Page 71 of The Pumpkin Spice Romance
She couldn’t look away as Noah closed the distance between them.
He didn’t stop until they stood toe to toe.
Still, she stared into the mesmerizing depths of his dark eyes.
“I want to kiss you.”
* * *
“Okay,” she whispered without hesitation after he blurted out his truth.
Butokaywasn’t ayes.
“MayI kiss you?” Noah asked, leaving no room for misconstrued intentions.
She studied his face. What did she see? His heart, which she held in the palm of her hand? His soul, which felt irrevocablyconnected to hers? Or maybe desire? He certainly felt that in spades every time she walked into a room.
During her perusal — a scrutiny lasting mere seconds that tortured like hours — he’d never felt so exposed, so vulnerable.
“Yes,” she declared in a low yet steady voice, one that issued a challenge even as it snapped invisible bindings strangling his lungs. Inhaling joy, Scarlett started to say something more but decided against sharing her thoughts.
Noah reached a hand toward hers. He intertwined their fingers and tugged her closer. His other hand settled on her waist.
He lifted her hand, running her fingers against his lips and turning her palm to plant a kiss against the pulse point at her wrist.
A small, shaky sigh escaped her mouth. . .not unfazed after all. No, Scarlett wasn’t any cooler, calmer, or more collected than Noah.
Noah’s hand at her side slid to her back, tugging her ever so slightly and closing the space between their bodies. His other hand released hers, letting it fall so he could cradle her face. His thumb traced her cheek, brushed across her bottom lip.
“I’ve decided I don’t want a kiss, after all,” he confessed. A look of confusion clouded Scarlett’s eyes. When her body tried shifting away, his arm served as an immovable brace. It prevented even a thread of space between them.
“I wantallyour kisses,” Noah continued. “Not just now. . .not just today. I want them foralways. You. . .forever.”
“Okay,” Scarlett said.
“Okay?” Noah asked, baffled by her response.
“Yes,” she amended.
“What doesyesmean?” She was killing him, one short word at a time.
“That I could love you,” Scarlett said, as though the fact should have been wholly evident.
“You—”
Scarlett halted his next question in the best possible way: with the kiss he’d hinted at, teased about, and yearned for.
“Yes.” She lifted her lips only enough to whisper her declaration against his lips. “I didn’t want to. . .I fought it tooth and nail. I talked myself out of it a thousand times over the past five days, but here we are. . .with me falling in love with you. So, I guess now all my kisses are yours.”
“You better not guess,” Noah said, eyes gleaming with triumphant joy, his chest puffed out. His expression boasted both victory and humble gratitude. “You better be sure. Because —trust me— once you make an offer like that, there’s no letting go.”
Scarlett wrapped both her arms around Noah’s neck. Her eyes shifted to the space over his shoulder. Her chin lifted, pretending to weigh her options. She pursed her lips, as if considering the alternatives.
After a dramatic minute, Scarlett beamed at him with undeniable happiness.
“Okay,” she challenged, lifting an eyebrow and tilting her head with sass, which left no room for doubt or uncertainty.
Noah shook his head in amazement as his arms tightened around Scarlett to shift her impossibly closer. Then he sealed the deal with the kiss he’d promised all along.
* * *
And suddenly you just know
it’s time to start something new
and trust the magic of beginnings.
Meister Eckhart
* * *
