Page 53 of Soaring Free
“I know the timing is less than ideal, but I don’t have time for games in my life, Savannah. I’m going to take a chance here and put all my cards on the table.”
The butterflies erupt in my stomach but I try to play it cool. “Lay ‘em down, then.”
“I’m attracted to you—incredibly attracted to you, and I know the situation isn’t ideal, but would you be open to exploring what this connection is between us? You have to feel it too, right? It’s not just a physical thing either, your sass and fire are enchanting. You’re like the brightest flame I’ve seen in a long time, and I’m drawn to you in a way I can’t even articulate, completely willing to let you burn me up.”
“I absolutely feel it, but you’re right, the timing is not ideal. My life is currently a hot mess, Theo. And you know how it is as a single parent that everything is more complicated with young kids at home.” I hate the rational part of my brain sometimes. Shut up logic, shut up for five minutes and just let go with this man.
“I’m not asking for anything more than you’re willing to give, and if you’re open to exploring whatever this is, we go at the pace you’re comfortable with. But I would be a fool to ignore this magnetic chemistry and I refuse to live my life with regrets, especially ones that are as witty, intelligent, and gorgeous as you and those captivating eyes.”
“What if we tried something?” I lean closer to the center console.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I’ve always thought you can tell a lot about someone by a kiss.”
“See? Beautiful and brilliant. I fully support this theory.” Theo leans over the center console to close the distance between us as he runs his hand along the side of my face until his thumb is cradling my jaw and his palm is along my cheek. I press into it and close my eyes. Am I ready for this? I don’t know, but I also can’t deny the way his touch makes me feel alive. I lean my head forward as he guides my mouth to his. Theo’s kiss is gentle and reverent at first, before he encourages me to open up to him, and he deepens the kiss. A small whimper escapes me, causing him to groan in response. If I thought I had a draw to him before this, I had no idea what explosive chemistry could actually feel like. My hand reaches up and I run my fingers through his hair, tugging slightly, and pleased when he hums in agreement. I don’t know if a single minute or five pass while we make out like teenagers in his car, but I don’t care. For however long he kisses me, I am soaring free and overwhelmed with feeling incredibly desired, treasured, and adored. But like all things, this has to come to an end, and my feet are forced to come back to earth as we slowly separate our lips, leaving our foreheads leaning against each other.
“Whoa,” I whisper.
“Yeah, that was … holy shit, Savannah. That was everything.” Theo searches my eyes, likely looking for regret, but I can’t fight the smile that spreads as I’m already reliving the kiss we just shared.
“Well then, I guess you’ve got yourself a deal, sir.” I know there are a lot of details and moving parts to this thing between us and I’ll probably freak out to my sister later, but right now?
Right now, I just want to be the woman that was kissed by a crazy hot guy and made me feel like I was sixteen again.
He leans in and kisses my nose. “And what’s that?”
“We’re going to do some exploring.” I grin.
Chapter thirty-two
“I’ll bring the cinnamon rolls out after they’re done. It should only be five more minutes or so. Sorry, we ran out of them so fast this morning!” Cami cheerfully explains as she wipes down the counter.
“Thanks, Cami. I can’t be mad about them selling out; they are the best in town.” I nod to her as I pick up our drinks to claim a table in the back of the coffee shop.
The last month has been a whirlwind—but of the best kind. The morning after our first date, we met up at the annual Fourth of July parade with the rest of Forrest Falls. While we were watching the parade with our girls and Savannah’s family, Murphy invited Gigi and me to join them for the annual barbecue at his house. The party was filled with friends, food, and plenty of fireworks. I barely saw Savannah as she seemed to be an unofficial host of the party, but it was a great chance to get to know her family a bit and Gigi had a blast running around with Savannah’s girls and niece. Gigi won’t admit it, but I think she had at least two ice cream cones and two popsicles, which also would explain why her stomach hurt on the way home.
I can’t help but smile thinking about the brief moment Savannah and I stole sitting on a blanket spread out in the backyard. Having my arms wrapped around her and stealing a few innocent kisses under the fireworks felt like so much more than just the day after our first date.
Since the Fourth of July barbecue at her dad’s, we’ve continued our weekly coffee dates and managed to sneak away for a few dinners without our kids, but we’ve also had multiple phoneconversations and countless text messages back and forth. I’m not always a huge texter, but let’s be honest, I just want to talk to her in any way I can.
I hate that I haven’t seen her in a few days, so when I sit down at a table toward the back of Java Jive and my phone vibrates with a text, I slide on my glasses and I’m relieved to see it’s just from my brother and isn’t Savannah canceling.
Van
Hey, sorry I missed Gigi’s FaceTime this morning. I was in a meeting with a new supplier. Did she need something?
With Van living primarily in London, it would be easy to use the distance as an excuse to not have a close relationship, but thankfully, technology eases the challenge. Gigi naturally has a closer relationship with Pippa, but I think that would be the case even if Van lived on the same continent. I can’t be mad though; my brother is a great uncle despite living over four thousand miles away. Van is eleven years younger than me, and that age difference was significant growing up, but seems to feel smaller and smaller as we get older. He went from being my little buddy in my shadow to one of my best friends.
Me
Hey, no I think she was just calling to say hi. She did mention wanting to come visit you sometime this summer. What does the next month or two look like for your schedule?
Van
Shit. August is an absolute shit storm. We have that launch on the 20th and between that and press, I don’t even know when I’ll sleep.
Me
