Page 22 of The One You Chose

Glancing from the half-eaten donut in her hand and back up at me, she said, “Starving.”

Settled into the booth at Casa Sol. I was kicking myself. The perfect opportunity to tell her who I was presented itself and I blew it. When she asked me what I was getting downtown all I had to say was I was picking up the dog toy donation from the pet shop. A perfect chance to let her know I was Jeremiah F. Deir. Instead, I froze and lied. I was an idiot.

Lina ran a finger over the rim of her beer bottle, looking at her hand instead of at me. “I stopped by the hotel. Sandy at the front desk said you checked out.”

Blinking at her, I processed that information. Sandy at the front desk gave me a shifty vibe. I should have followed up. “I didn’t. I mean, I am now. But I had to move rooms. I was still there.” I set my beer down as I studied her. “She didn’t give you my note?”

Lina shook her head. “No. She didn’t give me anything.”

“But you came back?” Hope bloomed in my chest. “You tried to see me again?”

“Well, yeah.” She said, before stuffing a chip in her mouth, her cheeks flaring red. She seemed to compose herself to find the words.

Leaning forward, I dropped my voice. “I wanted you to come back. I wanted to see you again.”

“You did?” she asked.

Reaching across the table between us, I grabbed her hand, running my thumb over her knuckles. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Lina.”

Breathing heavily, a smile stretched across her face. “Same.”

“When I saw you coming out of the bakery, I thought I was imagining it. Since that night, I was looking around town for you. I kept thinking I saw you for it to turn out to be someone else. I even...” Hesitating, I could feel my cheeks warm. “Um, this is embarrassing...”

Lina leaned forward. “What? Tell me what you did.”

“I tried looking for you on the internet. Facebook, twitter, Instagram, all of them.”

Pursing her lips together, she fought back the smile that was threatening to emerge. “Oh, it’s under my full name, Evangelina. Evangelina McConnell. Or it’s McLina for the fun usernames, but that would be hard to find if you didn’t already know. Most of the people I have as friends on there, I’ve known since I was a kid.” The waitress came to the table to set down the steaming plate of fajitas between us. After she left, I reached out to push the plate closer to Lina. Contact with the hot cast iron caused me to curse and jerk my hand back.

“Oh, my gosh! Are you okay?” Lina asked. Scooping ice cubes out of her water glass with her hand, she wrapped them in a napkin and held them to my hand. “Is it bad?”

I wouldn’t tell her it was more shock than pain when her hand was wrapped around mine and her eyes were looking at me so tenderly. “It’s better now.”

A smile spread across her face. It was a smile I wanted to see for the rest of my days. I had the urge to lean across the table and kiss those soft lips.

“Tell me about your job,” I asked. Her face lighting up, she regaled me with a story about a girl who insisted on decorating her paper Christmas tree with only googly eyes.

I sat back and listened, encouraging her for more stories. Before we knew it, we polished off our beers and the fajitas for two between us. She asked me a few questions, but I kept directing the conversation back at her. I knew the moment I told her things would change. I didn’t want to risk it yet. Not when I just got her back.

The waitress set down the receipt between us. I grabbed the paper as Lina was reaching for it. “I’ll get this one. Maybe you can buy us coffee for our next date?”

She bit the smile on her lips. “Okay, deal.”

Damn, she was so pretty.

As we walked out the door, my hand drifted to the small of her back. The warmth of her body seared through her top. I watched her face as she looked up at me. I wondered if she liked the way my fingers felt on her back. Touching her brought peace to my frantic mind.

I knew I would have to confess now. I had waited too long; it was getting into a dangerous territory between omission and lies.

Exiting the restaurant, I stopped in the alley to turn to face her. “I have something to tell you, but before I do, I really want to kiss you.”

Pausing, Lina must have seen the frustration lacing my brow. I took a deep breath, steadying myself in the warmth of her brown eyes. Reaching forward, I tucked a strand of dark hair into her hat. My fingers brushed along her cheekbone, sending warmth up my arm. My palm cupped the side of her face. “Could I kiss you?”

My hand still on her cheek, she gazed at me as if she couldn’t imagine anything she would rather do than kiss me in that brightly painted alley. “Yes.”

The kiss started slow and tender, a soft press of her lips on mine. A brushing of my tongue. Lina leaned into me, threading her arms around my neck and pulling me closer. Our bodies flush, my kiss deepened. I was losing reason. My hands roamed down her sides to rest on the small of her back. Reason was now running away as I whirled her around until her back was against the wall. My kiss more demanding now. As my body pushed into her, she moaned against my mouth. I could feel the soft lines of her.

I pulled away to stare down at her, my breath ragged. One last chance to reclaim this. “Stop, I have to tell you something.”

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