible to his. My nails scraped up his shoulder blades as I rubbed against him, wanting to feel every inch of him.
A moan vibrated between us and I wasn’t sure which one of us it came from.
“Mommy!” Luna’s sleepy voice sounded miles away. “Can I have water?”
It didn’t even register that Luna had called out to me until Hank broke our kiss. I blinked up at him, dizzy with lust, drunk on his kiss.
We stared at each other, our breaths both coming in pants.
He pressed one more, much too brief kiss against my lips, before softly whispering against my mouth, “Goodnight.”
And then he was gone. When the door closed behind him I remained in place staring blankly at where he’d just stood.
That wasn’t just a kiss that was The Notebook scene in the rain where Noah tells Ally it still isn’t over. It was epic. It was monumental. It was life-changing.
“Mommy!”
“Coming.”
And just like that, I was back to my regularly scheduled programming.
As I walked to the kitchen, I lifted my hand to my mouth where my lips still tingled. Bogart and Bergman might always have Paris, but I’d always have my Notebook kiss.
CHAPTER 23
Skylar
“I Can’t Help Myself” by the Four Tops played through the Bluetooth speaker as I flipped the chocolate chip pancakes that were a birthday breakfast tradition. I couldn’t believe that Luna was already five years old. Next year she’d be in kindergarten. My baby wasn’t a baby anymore.
Tears started to fill my eyes.
I’d never been particularly sentimental. But this birthday was hitting me. It felt like a milestone. Once your child started school, that was it. The countdown began to high school graduation. I was going to blink and she’d be going off to college.
I’d planned to have another baby by the time Luna was five. But like almost everything, life had laughed hysterically at my plans.
As much as I’d loved being nine years older than Ash, I’d been lonely for the years before she came. My parents had always been around, but they weren’t the most nurturing people in the world. I wanted Luna to have an Ashley. But that didn’t seem to be in the cards.
My ears perked up when I heard the floorboards in the hallway creak.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you,” I began to sing as I lit the five candles sticking out of the pile of heart-shaped chocolate chip pancakes and continued singing as I set the plate down in front of her as she climbed up on the stool that Hank had built next to the kitchen island he’d also built. “Happy birthday Princess Luna. Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuu!”
She was smiling from ear to ear as she took a deep breath and blew out the flames. I erupted in cheers when the final candle was extinguished.
“What are we doing today?” Luna rubbed her sleepy eyes as a yawn claimed her.
A tinge of guilt pinched at my chest. I hated that I wasn’t able to throw Luna the baby shower birthday she’d wanted. But I planned on making this day as amazing as I possibly could.
I’d come up with several options, none of which were close to the baby shower themed birthday she’d originally wanted, but I was doing my best.
“We can go to the beach. Or we can drive into Savannah and go to the aquarium. Or we can go out on a boat and see if we can find whales. Or we can go to the pier and ride the Ferris wheel.”
Sure, it was the tallest on the East Coast. And, yes, I was deathly terrified of heights. But I’d white-knuckle it to put a smile on my baby girl’s face for her birthday.