Page 77 of Offside and Off-Limits
Does she feel it too?
Sure, I know she’s attracted to me. But this goes way beyond that. This is soul deep, like the rocks buried deep within the earth, and finally giving voice to how I feel has me both elated and vulnerable in a way I’ve never experienced before.
Her eyes widen, and for a heartbreaking split second I wonder if I've just made the biggest mistake of my life.
But then she speaks, and her voice is soft and breathless and everything I didn't know I needed to hear. “I'm in love with you, too, Cade.”
And that's it. Gameover.
This is Clara finally letting me in, letting her walls down for me, and it’s a thing of beauty.
I reach up and push a stray hair from her cheek, the brush of my fingertips against her soft skin sending electricity coursing down my spine. “You are?”
“Cade,” she murmurs, and the emotion she puts into saying my name spurs me on to cup her chin in my hands, marveling at how small and perfect she feels, her skin soft. I lean over to her, and when I brush my lips against hers, it's the most tender, heartfelt kiss of my life, full of love and longing for this incredible woman.
She shifts her body closer to me, her hands sliding up my neck and tangling in my hair, and we deepen our kiss as every look, every smile, every second we’ve shared since the day we met melds together to form this very moment, both of us laid bare, showing what we mean to one another.
Her lips are soft, her taste incredible, and I never want this moment to end. Just her and me, locked together in the strength of our shared love for one another.
When finally I pull away, she's looking at me like I've just scored the game-winning goal in overtime. “That was nice.”
“Nice?” I repeat with a chuckle. “I think it was more than nice.” I brush my lips against hers once more to prove my point, and feel her tremble in my arms. “Do you know I've wanted to kiss you since the moment I laid eyes on you,” I murmur into her hair.
“You mean when you called me ‘ma’am?’” she teases, and there's that wit I've fallen for, sharp and perfectly timed, even when she's looking at me like she wants to pull me back down for another kiss.
“Would you forgive me if I kissed you again?” I ask, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear the words from her lips.
“Only if you kiss me like you really, really mean it,” she replies and my laugh rumbles up from somewhere deep in my chest as I scoop her up onto my lap, pulling her small frame against me and tangling my fingers in her hair.
She closes her eyes and lets out a little whimper. It spurs me on to claim her mouth with mine once more, this time with less tentativeness. This time with less reserve. I kiss her hard and long, and every coherent thought I've ever had flies right out the window.
Because this perfect kiss with Clara Johnson is the only play that matters anymore.
CHAPTER 17
CLARA
My heart is full,I’m wearing the hugest grin, and not even the cold, driving Pacific Northwest rain can dent my happiness as I dash down the street to Maple Grounds on Main Street. I push through the door and am immediately hit by the smell of fresh coffee, pumpkin, and cinnamon in the air, the warmth winding its way around me as I lower my hood.
I’m in love with Cade Lennox.
I’m in love withCade Lennox.
Oh, my, I still can’t get used to that.
But it’s the truth. I fell in love with the last man on earth I ever thought would be right for me, and it turnsout he’s the most wonderful of men—and everything that’s been missing in my life.
Loving him is like finding myself in a place that feels like home, a deep sense of calm and happiness filling my chest and radiating out into the world.
Cade Lennox is so much more than I ever thought he would be, and loving him is the greatest gift of my life.
I let out a contented sigh.
If the me from summer could see this version of me in fall, she would fully expect I’d either had a personality transplant or somehow lost the ability to think rational thoughts. In my Clara summer philosophy, guys like Cade were to be treated with extreme caution, rebuffing any flirty talk thrown my way, my approach lessheart on my sleeveand a whole lot moreheart locked away safely in a panic room with a backup generator.
And now the walls of that panic room have been well and truly knocked down in the most wonderful of ways, and I’ve allowed myself to trust again. To love again.
You know what? There’s something about being in love that makes absolutely everything better, like you’re wearing the biggest pair of rose-tinted glasses and nothing can permeate them.
