Page 49 of Worth the Risk
“Two pleases in one day. How very polite.”
“Polite?” I run my nose up her neck and whisper in her ear. “Maybe later we can see how polite you can be.” I feel her shudder and her breathing changes. I slide a hand over her ribcage and she arches into my touch. I kiss her neck and she lets out a little gasp. I love this woman. I love her smart mouth and her laugh. I love that she’s clumsy but doesn’t let it stop her from doing things. She doesn’t let anything stop her and she wants to be with me. The thought of having her has me floating. She means everything to me. I sit up and pull her with me. She looks warm and flushed and a little dazed. I smile and kiss her lips once before standing. Her pout is so pretty.
“I’ve gotta go do a couple things and get ready for family lunch. I’ll pick you up at 11.” I lean down and grab her face in my hands and kiss her long and hard then kiss her checks and nose and eyes as she laughs at me.
“Okay, go before I pull you back onto the couch with me.” I would let her. In a heartbeat.
“I’ll be back in…” I check my phone. “An hour.”
“Okay. I’ll be ready.”
“You better be.” I wink and walk towards the door.
“I will be. I’m excited to see your family and really excited to see Hazey.” She stands and walks me out, pulling me into a kiss at the door that starts innocent enough but turns into something else pretty fast. I’m panting as I pull away. “I’ll see you soon.” She grins and nods.
“See you in a bit.” I make it to the gate before I look back. She’s still standing in her doorway leaning to one side, smiling. I blow her a kiss and she rolls her eyes but then pretends to catch it before shutting the door.
I can’t stop the goofy smile on my face. Even after all these years, I still feel like a teenager in love for the first time. Now I need to get a few things from town before I pick her up in…45 minutes. That’s not much time so I better hurry.
I am back on Winnie’s front porch 47 minutes later. She opens the door before I can knock.
“You’re late, Holloway.”
“Only by two minutes.” She grabs her purse and a tote bag. “I have some strawberry bread to bring.” She always has baked goods on hand. I take the bag from her. “After you.” She smirks, shuts her door behind her and locks it. She’s wearing anothersundress with a slit on the side that I want to slide off her shoulders and her sneakers.
“Again with the manners,” she says as she pretends to fan herself, so I grab her around her waist as she walks by and kiss her, then slap her ass as she giggles. “Hmm…that was not very polite. I may have to talk to your mom about this.” She shakes her head at me.
“Go ahead. See what happens.”
“Are you threatening me? And why am I kind of into it?” I toss my head back at that. She’s always catching me off guard. It’s one of my favorite things about her. I open her door then the back one to put her bag in. I shut hers for her after she’s inside and walk around to the driver side. I reach over and put my hand on her thigh and she covers my hand with both of hers.
“Alright, lets get this lunch over with so we can get back here, alone, as soon as possible.” She giggles and I want to hear that sound for the rest of my life.
Family lunch at the Holloway ranch is typical. Hazel is napping when we get there so we waited to eat until she got up. Rhett wrestled both his brothers. All ended up on the ground and covered in dirt at least twice. After helping Mary in the kitchen as much as she would let me, I had two glasses of wine on the deck with Florence. Being here is always a reprieve from stress and anxiety, but today I’m reminded of what I could stand to lose if it doesn’t work out between us. His family is like my family. And I can’t afford to lose any more people I love.
“So how’s is going at the bakery, Winnie? I have people tell me all day how good everything from there is.” Florence beams at me and I beam right back at her. She’s been working so hard to make improvements at the hotel and she’s absolutely killing it.
“It’s going great, better than I could have hoped. We have even more special order requests coming in daily and I’m hiring another manager to help me with day to day stuff.”
“That’s amazing! And you’ve only been open a few months.”
“I know. It’s hard to believe.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to believe. You’ve always made things happen for yourself. You’re one of the reasons I decided I could run the hotel.” I’m stunned. Florence is a force. I’m caught off guard to know that I helped fuel her drive to succeed in any way. It’s beyond flattering.
“You could be successful selling leather bags to a vegan, Flo. You’re not only that good at anything you do, but also you’re the most convincing person I think I’ve ever met…maybe only second to Rhett.” She laughs.
“Thanks, Winnie. That’s always nice to hear and especially coming from you.”
“Always. And I’m always here if you need anything.”
“I know. I’ve always been able to come to you with anything.” I smile at that. She’s been like a little sister to me for as long as I’ve known her and never once did she make me feel like an outsider when I was spending time with her and Mary. I don’t know what I would do if I lost this special bond we have.
I’m wrapped in a blanket, sitting on a lounge chair, contemplating this and weighing this information against how much I care for Rhett when he comes to sit with me on the deck.
“Hey, you. You about ready to head out?”
“Yeah, I think so. Just let me make sure your mom doesn’t need my help with anything.” I stand and lay my blanket over the railing and go to grab my shoes, but notice him staring. I look down to make sure I’m covered and confirm that I am.
