Page 78 of Kiss the Girl
“So what’s the big news?” he asked as he gathered up our plates and took them to the sink to wash.
My heart stuttered for a second, thinking he meant the job news. But of course he wouldn’t know about that.
I cleared my throat. “How would you feel about having a celebrity chef in the booth?”
He half-spun to look at me with wide eyes. “Your sister would do that?”
“She already committed.”
He did a fist pump that dripped water all over the floor. “You are the best. And your sister is the fourth best.”
“Who are second and third?”
“Evie and Paige.”
“Right.
He dried his hands, his movements deliberate and methodical, all the while studying me.
“What?” I asked.
“Come here.”
“You can’t boss me in my own house.” A flutter of desire rippled through my abdomen.
“Come here,” he repeated. “Unless you’re scared.”
Certified fighting words. I walked over and stopped an arm’s length away.
A small smile played over his lips. “Grace?”
“Yeah?” It came out a tiny bit croaky.
“Come here.” This time the words were soft, and I took the last step toward him as he reached out to pull me in.
His lips were soft as they settled on mine, a kiss hello. At first. A kiss ofwelcomeandit’s good to see you. I rested my hands against his chest to settle into the kiss, but that first contact with those hard planes and angles reminded me of how much I liked exploring them. It took no time at all for Noah to deepen the kiss as he turned and backed me against the counter. Hello became hunger, and once again, my senses flared into high alert, all of them honed on him.
I could drink him in forever, every breath and touch of his sending my temperature rising.
When the edges of reality grew fuzzy, he drew back and rested his forehead against mine, his breaths raspy. We stayed that way for a long time, my hand over his heart so I could feel it thumping against my palm, the way he had to moderate his breathing to bring his heart rate down.
I had done that to him. I turned my lips up to his to do it again, but he moved his head back. It was a tiny movement, but it was more than enough to make me freeze.
“Grace…”
I didn’t like the tone of his voice. There were traces of an apology in it.
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“I know I’m not going to like it.”
“Grace,” he said again, softly, but this time on a sigh. He took a step back.
“See? I knew I wasn’t going to like it.”
“I’ve never liked kissing anyone as much as I like kissing you.”
