As if reading her mind, he said, “Can I stay?” His beautiful lips were curved in a lazy grin.
“I so wish you could, Jeff. But Meghan’s awake now, and I know she’d hear us.”
“Hmm. We’ll have to find a better place then. My apartment next time?”
Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. Next time! A next time would happen. She smiled.
He continued, “You could spend the night there, no problem.”
Reality came down hard and hit her in the gut. “Well, no, I couldn’t. My mom works nights, and I have to stay with Meghan.”
“Oh.”
His gorgeous lips turned downward. He looked hurt. Well, heck, she wasn’t too crazy about the situation either, but what could she do?
“Tomorrow afternoon then. I’ll pick you up after school.” He grinned. “Unless you want to skip again.”
Skip? With only two weeks left, why not? But she did still have finals to think about, even though her grades were inconsequential at this point. At her core, Maria Gomez was a good girl—a good girl who didn’t cut school, even for the man of her dreams.
“I can’t cut again. I still have to graduate.”
He winked. “Okay. For this time anyway. I’ll pick you up after school on my bike.”
She smiled, her whole body warming. “I’ll be waiting.”
He trailed a finger down her cheek and then lowered his lips to hers.
The kiss was slow and gentle this time. A kiss not of passion, not of urgency, but of completion and understanding.
A kiss of love.
Was it possible to fall in love in a day? Who knew? Maria had said “I love you” to Greg Black once, when he’d said it to her—when he was trying to get her to go further, of course—but she’d never felt the wholeness and completeness that she felt with Jeff Bay. The desire and the need. So what did time have to do with it?
She was in love for the first time in her life, with Jeff Bay, a bad boy, but such a sweet, wonderful man.
All those others were wrong about Jeff. They had to be. Any man who could kiss like that and make love to a woman so tenderly and completely her very first time was a wonderful man. A perfect man.
When he lifted his mouth from hers, she pressed her lips together. Otherwise, she was afraid she’d blurt out, “I love you.”
His dark gaze penetrated hers. He was so handsome, and even in the darkness his eyes glittered.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Mia.”
“Yes,” she whispered, “tomorrow.”
In a flash, he climbed back out the window and was gone.
Maria drifted into her bed once more.
And still, it was warm.
Chapter Eight
“Hi there, Angie.”
Jeff stood at the door of his home on Cha Cha Ranch and regarded his daughter’s beautiful face. Her dark hair was tied in twin ponytails behind each ear. He longed to reach out and grab her, never let her go. He’d seen a few old photos. She’d been a gorgeous little girl, the pride of his brother’s eye. He gulped. No sense resenting his dead brother. The situation was what it was.
“Sorry to barge in like this,” Angie said.