Page 33 of Salvation

It was impossiblenotto kiss him. Even the songbirds outside seemed to cheer her on.

Kiss me,his eyes begged.

So she did. She tilted her chin up, closed her eyes, and leaned in for a kiss. And the second their lips met…

She’d been expecting fireworks, but it felt more like slipping into a warm bath on a cold day. The kind that commanded you to sigh with pleasure and let every single muscle relax. His lips covered hers and moved slightly, as if he were whispering while kissing — and maybe he was. Not that she could hear anything over the swoosh of her pulse in her ears.

After one soft kiss, they eased apart. But just as gently, they leaned back in for another. And another and another, until his hand slid behind her neck and tugged her closer. Her fingers knotted tightly in his shirt, and her breath came as quickly as if she’d been running up the stairs instead of standing still, and—

“Anna!” Jessica called from below. “Are you ready to give me a hand?”

They both whipped around, holding their breath. Why, she couldn’t tell. The kiss felt so right — light-years from wrong. So why the jolt? Why let all that space come between them when close felt so much better?

Todd gulped and closed his eyes, and she did, too, hanging on to the memory of what had just transpired.

“I have to go,” she whispered.

He caught a lock of her hair in one finger and twirled it around, then smiled as if some great secret had been revealed to him.

“Been wanting to do that for a long time,” he confessed.

Been wanting you to do that for a long time,she nearly said.

One second, he was grinning, and the next, all mournful. And then he was gone.

He was busy all day, damn it, and so was she. And yet, a second didn’t tick by without her thinking of him. Every time she greeted a new customer, she wished it was him. Every time she served a drink, she imagined bringing Todd one that was colder and bigger. And every time the clock ticked, she wondered when she might get the chance to see him again.

To kiss him again,her subconscious added hopefully.

“I feel bad. You’re supposed to be visiting, not working your butt off,” Sarah said when Anna bustled into the saloon after helping close down the café for the afternoon.

“Really, I’m happy to help,” she said, wiping down a table.

“I like Anna working her butt off,” Janna added with a grin. “I’ve gotten to sleep in every morning this week.”

Anna laughed. “All of you work so hard. I can’t believe you manage so many back-to-back shifts.”

It was true. Everyone worked hard to make the café and the saloon a success, and she was happy to be part of it in some way. At her real estate office in Virginia, there was never a feeling of a common goal the way there was here.

“Now you’re the one doing back-to-back shifts,” Sarah pointed out.

Anna shrugged. “I like being busy, and I like getting to know everyone here.”

Like Todd?the back of her mind chipped in before slipping into daydreams again.

Yes, Todd. She was dying to see him again. The one time she’d managed to make an excuse to bring him a drink, Soren had been around, so she couldn’t throw herself into another kiss. Still, it lit up her soul just to see him.

It was pathetic, how excited she got about little moments like those. The sight of his eyes lighting up when he saw her, and the way he held her gaze when he brought the coffee mug to his lips. Lips she spent way, way too much time thinking about.

Hours ticked by, and the whole time, she wondered when she might see him again.

“Hey,” Janna said at ten p.m. “I can handle the rest. You can call it a night.”

Anna looked around. “You sure?”

There were still a good two dozen customers in the saloon, most of them German tourists who were glued to a soccer game they’d begged Simon to tune the TV to. A team in red with far too many consonants in its name was tied with a team in white, and everyone was very excited about who might win.

“No problem. They’ve all eaten, so it’ll only be drinks from now on. Thanks again.” Janna waved her toward the back door.

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