Page 79 of Tumbleweed Temptation
In the end, though, the less-adventurous dish of honey-garlic chicken won the contest. The recipe was delicious, Ginny had to admit, and the cauliflower pizza had not been. Neither had the quinoa. Ginny really thought she was more daring, but that had proven not to be her thing. At. All.
But everyone in the audience seemed to have enjoyed themselves, and the event had been something to do on a Tuesday evening, she supposed, and several women thanked her as they filed out of the restaurant. She locked the door behind the last of them and turned to grin at Austin as he came around the counter.
“I’d say that was a success,” she said, striding toward him with the intention of giving him a high-five.
She didn't anticipate him wrapping his arms around her and lifting her off her feet to swing her around. She gripped his shoulders to hang on as she looked into his face. She hadn’t seen him so happy since he’d come back to town.
“I couldn't have done it without you,” he said, setting her down, but keeping his arms firmly around her.
She rested her palms on his chest, with the intention of pushing herself free. “It was fun,” she said.
“It was.”
Something in his tone changed and her gaze lifted to his. The smile was still there, but it had changed, dimmed a bit, and his hold on her changed, too, looser, giving her the chance to pull back if she wanted to.
But suddenly, she didn't want to.
The kiss was both a surprise and as natural as could be, their lips coming together, first soft, just a brush, just a gentle push, a test. She felt rather than saw Austin smile before his mouth settled more firmly over hers, the kiss sweet at first before her lips parted beneath him.
She softened into him, leaning against his chest, her hands going to his shoulders to hold on. He lifted one hand from her hip to cup her jaw beneath her hair, his fingers stroking her skin so lightly she thought she would melt in a puddle on the floor.
She wanted to say his name, wanted to sigh, but did not, did not want to break the kiss. Slowly, she eased her touch to the base of his neck, rubbing her fingertips up and down over his short hair. He smelled amazing, just a touch of sweat overlaying the clean scent of his soap, and she wanted to bury her face in his neck and just breathe him in.
But she didn't want to end the kiss, the mesmerizing rhythm of it.
She hadn’t been kissed in so long.
That thought snapped her back. Was she enjoying the kiss because it was a kiss, or because it was Austin? Austin, her friend since she’d moved here, Austin, who didn't plan to stay in this town.
Austin, her boss.
Her brain had to wrestle with her body to get her to break the kiss, her hands moving back to his shoulders and pushing, just enough to give him the message.
His eyes drifted open as he lifted his head and....had he always had those beautiful lashes?
“I’ve wanted to do that for a really long time,” he said.
Just like that, her argument deflated. How long? She wanted to admit that she’d wanted it, too. But instead, she stepped back, and his arms fell away.
“I hope I didn't screw everything up with that,” he said quietly.
She shook her head. She wasn't going to let that kiss change things between them, as good of a kiss as it was. Her toes were still tingling, and yes, the editor in her cringed at the cliche. But damn.
“We should get everything cleaned up, like we promised Janine.”
“Gin. Are we good?”
“Sure. I mean, of course.” Her smile felt forced as she looked at him. “It was just—we had to see, right?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, only...what did we see? I mean, what was the judgement?”
“That you’re a really really good kisser, but you’re my boss now.”
He stepped closer when she hurried around the counter to get the cleaning spray, needing a barricade between them.
“I’m your boss? I wouldn’t say that, I’d say we work together.”
“And you tell me what to do. Because you’re the doctor and I’m the receptionist.”
