Earning Yancy (12 page)

His hand came up and he ran a finger along the side of my mouth. My breath left my lungs in a whoosh as I watch him put his finger in his mouth.

“You had a little mayonnaise on your lip.”

I nodded. “Uh-huh.”

His grin widened. When I realized I was staring at him with my eyes half closed, I shook my head.

“Um, I had something I wanted to talk to you about,” I said.

“Okay.”

Again I was distracted when he took a big bite of his sandwich. How could a man look sexy while he was
chewing
? I watched his jaw muscles work before his throat rippled as he swallowed.

“Yancy? Are you okay?”

I blinked and looked down. Maybe I could focus if I didn’t look at him.

“I was wondering if you had plans tonight.” I sipped my latte and risked a glance at him.

Charles smiled slightly, but not enough to have his dimple popping. “No, I don’t have plans.”

“Well, uh, would you like to come over for a late dinner and maybe another movie?”

“That sounds great. What time should I be there?” he asked.

“8:30.”

“Then I’ll be there at 8:30.”

As we finished our lunch, I was aware that Charles was staring at me.

Finally, I asked, “Is something wrong?”

He shook his head but didn’t say anything. Still, he was watching me closely and it was beginning to make me feel weird.

“Okay, you’re beginning to make me uncomfortable with the staring,” I said, smiling to soften the words.

Charles blinked. “Sometimes, I forget.”

Now, I was really confused. “What?”

“I forget how beautiful you are. Here in the sunlight, you just glow.”

My heart turned over in my chest. This intense pull I felt was reciprocated. It was hard to believe that he could be feeling what I felt. I leaned forward and placed my lips on his jaw. I knew if I kissed him on the mouth, I would forget that we were sitting out in the open for everyone to see and try to crawl into his lap.

“Thank you,” I said simply.

Charles lifted his hand and threaded his fingers through my hair, but he didn’t try to pull me closer. We sat in the bright sunshine, faces close, for a long moment. Again, I somehow felt this slice of time held weight, importance.

Finally, he released my hair and took my hand. He rose and helped me to my feet as well. “We should get back to the office.”

I hated that the moment was broken. I watched as Charles grabbed the bag that held our trash and gave me the remnants of my drink. Though we had only been dating a short time, he knew I would never waste a single sip of a caffeinated beverage. His attentiveness made me smile.

As we walked back to our building, hand in hand, I looked up at him. “Thanks again for lunch.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for agreeing to lunch.” I giggled.

This time we didn’t stop in the stairwell on our way up to the office. I glanced at Charles, wondering why, but didn’t say anything. The rational part of my mind reminded me that making out in the stairwell wasn’t exactly professional behavior and we shouldn’t have done it to begin with, but I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

Somehow, Charles seemed to know exactly what I was thinking because he stopped me just before we exited the stairs.

He slid his hand beneath my chin and lifted my face to his. After placing a light kiss on my lips, he said, “I can’t trust myself to kiss you today. We might never make it back to work.”

I swayed forward, my body resting lightly against his. He grinned and placed his hands on my shoulders, gently setting me away from him.

“Tonight,” he murmured, his voice low and full of promise.

I felt goose bumps break out on my skin. While my brain tisked at me, reminding me that impulsive behavior hadn’t worked out so well for me last time, my body was ready to jump Charles’ bones right here in the stairwell.

I exhaled and took another step back, putting more space between us. “Tonight.”

His hand was still on my chin and he ran his thumb across my bottom lip, making my nipples harden. Then he dropped his arm and opened the door, allowing me to enter first. Behind me, he leaned down, putting his mouth close to my ear. “I’ll see you at 8:30.”

I shivered. “8:30.” Without looking back, I walked down the hall toward my office. The end of the day couldn’t come fast enough.

I expected the
work day to drag on after my lunch with Charles and the insanely intense response I had to him in the stairwell that afternoon. Instead, it flew by. I had several projects hit my desk about an hour after lunch and I was swamped.

The next time I looked up, it was ten after five and I had to quickly save my work and shut down my computer. I needed to stop by the grocery store and pick up a few things for dinner that night. Wednesdays were Spaghetti Night at home and Carolena looked forward to it every week.

I winced when I realized that all the garlic wasn’t exactly make-out friendly food, but I didn’t want to disappoint my little girl. If we both ate it, maybe the garlic would cancel itself out. I rolled my eyes, knowing that was a ridiculous thought, but I still bought everything I needed to make spaghetti and meat sauce, garlic bread, bagged salad, and a tiramisu from the bakery section.

I made it home a little before 6:30, quickly changed out of my work clothes, and immediately began to make the food. One good thing about the menu, it was quick, simple, and I could boil a small portion of the pasta for Lena, then make the rest when Charles came over. Forty-five minutes later, I had Carolena fed and ready for a bath. By 8:00 p.m. on the dot, I had her bathed, lotioned, and dressed in her pajamas. I rocked her in the glider for a while, humming under my breath. Ten minutes later, I kissed her forehead and laid her in her crib, where she immediately rolled onto her belly, grabbed her favorite blankie, and passed out.

Grateful that my daughter was cooperating tonight, I grabbed the baby monitor and headed downstairs to pour myself a glass of wine while I waited for Charles. At exactly 8:30, he arrived. Considerate as usual, he texted me to let me know he was here rather than knocking or ringing the doorbell.

When I opened the door, he quickly stepped inside and grabbed my waist, yanking me close and kissing me thoroughly. My knees buckled as his tongue tangled with mine and one of his hands cupped my butt. I should have been angry at the manhandling, but every hormone in my body went on red alert and shut down the logical part of my brain.

A few minutes later, he lifted his head and stared down at me. “See why I didn’t kiss you on the stairs this afternoon?”

