She nods. “I can understand that. It seems you did great with Gianna.”
A small smile forms on my face. “Thanks. I had a lot of help from my family.”
“It’s great they’re there for you.”
I nod. “I don’t know where I would be without them.”
She smiles, not saying anything further.
I stand and say, “Hey, I think it’s just about done. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable, and I’ll see if it’s ready.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“That was delicious. Have you always been such a wonderful cook?” Carissa asks with a smile.
I take a sip of wine and shake my head. “Definitely not. I learned a few things once I became a daddy. Since I live here alone with my daughter, I need to make sure I feed her good, nutritious food. You can thank my mother for that recipe.”
She laughs. “Maybe I will.”
Her words have a lot more meaning than I realized before I heard them. Maybe she will…
She’d have to meet my mother for it to happen, or talk to her on the phone. Either way, it’s a lot.
Maybe it’s too much.
But maybe it’s time.
As we sit on the couch in the living room of my place, I lean in a bit closer to her. I know it’s either now or never. If I’m not ready to do this now, will I ever be?
I need to take the next step, see if this thing is even worth trying for.
But is there a point to this? Why am I trying to find love again? Is that even what I’m doing? At this point, I don’t know. I don’t have any of those answers.
All I do know is whenever I’m not with this woman, she’s always on my mind. Sometimes it’s pure and innocent thoughts, like how sweet she is and how much we seem to be getting along.
But other times?
Other times she makes me think of things I want to do to her, with her, that I haven’t done in so long. Things I haven’t wanted to do ever since my wife died.
It’s been five long, hard years, but now, I’m starting to feel them again. Now I’m coming to life.
And it has to be because of her.
I know this is all new for her too. She’s told me plenty of times her ex screwed her up and she’s been against dating since it ended between them.
There’s something about when she’s with me or when we’re talking on the phone. I feel an instant connection, an instant chemistry between us.
Her eyes tell me she wants me too. The way she’s staring at me with those bedroom eyes… I have to go for it.
“Carissa,” I whisper.
“Yes?” she replies in the same low tone.
I continue leaning closer, and now she’s doing the same. I point upward, and her eyes follow my finger. Above us is the mistletoe Gianna insisted we buy for our home and place directly above the couch.
Her eyes come back to mine, and I can’t stop myself from wrapping my arms around her.
Bam. Our lips come together in a gentle crash of emotions.
After so long, after seeing her and coming so close to doing it just before pulling myself away, I’m finally letting it all go and kissing the one woman who I can’t seem to get my mind off of.
This has nothing to do with the mistletoe. Were it not there, I still would have kissed her.
And now, the nickname I’d given her when I first saw her, Luscious Lips, also has new meaning.
Damn, they’re perfect.
Damn, they’re soft.
Damn, I can’t get enough.
I feel her writhing in my embrace as a soft moan escapes her.
Jesus fucking Christ. She’s making it really hard for me to hold back and only kiss her.
However, it’s all I do, and she continues yearning for me.
We kiss softly for the next couple of minutes until I pull away. I pull away not because I’m afraid or because I want to stop kissing her.
No, it’s quite the opposite.
If I didn’t stop when I did, I would have wanted to go further.
Damn, hearing her sexy moans is only intensifying every single thought I’ve ever had of her as I’d lie in bed every night. The hard-on in my jeans confirms it.
Kissing her is everything I imagined it would be. Kissing her made me want her even more than I thought before, and now I want to take that next step with her.
I do.
I truly do. My dick is pure indication of it, and if I were wearing sweatpants, I’m sure she’d notice it too.
But the next step is not one I’m ready to take. Not yet anyway. Maybe someday.
As our lips part and we pull back from one another, we both smile, but my arms never let her go.
We spend the evening on my couch, kissing innocently and nothing more until it’s time for her to go home.
Chapter Sixteen
Lorenzo
“Man, I really thought this year, she would have made it,” Marianna says to me, pointing at Gianna who is cuddled up against me on the couch. She’s holding on tightly to one of the new dolls she received tonight.
I chuckle. “Well, she definitely tried.”
It’s just after midnight, and we opened all the presents not long ago. Now I’m sitting with my sister in my parents’ living room while Max is in the other room finishing the rest of the pie with Mom and Dad.
Marianna sits back against the couch as she swirls the wine in her cup. Then she flashes me a knowing look.
Oh shit, here we go.
“So, Carissa, huh?”
Damn. As soon as she says her name, the taste and feel of her lips against mine are all I can think about. Fuck, I miss kissing her.
I miss her.
I shake the thoughts from my head before Marianna can pick up that I’m daydreaming about Carissa.
I knew it was too good to be true that she’d let me off the hook about it. She had just been waiting for a moment to get me alone.
“Carissa,” I reply with a smile.
Marianna chuckles. “She’s very pretty, and Gianna seemed to like her.”
I nod. “Yes, she is,” I say, referring to Carissa being pretty. “And yes, she did.”
Marianna takes a sip from her cup. After she swallows, she says, “I kept my promise. I haven’t told Max.”
And for it, I’m grateful.
“Thanks, sis. I’m going to be telling him soon… especially since things with her have been going so well.”
“Oh, have they?” she asks teasingly.
I smirk. “Shut up.”
Marianna looks away and downs the rest of her drink. Then she looks back at me and looks away once more.
“Hey, everything okay?” I ask as she stares into deep space. I can take one guess as to what this is about.
She meets my gaze once more, and now there are tears welling in her eyes.
“Awww, Mari. What’s going on? Talk to me.” I already know what it is, but I don’t want to just put it out there in case she doesn’t really want to tell me.
Marianna shrugs. “It’s Christmas Eve. This is supposed to be the time of year when you’re surrounded by family… you know, the most wonderful time of the year? But it’s not for me.” She shrugs and swallows hard. “Sure, I do my best to hold my head up and act like it doesn’t bother me, but can you tell me where my husband is? Because I wouldn’t be able to. I don’t have the slightest idea.”