Page 96 of Love Me Boldly

“Denver, I know,” he teased. “And every couple has something to work through. We’ll figure it out.”

“But…”

He kissed me again, and this time, his tongue slipped into my mouth, tangled with mine, and I forgot thebutaltogether.

“There’s Jonah,” I whispered.

“There’s the distance. There’s a host of things we’ll figure out. I want the chance to try, that’s all.”

He kissed me again, and I laughed against his mouth.

“You keep kissing me before I can say anything.”

“That’s because you’re going to say something doubting us before we begin, and I don’t want to hear it.”

“Stop it.” I laughed and smacked his chest, shoving him away from me.

He grinned back, lips dark and curled into his own smile. “Am I wrong?”

“Maybe.” I crossed my arms over my chest and pressed my lips together. I tried for a frown and lost. My lips kept wanting to curl up.

“All right.” He kissed my nose and then drifted his hands down my neck, my shoulders, and then my arms, until he was holding my hands. “Jonah. We’ll start with him. I owe him time at the skating rink like I promised him, and I have new skates for him.”

I blinked. “You what?”

“He asked me to take him skating. I’m going to do that so I can get to know him. Let me know when a good time for that is, and I bought him skates because I wanthimto like me, and he needs them. His are worn, and they weren’t supporting his ankles properly.”

“You bought him skates to bribe him.”

“Absolutely.”

I should probably be mad about that, but I couldn’t muster up any anger. Instead, my eyes were filling with tears. Jonah needed something, and Graham bought it. No questions asked. Hockey skates were expensive, and while I tried to get the best gear for him, sometimes I had to make do with items from a used resale sporting goods store.

“Thank you,” I rasped and sniffed, blinking my tears away. “He’ll love them.”

“I know you’re scared and uncertain about this, but I think you know me well enough to know that no matter what happens, I won’t make promises I can’t keep, and I’ll be gentle, both with your heart and Jonah’s, as we figure this out.”

My heart squeezed as I kept my gaze focused on Graham. His was so intent, so confident. That was always how he’d been. My objections took a hike, and one by one, they walked single file right out of my mind.

I made a decision, right then and there, to do the one thing in my life that was the hardest, to make a choice that made me feel the most vulnerable.

“I trust you,” I whispered, and my chin shook as I said it. Trusting someone was terrifying. It gave them the means to hurt me. It gave them the upper hand, but Graham was right.

I knew exactly the kind of man he was.

He was worthy of it.

“Thank you, Holly. Thank you for that.” His expression softened, like he knew exactly how much that cost me, and then he was kissing me again, his warm mouth against mine, his tongue teasing mine.

Heat swarmed in my lower belly, and all my nerves turned into something different, something so much better. We kissed until my lips were swollen, until my body was on fire, and then we kissed until Graham groaned and slowly pulled away.

“Come here.” He drew me close to him on the couch, grabbed a blanket that had been on the floor, and draped it over both of us.

“What are we doing?”

“We’re going to watch a movie, cuddle, and spend the rest of the time I get you tonight enjoying being together.”

I had thoughts in my head of all theotherthings we could be doing, but we had time for that.

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