I blinked up at him, my mind blank for a moment, before I realized what he’d just said and laughed. He released me and shrugged out of his jacket.

“Something smells great,” he said.

I took his coat and hung it on the coat tree by the front door. “I made spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner. I thought we could eat on the couch while we watch the movie.”

He wrapped his arms around me, simply hugging me. “That sounds perfect.”

I rested my head against his chest, soaking up the contact. How long had it been since someone just held me? Carolena hugged me all the time, but it had been years since a man wrapped his arms around me and held me just for the simple enjoyment of it.

I blew out a breath and straightened. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

Charles smiled down at me. “Me too.”

I led him into the kitchen, where we piled our plates with spaghetti, salad, and bread. I poured myself a glass of red wine and laughed when Charles insisted that he always drank beer with Italian food.

We carried our plates into the living room. I left the overhead lights off, only turning on a couple of small lamps. The light was dim and romantic as we sat on the couch, discussing what movie to watch.

As I scrolled through Netflix, Charles surprised me when he said, “Why don’t we watch
Safe Harbor
? I haven’t seen it yet.”

I stopped what I was doing and looked at him, mouth agape. “What?”

Since it was fairly dark, I wasn’t sure, but I think he blushed. “It sounds like a good movie.”

“Okay.” I paused. “You really want to watch this? You’re not saying that just because you think I do?”

Charles cleared his throat. “Yes.”

I set the remote on the table. “Okay, I’m intrigued. You have Bella’s Lullaby as your ringtone for your mom and you want to watch a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book. Explain how this is possible, please.”

He set his plate on the coffee table and took a swig of his beer. “Well, it started when my dad got sick. My sister and I were spending a lot of time at the house with Mom, helping out and just trying to, I don’t know,
be there
for her. Of course she and my sister love chick flicks, so we started watching things like the Twilight movies and
The Notebook
. I mean, I still watch action movies and stuff, but I kinda like the chick flicks.” He paused. “I also liked feeling as though I was doing something to help Mom. Then, when my dad died, Sherri and I spent almost a week after the funeral, holed up with my mom and watching
Pretty Little Liars
and
The Vampire Diaries
marathons. We were able to escape the pain together. It’s something special I can do with my family. It was a sad time, but we spent it together and it helped us begin to heal.”

I stared at him, completely speechless. My throat wanted to close up with tears at the wistful expression on his face as he spoke. I felt that inexplicable shifting within me again, as though my heart were making room for pieces of him within it. He was like no other man I’d ever met.

“That’s….really nice. I’m sure your mom and sister enjoyed that time with you as well,” I murmured, my throat tight with emotion. I knew my words were inadequate, but I had no others.

Charles nodded, but said nothing.

I selected the movie and tried to focus on the screen as the opening credits rolled. As we slouched on the sofa next to each other, eating our food, I began to relax and enjoy the film. I was happy that Charles chose to share such a personal part of himself with me. It made me feel as if I could do the same with him. I hadn’t realized until that moment how careful I was about the information I entrusted to him. While we were still getting to know each other, I hadn’t felt comfortable telling him more about my marriage and divorce.

When we finished our food, I paused the movie. “Are you ready for something sweet?” When Charles’ eyes grew heavy lidded, I realized that my words sounded vaguely suggestive. “I mean, uh, I bought a tiramisu this evening. It’s really good.”

“Sure.”

I carried our empty plates into the kitchen on shaky legs and cut two pieces of the dessert. When I returned, I handed Charles his plate and restarted the movie. After we finished the tiramisu, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to his body. I let myself lean against him, relishing in his scent and the feel of his frame against mine.

When the movie ended and the credits began to roll, his hand came up and tilted my face toward his. “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.”

“You’re welcome.”

When his mouth lowered to mine, I welcomed it. It felt natural and right, and I didn’t even notice whether either of us had garlic breath. The kiss spun out, becoming deeper, wetter. I clutched his shoulders as he lowered me back on the sofa, stretching out with his body partially on top of me, yet his weight resting to the side.

As his mouth moved from my lips down my jaw to my neck, I tilted my head to give him better access. The room seemed to grow hazy as he nibbled at my throat, sucking lightly at the skin where my neck met my shoulder. I knew I should say something, try to slow things down.

I ran my hands down his back and beneath the hem of his t-shirt, gliding my fingers along the smooth, hot skin at the base of his spine. The muscles in my abdomen jumped as he mirrored my gesture, sliding his hand under my shirt, across my stomach. He just touched me, not groping or trying to take things farther. I realized he
heard
me when I said I wanted to take things slowly.

I pulled my mouth away slightly. “What are we doing?” I asked breathlessly.

His eyes twinkling, he said, “Making out on the sofa.”

“I, uh, I…”

He trailed the backs of his fingers down my cheek. “Just a few kisses, Yancy. Nothing more.”

His mouth returned to mine and, this time, our kisses were less frenzied. He seemed to be content doing exactly what we were doing. I let myself fall into the kiss, my brain getting fuzzy. Then the doorbell rang.

At first I didn’t hear it, but Charles pulled away. I tried to lift my head and, unable to continue kissing his lips, my mouth latched onto the skin of his throat.

“Goddammit,” he growled.

Since I’d never heard Charles swear like that, it pierced through the fog of desire that surrounded me.

The doorbell rang again and my eyes widened. Shit, whoever was at the door was going to wake up Carolena. I shoved at Charles’ shoulders and scrambled off the couch. I dashed to the front door just as the doorbell rang again. I planned to give whoever it was on the other side an ass chewing they wouldn’t soon forget. It was after ten at night. Without looking out the window, I jerked the door open.