She could stay.
She could do the work she loved, putting both her skills and her inheritance to good use helping people. Just like Norah, she could put her own mark on reviving this charming little town. And she could see where things went with this smart, funny, incredibly caring man, who’d gone to all this trouble to give her an option that would fit within her personal principles.
As the silence stretched out, Reed seemed to lose a little of his certainty. “You don’t have to give an answer right now. I know we’re not…things aren’t…I wouldn’t expect you to make a decision without going and doing the interview and taking time to gather all the facts. I just wanted to even the playing field and make sure you knew you had another choice.”
The knot in her throat dissolved, leaving a spreading warmth in her chest. Cecily rose to her toes, sliding her arms around his neck and bringing his face close to hers. “The only choice I’m concerned with right this moment is whose house is closer—yours or mine?”
~*~
“You’ll have to excuse the mess. If I’d known we were coming back here, I’d have picked up some.” Reed’s furtive glance around—checking for dirty laundry or who knew what—made Cecily grin.
“Unless you’ve been eating potato chips in bed and haven’t bothered to change the sheets, I really don’t care. I’m not here for the grand tour.” But, as it was her first time here, she looked her fill of Reed’s space.
The downtown apartment held the same cozy comfort of Inglenook, with a leather sofa and overstuffed chair flanked on all sides by bookcases. Huge, framed comic posters marched along one wall, and assorted action figures perched along shelves. No dirty laundry or stacks of take out containers littered the coffee table. Predictably, books were scattered on every horizontal surface, with bookmarks and sticky tabs bristling from most. She wondered how many of them he’d actually read.
“A fair chunk.”
“What?” she asked.
Reed slid her coat from her shoulders. “Everybody always wants to know how many of them I’ve read.”
“Considering it looks like you could open a second branch of Inglenook out of your living room, it’s a reasonable question.” There were even books lining shelves in the kitchen. Their spines made a colorful patchwork along the neutral walls.
“There’s no such thing as too many books,” he insisted. “Want wine?”
Wine was a delaying tactic, a chance to quiet nerves or back out. But Cecily was through hesitating. “Maybe later.” She turned into him, sliding her hands up to his shoulders.
Reed’s hands curved around her hips and held her where she stood, still a little apart from him. His hazel eyes searched hers. “Are you sure?”
She’d said as much by the fountain, but he wouldn’t be Reed if he wasn’t a gentleman to the last.
“I’m sure I want this. I want you.”
His eyes flared and his hands tightened as he stepped into her. Then his mouth was on hers and she realized how much he’d banked the heat the past few weeks. He went from zero to laser focused in 2.5 seconds. The floor seemed to tip beneath her feet, and she realized he was propelling them both across the room. Digging her heels in, she laid both hands against his chest. Reed stopped, pulling back to look at her in concern.
“Better idea,” she said and bounced up to wrap her legs around his waist.
“Definitely,” he breathed, then took her mouth again.
Freed of the burden of balance, Cecily threaded her fingers through his hair and slanted her head to take the kiss deeper. The hardness behind his fly rubbed against her center as he walked, a delicious preview of things to come. They bumped up against something. She felt the press of a shelf against her shoulder and dropped her head back with a moan. “How did you know I had a fantasy about you and me and a bookcase?”
He chuckled against her throat. “Did you now?” His tongue skated along the length of her collar bone.
“God, yes. Ever since that day I bought Blair’s birthday present.”
“I’ll file that away for another time,” he promised. “Tonight, I want you in my bed.”
Something snicked and the press of the bookcase fell away.
“What the—?” Cecily turned her head to see the bookcase opening into a passageway. “Shut up. Your bedroom is behind a hidden door?”
Reed laughed. “I wanted to maximize shelf space along this wall, so yeah, I installed a bookcase on the door. The hidden passage effect is a bonus.”
“Definite bonus,” she declared as he carried her down the short hall, past a bathroom and into the bedroom.
He tumbled them both onto the mattress, nipping at her bottom lip before rolling away. Cecily made a sound of protest.
“I want to see you,” he said.