Page 52 of Cross My Heart
“I’m going to do stuff like this for you every day. Every single day you’re going to be treated the way you should have been treated your entire life.”
Without another thought, my hands wrap around his neck and I kiss him. I kiss him with every piece of my heart I can give. I’m greedy, a feeling I’ve never experienced with a man before. My tongue asks for entry; when his lips comply, he gives me a moment to lead, then takes over.
His kisses leave me breathless. He tastes of mint and coffee. His lips are sweet and soft. His tongue begins dominating mine, his hands entangled in my hair. Somehow, he has walked us backward.I’m up against a wall, but I don’t feel trapped. I don’t feel scared. I feel wanted, needed even. I realize he makes me feel special.
Dex ends the kiss much sooner than I would have liked, resting his forehead against mine. “Lanes, we have to take this slow. I want you to trust me. Have dinner with me tonight. We’ll put the kids to bed then have a dinner date, here at home. What do you say?”
I’m still breathless, my brain isn’t working correctly. “Dex, I don’t know,” I say, so confused by my feelings.
“Just dinner, for now.” He gives me a sly little smile while kissing my forehead once more.
“Just dinner,” I repeat.
“I can’t wait.” His voice takes on a husky edge and it sends shivers down my spine. Dex chuckles just as someone clears their throat. “Shit, I forgot he was here,” he laughs again.
“Mr. Cross, you’re all set. I’ll just…ah…send you an invoice,” Richie says, clearly embarrassed by our little show.
“That would be great, Richie. I’ll walk you out.” Dex winks at me on his way by when I remember why I stopped back at home in the first place.
“Dex? I have to get Tate from school soon, can you help me grab the groceries so I’m not late?”
“Whatever you need, Lanes, always,” he says, pulling me into his side.
* * *
“Julia,”I hiss into the phone, “We just put the kids to bed. He wants to have an…um, hmm…I don’t even know what. A date? At home? He says it’s just dinner, but come on. He hasn’t made it a mystery, he flat out told you he wants to date me.”
“Lanie, it’s dinner. Get to know him,” she tells me like a child
I sigh, “Okay, maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am. Now go bone him,” Julia cracks herself up.
“Julia! There will be no boning, I promise you that,” I inform her sternly.
“You’re no fun. Luvs,” she replies.
“Luvs,” I say, rolling my eyes.
Beep*Beep*Beep
“What the heck?”
I go running down the stairs toward the sound. I find Dexter in the kitchen flapping a sheet pan around, trying to clear the smoke away from the smoke detector. His hair is disheveled, his shirt untucked. Perfectly imperfect.
“Lanie, thank God, open the back doors, please? I need to get this smoke out of here,” he tells me, arms flying.
Laughing, I go running to the doors and sweep them wide open. “Dex, what happened here? I was only upstairs for twenty minutes.”
“I guess that’s twenty minutes too long,” he mumbles.
As the smoke begins to clear, I glance around the kitchen and he sinks down onto one of the stools. There are three bowls of thick gooey sludge, it kind of looks like pancake batter but lumpy with lots of spices. The sink is full of what I can only imagine is every utensil he owns. The counters are covered in flour, the stove is covered in batter, and what appears to be splatters of grease. Anyone walking in would think we set the twins loose in here.
“Seriously, what were you doing?” I can see him blushing, and it makes me smile.
“Julia said you liked chicken parmesan. I looked up a recipe and it didn’t seem too hard.News flash, it’s a fucking nightmare,” he grumbles.
I’m belly laughing now. Not only because of the disaster he made in the kitchen, but because if he knew the reason I always got chicken parmesan, he wouldn’t have attempted it.
