they’d parked their vehicles not far from each other.
He walked with her until they reached her car, stopping beside the driver’s door, still holding her hand in a loose clasp.
“Juliette…” His voice was low and hesitant.
“Yes?” She realized she was whispering.
“I feel like I’ve known you a lot longer than just one evening.”
She nodded, glad that he was feeling some of the magic that she was. “I know.”
He stepped closer, took her hands and placed them on the shoulders of his jacket, then pulled her against him. “I’m going to kiss you,” he said.
And as his head blotted out the stars, and the warmth of his arms around her banished the chilly December air, she wondered what she’d have done if he hadn’t. She wanted to feel his mouth moving on hers worse than she’d wanted anything since she was about five and she’d thought she would die if she didn’t get that doll at Disneyland.
His breath feathered across her cheek, and then the kiss she craved began as his lips settled onto hers. The sensation was exquisite. His mouth was warm and firm as it moved over hers, and she slipped her arms up around his neck, offering herself to him in a wordless motion that he clearly recognized.
She’d missed this, the warm physical pleasures two people could share. But as Marty’s tongue flicked along the line of her lips, outlining the shape of her mouth, she had to be honest with herself. She didn’t ever remember feeling quite so shaky, trembly, totally turned on before.
Then his mouth grew bolder, and she stopped thinking as she parted her lips, letting him in. He gathered her closer so that she could feel the arousal confined by his jeans and her breasts were crushed against his chest. She twisted slightly, whimpering a little into his mouth in an unconscious plea for more, and he answered her, bending her backward over his arm. His mouth devoured hers, burning a hot path down her throat as he nuzzled beneath her open jacket, over her throat. He nipped at her collarbone, and she shivered in his arms. Then his mouth slid lower, grazing the upper swell of her breast. He raised a hand and brushed aside the fabric of the little black dress and he was suddenly, shockingly, suckling her breast right through the lacy fabric of her bra.
She arched against him, gasping at the sharp, exciting sensation. Between her legs, an aching throb demanded satisfaction, and she squirmed against him until she was half-astride his thigh.
And then he lifted his head. He went completely still and so did she. He shifted her so that she was upright, facing him, and they both made small sounds of protest as she slid over the rigid flesh at his loins.
She realized her fingers were gripping his hair so hard it must hurt. His chest was heaving, and every muscle in his big body was like steel. Deliberately she relaxed her fists and slid her hands down to rest against his chest. As sanity returned, embarrassment set in. What was Marty thinking of her?
“We’re standing in a parking lot,” he said through gritted teeth. He sighed and pressed his forehead to hers. “The things I want to do to you, with you, aren’t going to happen in a parking lot or any other public place. And they aren’t going to happen until we know each other better.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly, wondering if the heat in her cheeks was producing a glow in the evening light. His restraint touched her. “I don’t—this isn’t the kind of thing—” She stumbled over the words, because they weren’t true. She did, and she had, and very possibly she would have, with him.
“I know.” He pressed a kiss to her brow. “I know. It’s not my style, either.” Then he placed a gentle finger beneath her chin and tipped her face up, inspecting her as she stared back at him, wide-eyed. “Do you have a piece of paper and a pen?”
“Um, I think so.”
“Write down your phone number for me.”
“Oh. All right.” He released her so she could dig through her purse, and she quickly did as he requested. “Here,” she said, handing him the slip of paper. It was still hard to breathe evenly, and she saw the flash of his grin light up his face.
“Glad I’m not the only one who’s having trouble recovering,” he teased, and she had to smile back. Then he drew her into his arms again, holding her loosely with his hands linked at her back. “I’ll call you this week.”
“I won’t be home until late each evening,” she said. “Better wait until after nine.” It wasn’t true, but she wanted to be able to savor his call, and it would be hard to keep her attention undivided if Bobby was awake.
“All right. Then we can talk more about Friday.”
“Marty…” She couldn’t keep the troubled note from her voice. “Friday is awfully soon. This is crazy!”
He nodded. “If we were teenagers with no experience, I’d agree. But we’re adults. I’ve been thinking of remarrying for quite a while, and I know what I want.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I want you.”
And I want you, her heart answered. I love you. She barely stopped herself from uttering the words and she stood stock-still, too shocked to move. Could she really be in love with a man she’d met a few hours ago?
Of course she couldn’t. Infatuation, that’s what it was. Nobody fell in love that fast.
Did they?
He unclasped his hands and turned her toward her car. When she pulled out her keys, he took them from her and unlocked the door, then helped her in with a chivalrous grace that would have charmed her if she hadn’t fallen so hard already. “Think about it and let me know.”
He leaned in and took her lips in one final kiss, thrusting his tongue between her lips and demanding her response until she was straining forward as far as her seat belt would allow, trying to get closer to him. But long before she was satisfied, he drew his head away. His rough fingers caressed her cheek, and then he stood back, shutting her door and waiting until her engine started before he strode across the lot to his pickup truck.
She watched him climb in, then realized he was waiting for her to move before leaving the lot, and she was touched by his thoughtfulness.
A squirming little sensation of guilt wormed its way into her euphoria, though, as she took a left out of the exit and drove toward her apartment. She hadn’t told him about her baby.
She would, she assured herself, evading the guilt. It was just that everything had been so new, so special. So perfect. She’d been prepared to graciously back out of the meeting, had had no intention of actually considering an arranged marriage, but once she’d met Marty…
Dreamily, she smiled as she parked near her building. She’d tell him about Bobby soon. And she was willing to bet she was worrying for nothing. Marty must be a good father to his daughter, to be going to such lengths to improve her life. Surely he’d be equally good to her son.
Two
On Sunday morning Marty drew straws with his brother to see who got the unenviable task of replacing some rotting H-braces along one fence line in the larger winter pasture. It had warmed up after the five inches of snow they’d had last week and they were going to get as much done as they could before it snowed
