“Well, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Love you, Aspen.”
“Love you too, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ending the call, I drop my phone to the counter and sigh as Conrad continues to kiss on my neck.
His hands slide back up my shirt, and I’m ready for whatever he’s willing to give when this time it’s his phone that interrupts us. “Fuck,” he mumbles.
“I think the universe is working against us here.” I chuckle.
“Me too, babe.” He kisses me sweetly, then steps away to answer his phone. This time he doesn’t come back. Instead, he sits at the island and talks to what sounds like one of his brothers.
Composing myself, I hop off the counter and take my seat next to him, and start again on decorating the remaining cookies. When Conrad finishes his call, he helps me with the last remaining few, and together we clean up the mess that we made.
Neither one of us mention the kisses, and that’s okay. We’re better off to pretend it never happened. Our siblings are getting married, and if this… whatever it was didn’t work out, that would wreck the dynamics of both of our worlds. It doesn’t matter how much I crave his touch. It’s not something I can have.
Chapter 10
Conrad
“I’m impressed.”
I turn to see Aspen walk into the kitchen and perch on a stool at the island. “Woman, did you doubt me?” I ask her.
“No.” She shakes her head. “However, I wasn’t sure what to expect either. That looks great.” She points to where I’m standing at the stove, slicing the homemade pizza I made us for dinner.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s just cheese and hamburger. I didn’t see anything else to use as toppings.”
“It sounds and smells delicious,” she assures me.
I finish cutting it and add a couple of slices to a plate for each of us and carry them to the island. “Here you go, my dear.” I place the plate in front of her and press a kiss to her lips.
“Thank you.” Her smile is bright, just as it has been all damn day.
I’ve snuck more kisses today than I have with a woman in my entire life, and it still doesn’t feel like enough. I could spend hours just kissing her, and even then, I don’t know if it would be enough.
Neither one of us mentioned this new dynamic between us. Dancing with Aspen and holding her close, I couldn’t resist. One thing led to another, and my hands and my mouth were all over her until we kept getting interrupted. She seemed fine, and I’m glad I didn’t upset her. It wasn’t until we came into the living room to watch more of the series we started that I tried again. I pulled her into my arms and kissed the breath from her lungs before she had time to hit Play. Then I held her the entire time. This day has not sucked. Not at all.
“So good,” she says, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Just call me Chef Conrad,” I joke.
“You’re going to spoil me. I’m used to cooking for one and eating alone. Now that it’s just me.”
“Aw, sweets, are you trying to say that you’re going to miss me?” I tease.
“Maybe.” Her confession is followed by a smile that lights up my entire fucking universe.
“Well, I’ll have to make sure to cook for you when we get home too.” I toss the idea out there. She doesn’t dispute it, just nods her agreement.
“So, everyone gets here tomorrow?” she asks.
“Yeah. My contact at the city assured me they would be working on our road tomorrow. They had to get the main roads taken care of first.”
“How exactly do you have a contact at the city?” she muses.
“Funny story. My brothers and I were here one weekend fishing. Josh, that’s the contact’s name, he was at the lake. We all got to shooting the shit and drinking a few beers.”
“I’m guessing there was more beer drinking than fishing going on.”
“You know it. That’s man code for drinking a few with my buddies. Anyway,” I say dramatically, “turns out, Josh works for the city, and he’s over at road maintenance.”
“Does everything come easy to you and your brothers?”
“No.”
“Name one thing that you’ve struggled with?”
“Being used for my last name and bank account.”
“Other than that.”
“It’s a struggle to sit next to you and not have my hands on you,” I tell her honestly.
“Come on.” She laughs. “Be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious.”
“What’s stopping you?”
I ponder her question. “I don’t want to assume or push you.”
“You’ve been stealing kisses and touches all day.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Did I protest?”
“No.”
“There’s your answer.”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“I know.”
“And?”
“How do you feel about that?” She sighs. “I feel like we’re talking in circles here, Conrad.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I know it’s complicated, but I never thought I’d have these feelings for you.”