Page 86 of If This is Love

Chloe snickered as I pulled into Gabe’s driveway, smiling. “It’s okay, honey. I’vegot your six.”

“Mygirl!” Luke crowed.

I had to laugh. “Okay, y’all, that sounds like a plan. We’re just pulling into Gabe’s place, and I’ll only need about fifteen minutes to go change and come back, if that’s okay.”

“Perfect!” Chloe chirped. “We might take longer than that, but remember, it’s casual. So don’t rush to get back over there.”

“Sounds good,” I said, shifting into park. “See y’all soon.” I hit the button to end the call, and the inside of my car suddenly felt thick with anticipation. For what, I had no idea because we were all about to go out again, but I went ahead and turned off the car and turned to smile at Gabe. “Can I walk you inside, friend?”

I wondered when I would stop calling him that. Something in me was ready tonevercall him justfriendagain.

Gabe offered a simple nod. “Sure. Think I’m going to put on some coffee so I can make it past 10:30.”

“Oh. That’s a smart idea.” Also a good distraction from all the salacious thoughts racing through my mind. “I’d love a cup to sip on while I go change if that’s okay.”

“More than okay,” he said, quickly unbuckling his seatbelt and pushing the door open. “Stay there so I can get your door.”

He practically leaped out, and I snickered at his cute insistence upon being a gentleman. He crossed around to my side and pulled open my door, offering his hand, and I took it. After I stepped out, he opened the door for Gunner, who leaped out and trotted straight to the front door. Gabe gestured with his open palm for me to go ahead, and I grabbed it.

“We should hold hands while we walk to the door,” I said playfully. “Seeing as this is technicallyafter the dateand all.”

Hopefully, my phrasing would remind him of what happenedbefore the date, and he would take it from there. I was so far out of my element right now that I felt like I was buzzing with nerves.

Gabe took my hand and wrapped my arm around his waist and then settled his hand on the small of my back just above the swell of my behind. “I think we should do this instead,” he said before leaning to kiss my temple, and how could something so wholesome and sweet get me so hot and bothered?

Lord, I wanted this man so badly.And—just to remindmyselfbecause I guess I needed to keep reminding myself—I wanted him because he was a good man that I trusted and cared about, and there was nothing wrong with being physically intimate with him if I chose to.

I let my head drop sideways to rest against his shoulder as we climbed the steps. “I love the way you think. And I think this was the best date I’ve ever been on.”

Gabe smiled at me, slipping his hand away so he could unlock the door and push it open. Gunner moseyed in and made a beeline for the living room rug, where he sprawled out and stretched all four of his legs out straight. “You think so?”

“I do. Everything was perfect.”

He dropped his gaze to his feet, but I caught a glimpse of his mischievous smile for a second. “Sounds like the date’s not quite over yet.”

I simpered. “Sounds like it.”

Why dideverythingsuddenly sound sexual?

I stepped inside first, and then Gabe went straight to the kitchen. I paused to give Gunner a quick, firm rub and then went to the kitchen. Gabe was pouring water into the coffee maker, and I moved to lean against the counter next to him, resting the heel of my palm against the edge.

“You want me to fill up a cup for you first so you don’t have to stick around for the whole pot to brew?” he asked, as though this wasn’t the only place I wanted to be right now.

“No,” I said through a light laugh, averting my eyes to my shoes. “Don’t you know I mostly wanted to come in so we could have a little quiet time away from all the prying eyes?”

Even though everything sounded totallysexualright now, I wasn’t really trying to makea little quiet time away from prying eyessound sexual, but there was just no ignoring it. The air was so thick with sensual electricity that it felt like my hair could stand on end.

Gabe didn’t respond right away and stuck the coffee pot onto its plate, then pressed the brew button. “I was hoping that was the case,” he finally said, his voice so quiet, and I could feel his nerves in my own veins.

I ventured to look at him, another nervous laugh slipping from my lips as I blurted out, “So, do I have to put on the Jackson 5 and make you dance with me to get you to kiss me right now?”

He turned to me, his eyes flushed to that molten-steel darkness that they had earlier, and he picked up my hand off the counter. “No, ma’am.”

His hand slipped from mine to encircle my wrist, and he drew me close to him, angling his face over mine, his lips settling deliciously down over mine just as my chest met his. And this kiss… it waseverything.

It was a lightning-speed roller coaster zipping down a hill, complete with a thrilling weightlessness of my stomach. It was calligraphy written with his lips, and a symphony of every feeling Iloved. It was Louis Armstrong singing about being homesick for New Orleans and making me feel like I had come home to a place I’d never even been before. It was pure poetry from this man of so few words.

Gabe released my wrist to wrap one arm around my waist, and his other hand connected gently with my cheek, his tongue stroking across my bottom lip, and I parted my lips for him. I slipped both arms around his back, my fingers hooking into the fabric of his suit jacket, pulling him closer to me just as he was holding me tighter and pushing my butt against the counter, trapping me in place.

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