Page 78 of Hopeless Romantic
He pulled back with a grin. “You applying, Girl Wonder?”
“That’s what it says in this contract.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
“I know.” But that felt like a really big thing to admit after one date and a few kisses. Even if those kisses were molten.
To turn the conversation in a more comfortable direction, she slid the pink pastry box from Holy Cannoli toward him.
He leaned away and looked at the box. “What’s this?”
“It’s a thank-you for the other night.”
He grinned. “I’ve never been thanked for taking a girl to Make-Out Point.”
Then he opened the box and laughed.
“What? You said you liked cream puffs.”
“Oh, I do. But after today”—he let out a low whistle—“they’re my all-time favorite.”
Beckett went up on her toes to look inside the box and burst out laughing. The two cream puffs were stuck together, and each was topped with a slice of candied cherry, making them look like boobs.
“For the record,” she said, “I ordered a cream puff. The rest was Cecilia’s doing. Now I know why she offered me a two-for-one deal.”
“Shhhh,” he said, dipping his finger into the whipped cream, then placing it on her lips. “You’re ruining the moment.”
He leaned over the bar and kissed the frosting off her lips, and the deep groan in his throat made something happen low in her belly. That same hot and tingly sensation his kisses created.
He pulled back, eyes hot. “I think we should finish these in my office.”
“I can’t. I want to”—she was a little surprised she actually meant that—“but I only have a few minutes.”
“And you decided to spend them with me?” he asked.
She smiled, still feeling a little shy about the whole thing. “After the other night, I’ve been looking forward to spending them with you.”
“It was pretty epic on my end, too.”
His flirtation was easy, smooth, but it still created discomfort in her chest. “I’m trying to thank you for how you treated my family. It got crazy, and you just rolled with it. That means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
“Beck, everything about the other night was honest and real, and my big takeaway is how much you care about your family. In my book, that makes you a pretty special lady.”
“I think our feeling about the importance of family is one thing we have in common.”
“We have a lot more than that in common. And we barely touched on them the other night.”
No matter how much she wanted to pretend the magic had been nothing more than a romantic moonlight setting, and the emotions he’d evoked would fade, she knew that would be a lie. They might not have had sex, but what they’d shared had been even more intimate.
Levi’s willingness to be open and vulnerable with her, to share his dreams and tragic losses, had, little by little, chiseled away at the barriers she’d erected between herself and the rest of the world. He’d managed to slide right past them and into her heart.
His determination to follow his dreams, to make his trip a reality, reminded her how it felt to be excited about life, to find the silver lining in even the darkest of situations.
“I bet we do,” she admitted.
He slid his hand across the bar. It was big, warm, and gentle as it settled over hers. “Which was why I was hoping you’d be open to a real date. Wednesday night. You, me, and another of my grandma’s recipes?”
“I can’t Wednesday. Thomas has art class, and I’m this week’s parent helper. How about this weekend?” She shook her head. “That’s a long time to wait to select the wedding menu.”
