Page 551 of One More Kiss

Andrea

I grinnedwhen the doorbell rang and Maddie jumped up from her seat at the table where she’d been doing homework. Her feet pounded against the floor as she raced toward the front door. “Mick’s here!”

“Don’t open the door without me!” I yelled as I replaced the lid on the skillet, then headed into the living room.

Maddie waited impatiently next to the door, her entire body vibrating with excitement, like a puppy eager to get outside. With a little shake of my head, I peered out to make sure Mick waited on the other side, then pulled the door open.

“Hi, Mick!” Maddie practically yelled as soon as he was visible. “Come look at what I made in school today!”

The words were barely out of her mouth before she was gone like a shot again, off to get the planet model she’d made for science class.

Mick watched her disappear, a look of bewilderment on his face, then turned to me with a grin. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey, yourself.”

Extracting the door from my grip, he closed and locked it behind him, then pulled me into his arms. His heat enveloped me, and I curled my arms around his neck as he dipped his head for a kiss.

I melted into him as his lips moved over mine, firm and sure, loving the way his hands curled into my back, clutching me close like he never wanted to let me go. I’d never been with a man like Mick—someone who treated me like I was his everything, like he’d move the world to make me happy.

I reluctantly pulled away before Maddie could burst back in on us. She knew Mick and I were seeing each other, but I tried to keep the PDA to a minimum. Every time I thought about broaching the subject of a future with him, I clammed up. Part of me was still jaded from my ex, I knew that. But despite their similar experiences, Mick and Blaze were in stratospherically different leagues. I wanted to be with him more than anything, but I wasn’t sure he felt the same. I had a lot of baggage, and it would be asking a lot to ask Mick to take all that on. For now, I was riding it out, just waiting for him to come to his senses and realize we weren’t worth it.

“I waited all day for that,” Mick murmured as he released me.

My muscles turned to jelly threatening to melt right into a sappy puddle on the floor. When he said stuff like that, I wanted so badly to believe that he meant it—that he wanted this just as badly as I did.

“Me, too.” I tipped my head toward the kitchen, and he fell into step beside me. “Sorry, nothing fancy tonight. Just Hamburger Helper.”

“Sounds perfect.”

It might have been a lie, but it was a good one. As the food finished simmering in the pan, Mick and Maddie chatted about the solar system.

“Did you know that scientists think it rains diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn?”

I glanced over my shoulder and lifted a brow at him. “Seriously?”

He grinned. “Apparently lightning storms can turn the carbon in the atmosphere into diamonds.”

I made a little face and shook my head. “Where did you learn that?”

“I like to read.”

He said it so nonchalantly that it took a second for the pieces to click. He’d meant in jail. An apology immediately jumped to the tip of my tongue, but he cut me off with a tiny smile and shake of his head.

Taking the cue to put it out of my mind and move on, I pulled three plates out of the cupboard. “Dinner’s ready.”

I turned to place them on the table but Mick was already there, reaching for them. Before I could react, he leaned in and dropped a quick kiss on my cheek, then pulled away with a wink. Behind him, Maddie giggled, and he turned to her with a blinding smile. “Are you laughing at me?”

Maddie grinned, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve never seen you two kiss before.”

My cheeks burned and I opened my mouth to speak, but Mick beat me to it. “I like your mom very much.” He moved around the table, putting one plate in front of each chair. “Plus, when a woman makes dinner, a man should always show his appreciation.”

The look he shot me over her head threatened to incinerate me on the spot. I was very much looking forward to experiencing his brand of appreciation firsthand later tonight.

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