Southern Attraction (Southern Heart 3)

“Chocolate. Did you always want to take over the bar?”

“I did. I loved going to work with Dad when I was younger. There’s an aspect of pride to know it’s been in the family for three generations now.”

“Do you love it?”

“I do. I just wish Liv would be more involved.”

“Have you talked to her about it?”

“Yeah, just this week I really made her sit and listen. It was never just me that I pictured running the place—it was always us, you know? It’s just as much her legacy as it is mine.”

“Why doesn’t she?”

“She doesn’t want to deal with the staffing and conflict. She’s worked side by side with many of our employees for years. We both have. Liv doesn’t want to be in charge of the hiring, firing and all that.”

“She could do the books, inventory, things like that,” she suggests.

Leaning in slowly, I guide my lips to what I hope is her forehead. I’m in luck as they touch her soft skin. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I told her. She promised she would think about it.”

“She’s lucky to have you. Not many siblings would care that much. They’d be greedy and take all the profits for themselves.”

“I’m not most siblings.”

“I see that.”

“What about you? Paralegal, right?”

“Yeah, you remembered.”

“There’s not much about that night that I don’t remember,” I tell her honestly. Like the way her smile lit up her eyes, or the subtle scent of vanilla when the wind blew just right. The way I longed to kiss her. “Did you always want to go into law?”

“I kind of just fell into it, really. My boss, he’s a friend of my grandmother’s. I started working there in high school, just filing and answering phones a few hours a week. I stayed on through college, and he offered to pay for school if I would stay on as his paralegal since the one he had retired that year. I enjoyed working with him. Working in the field and having an attorney at my disposal for questions really helped me get through my classes.”

“Do you love it?”

“I really do. It’s always something different: a new case, new challenges.”

We lie there in silence. My hand now rests on her hip as I draw lazy circles on her skin with my thumb.

“This is easy,” she says finally.

“What is?”

“Being here with you like this. It’s easy. I mean, we’ve met not even a handful of times, so this should be awkward, but it’s not. It’s easy.”

“I agree. There’s also this….”

“Spark,” she finishes for me. “It’s like you can feel the attraction in the air surrounding us.”

“So that’s not just me?”

She chuckles. “I feel it too. It’s surprising, comfortable, and scary as hell.”

I cup her cheek. “Don’t be scared,” I whisper as my mouth connects with hers. Slowly I trace her lips with my tongue, taking my time tasting her. Her hands find their way to my hair, giving it a gentle tug. I deepen the kiss, allowing myself to get lost in her.

When we finally come up for air, her face lights with a smile.

Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, I ask, “Favorite candy?”