“Very funny.”
She grinned. “I acted without thinking before. You know, when I said we were together. Because I can let her know we’re just friends. Eddie’s really sweet. She’s worked for Josh for years.”
He figured the unknown man was a safer topic. “Josh?”
“Josh Golden. He’s a former cyclist. Very famous.”
“I’ve heard of him. He won the Tour de France a few times.”
“Among other races. He’s a great guy, lives here in town.”
Suddenly Justice found himself disliking the other man. “You know him?”
“Everyone does. He’s a big part of the community. He got married about three years ago. He and Charity just had their second child a couple of months ago. A boy.” She turned to face the open space. “This is it. What do you think?”
He turned his attention to the store. The main room was maybe fifteen hundred square feet. He would guess there was a bit more in the back, for storage. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves dominated one wall. Big windows let in plenty of light.
“I love the flooring,” Patience said, pointing to the hardwood covering. “It’s in great shape. I wouldn’t change that. Obviously the bookshelf stays. I thought about having doors put on the bottom for storage.”
“You’ll need to change locks.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Probably.” She crossed to the back of the store. “This wall is where the magic happens. We’ll have a long, wide counter, with three sets of sinks. The dishwasher goes in the back.”
She turned and walked forward three steps. “The main counter here. Pastry display, sandwiches, that sort of thing. Mom and I have picked out the most fabulous cold case.” She spread out her hands, as if demonstrating where it would all be.
“We’ve been looking online for months. We know what fixtures we want.” Her smile widened. “I spent the morning finding out what was in stock. It was so surreal. When I’m done here, I’m going to talk to a lawyer about the lease.”
She clapped her hands together and spun in a circle. “I can’t believe it. We’re going to do this. We’re going to open Brew-haha.”
Her whole body personified happiness. Her hair swung as she moved, her eyes drifted closed. She was completely in the moment, excited, hopeful and sexy as hell.
When the side of her foot hit an open box, she staggered a little. Justice instinctively reached to steady her. The second his fingers closed around her arm, he knew he was lost and there was only one way to be found.
PATIENCEOPENED HER eyes as she tried to regain her balance. Warm, strong arms came around her. Justice pulled her so close she had no choice but to settle against him. One second she was in danger of falling, and the next she was staring up into his dark blue eyes. Her head was still spinning, but this time for a very different reason.
She rested her hands on his shoulders because it seemed the most sensible place for them to be. She saw sunlight streaming through the bare windows and tiny dust motes floating in the air. Felt her heart beating too quickly and the intensity of Justice’s gaze.
Then he was lowering his head. She had only a second to catch her breath before his mouth brushed against hers.
His lips were firm. Not unyielding, exactly, but determined. He was taking charge, and under the circumstances, she was good with that. She’d had enough responsibility in her life, thank you very much.
He moved his mouth slowly, gently, exploring, testing, as if he enjoyed what he was doing. She sank into him, giving herself up to the delicious pressure.
She hadn’t been kissed by a man in a long time. Years, actually. She’d nearly forgotten the thrill of the closeness, the quivering in her belly, the hint that there could be more and that the more could take her breath away.
She was aware of the smoothness of his shirt beneath her fingers, and the honed muscles under that. Of the way he was so much taller and broader and how she could picture herself leaning on him in more ways than this.
Then his mouth moved a little more—back and forth, as if he was figuring out how it all was going to be. The first tingles began deep inside her, and thinking became more difficult. She could only feel. Feel his hands on her waist, his mouth on hers. Feel the rapid beating of her heart and the way her blood seemed to race faster and faster.
He moved, kissing first one cheek, then the other. He kissed her nose and her chin before returning his attention to her mouth. She wasn’t sure if he asked or she offered, but suddenly she parted her lips and he swept his tongue inside.
With the first stroke, she had to hold in a whimper. On the second, her knees went weak. With the third, she wanted to beg. Her wanting wasn’t subtle. It exploded in her breasts, then went about sixty miles an hour to the very center of her. She got so aroused so fast she started to ache.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and silently urged him to take inappropriate advantage of her. Seriously, didn’t he want to put his hands on her breasts or maybe between her thighs? The idea of him pushing her up against the wall while he had his way with her caused her to shudder. The image was so clear she began breathing harder.
Now, she thought almost frantically. He should make his move now.
He drew back and gave her a faint smile. “I should probably let you get to it.”
She had no idea what he was talking about. It? What it?
Justice cleared his throat. “You have a lot to do.”
He took another step back and headed for the door. Before she could figure out what was happening, he was gone. Just like that. A couple of hot kisses and he was out the door.
Patience had a feeling she looked as shocked as she felt. How could he have left like that? He’d kissed her. Passionately. Didn’t he want to do something else? Something more? Something that required them getting naked and sweaty?
As she was standing alone in the empty store, she would have to say the answer to the question was obviously no.
Disappointment replaced excitement. Reality intruded. Justice was one hot guy. He had been when they were kids, and that hadn’t changed today. She’d liked him then and she still liked him. Which made her vulnerable.
While she couldn’t blame him for being whisked out of her life all those years ago, he’d done nothing to get in touch with her since then. He’d managed to find Ford, but not her. She could come up with a hundred reasons to explain his actions, but she couldn’t avoid the truth. If he’d wanted to see her earlier, he would have. So he hadn’t wanted to.
He was back now and more tempting than should be legal. But tempting wasn’t safe. She wasn’t that fourteen-year-old girl anymore. She was a single mom with an impressionable daughter. She knew how caring about Justice could break tender hearts. She had to be strong and resist. For her sake,
