Page 89 of After You

She stepped to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. One hand dropped to her ass and he pressed her close.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his mouth. “I just need you tonight.”

“I’m all yours,” he answered gruffly.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. “You promise?”

He nodded. “Ido.”

She stepped back. “I get it’s a big deal to just disappear,” she told him. She did need him to know that she understood his effort here. “I’ll call Derek and give him my cell. If there are any emergencies, he’ll know and can get ahold ofyou.”

“I really have to turn my phone off?” Kyle looked a little panicked at theidea.

She smiled. “Only my grandmother, my parents, Kade, and now Derek have my number. So we know if it rings, it’s important. Whereas, if yours rings, it could be any one of about five hundred people.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“If there are any issues you need to be aware of, Derek or my family will let youknow.”

He took a breath. “Okay.”

She kissed him one more time, then said, “I promise this will begood.”

He cupped her face. “I know itwill.”

And her heart skittered again.

“But,” he added.

Crud, she didn’t want any buts tonight.

“Our clothes aren’t dryyet.”

“Oh.” She glanced at the dryer. “True.”

“So, how about this… I go do some of the windows while we wait for them to dry. When they’re done, we’ll head out. Then it’s you and me and no work for the rest of the night.”

Hannah shook her head. “I should have known you’d find a way to get some more work done first.” But she said it with affection. He was such a great guy. A great guy who needed to have more fun in his life, but definitely a greatguy.

“You pack us a picnic, maybe grab some pillows and sleeping bags, and maybe some candles, okay?” he asked.

She liked the sound of all of that. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He gave her a grin, and it hit her hard that she would happily look at that grin for the rest of her life. Kyle wasn’t big into surprises—giving or getting—so this was a hugedeal.

“Okay,” she said, returning his smile. “I’mgame.”

“And do you think your dad has some shorts I could borrow?” he asked, looking down at the towel hewore.

She reached out and hooked a finger in the top of the towel and tugged. But he caught her wrist—and the towel—before she got it undone. “Don’t start something you can’t finish right now,” he told her huskily. “I’ll put you back up on this dryer.”

She wanted that. Even more than she would have expected. “I’m not arguing.”

“Well, now you’ve got this new idea in my head. I think I’d rather have you all to myself with no risk of interruption,” he told her. “Because I’d really rather you just stay naked until sometime tomorrow morning.” He leaned in and put his lips against hers. “Sometime late tomorrow morning.”

She was even going to get him to sleep in and go in late to work? She nodded. “Okay. Yes. Hurry with the windows.”

“I might not even clean every corner.”

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