Sunrise Point

catching up with neighbors, eating, juggling each other’s babies. Did I tell you I helped make about three hundred sachets with Maxie and her girls? She had dried apples, cinnamon sticks and cloves and we tied them into little bundles. And I can now bake cinnamon rolls.”
    “You’ve come a long way since terrible coffee,” he said.
    “I lied about how my father liked it,” she admitted, laughing.
    “I know that now. Good fake, though.”
    Although she was stuffed and he really didn’t need to eat another bite, he insisted on ordering coffee and dessert. He loved the way she relished every new taste, every luxurious bite of something that for her was indulgent. One dessert of cheesecake, two forks.
    “You know what I hope? I hope you always have that sense of wonder for simple things.”
    She just laughed at him. “Oh, I’m sure we’re safe there. I’m kind of hoping to have some wonder over extraordinary things someday.”
    He dipped his fork into the cheesecake and held it toward her mouth. She shook her head and said, “Oh, I can’t…” But he persisted until she let her lips close over the fork. Her eyes closed again, that luxury of excellence on her tongue, and he almost got aroused. His heart pumped and so many emotions swept through him—possession, adoration, titillation, excitement. Feeding her seemed to do something for him. He tried to reason with his feelings—it was a silly bite of cheesecake! But he couldn’t wait to share that fork, to put his lips where hers had been.
    He’d never felt like this before.
    Soon they were walking across the square to his truck and he grabbed her hand, holding it. It was almost as though she hadn’t noticed—she was doing a recap of the meal, the ambiance of the restaurant, the added delight of a dessert she absolutely did not need. He listened with a smile; he found listening to her comforting. She had no idea how cute she was. And as they walked, he leaned down enough so that he could catch a whiff of her hair—sweet, flowery, clean.
    There weren’t too many people on the square and sidewalks, but they were hardly deserted. Still, when they got to the truck, he pulled on her hand until she faced him. She looked up at him. He put one large hand on her hip and with the other, he traced her jawline with a knuckle until it was under her chin. Then he lifted her chin, lowered his head and placed a very cautious kiss on those full lips.
    Yeah, he liked that.
    He tried that again, and again.
    She put a hand against his chest and said, “Look, I don’t want to upset Darla…”
    “This has nothing to do with Darla. This is just you and me…”
    “Okay, let me put this another way. I don’t want to get in Darla’s territory.”
    “I am not her territory. We’re friends. Her husband…my squad…that whole thing. I’m just being supportive… .” And he leaned toward her mouth again.
    “Wait! You know all the things I’ve gone through the past few years—I don’t want to just get deeper in trouble.”
    “Huh? What?”
    “I don’t want to get mixed up in a situation that would hurt me…like, you know, before.”
    His eyes became slits. “You can’t really be suggesting that I could ever do to you and your children what he did to you. You know I’m not that kind of person.”
    “You’re not,” she whispered. “I know.”
    “It’s a kiss,” he said. “With any luck, a good kiss. I want it. You want it.”
    She nodded weakly. After all, she’d made that deal with God… .
    “Then can you shut up and kiss me?”
    Her lips were already parted, just in case she had something more to say. To her own great relief, she didn’t. He came down on her mouth gently but it took only a second for it to become serious. Demanding and powerful and by the way she received it, it was very much to her liking. She’d been holding her breath and let it out slowly just as her arms slid up and around his neck. He tilted, moved, tongued open her lips, played around with her tongue. Then he lifted her a little bit, bringing her mouth up even with his and, incidentally, pinning her against his truck.
    He should really care if people were walking by but he didn’t. All he could think about was her small body flush against his, the taste of her mouth and the fact that after all that hedging, all those excuses, she met him with passion. He heard her whimper slightly and he took it as a little victory—she wanted him, too.
    “Oh, man,” he