The Role of a Lifetime
Page 16
Chris deepened the kiss and groaned. “Oh God, lady, the things you do to me. You know, I’ve been dying to do this since the first night of the picnic.”
Kate smiled against his lips. “Me, too.”
Chris kissed her again. It was tender and sweet and filled with promise. Promise of a love sure to grow. Kate loved how she felt in Chris’s arms. It had been a long two years without a man to hold her. She’d put everything into raising Megan and Molly, then her work. It’s what kept her going. But now God had given her this incredible man, and he was making her feel all sorts of things she hadn’t felt—ever.
She realized now what she’d shared with Scott was surface. She thought she loved him. She was in love with being in love. She was younger and a lot more naive. If there was one thing she didn’t doubt, it was that Chris wasn’t the kind of man to run around on her. Again, she remembered how he told Megan at the pizza party that he hadn’t had a girlfriend for a long time. She hoped with all her heart he considered her a girlfriend. His only girlfriend. Because every day that passed made her more sure of one thing—she cared deeply. Too deeply, too fast. She only hoped her neediness wouldn’t scare Chris away. She needed tonight more than he knew. Once again, she thanked God for sending Chris to her stand the night of the picnic.
Chris, on the other hand, was going through some pretty strong emotions. Love was one of them. He didn’t know what was in the cards for him, but he prayed with all his might it included Kate. Kissing her. Kissing her! He was actually in her living room with her in his arms and he was kissing her. The Kate he dreamed about kissing for the past few nights. Now he had something more than his work—he had a beautiful woman whom he hoped would become a permanent part of his life and he had two little girls he adored.
He couldn’t wait to bring her to the party next week. He wanted his brothers and sisters to know Kate and the girls because if he had his way, she’d be at every family function from now on, no matter what. He knew it was going to be overwhelming for Kate to meet so many new people in one night. But, he’d help her through it. There was a lot of love in his family. Enough to go around and include a divorced woman with two young daughters who needed a lot of tender loving care.
Again he thought back to how his sisters talked about love at first sight and how he didn’t really believe in it. When he was with Maureen it had been after getting to know her in algebra. He spent his entire sophomore year just getting to know her. Then, he asked her to the semi-formal. From there, love grew slowly and steadily. They were inseparable. But it was never love at first sight. At least not for him.
Kate curled up closer to him and sighed. His heart beat faster. This is what he wanted to come home to every night. Not some empty apartment done by an interior decorator. He wanted to spend his nights with Kate and the girls. It was perfect. A ready-made family. And maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t matter to Kate that he couldn’t give her those tiny feet and laughter she had talked about wanting in her life. He could give her and Megan and Molly a stable family situation. He couldn’t believe he was thinking along those lines. If someone told him last week he’d be feeling what he was feeling for this special lady, he would have thought him or her nuts. But, it was true. He knew deep down he was in love with Kate. Just holding her felt so right. The kiss…well that was just icing on the cake.
He held Kate for the next hour. Neither one of them said much. They didn’t have to—their bodies said it for them. Chris knew it was time to leave, but he didn’t want to go. If she didn’t have Megan and Molly, he would suggest his spending the night. He would be glad to just hold her in his arms all night long. But, there were Megan and Molly. And he realized he had to take things slow and let them get used to having him around for a while. He was sure Kate would feel the same way.
“Hey, you’re not falling asleep on me? Am I that boring a date?”
Kate looked up into his face, her eyes a bit droopy. “Is that what this is? A date? If it is, I don’t want it to end.”
Chris kissed her on the forehead. “Want me to walk you to your room?”
“No, because I might ask you to stay, and I can’t do that.”
“I’ll be in touch tomorrow with my attorney’s number.”
The Role of a Lifetime
Jennifer Shirk
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
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The Role of a Lifetime
Copyright © 2008 by Jennifer Shirk
ISBN: 1-59998-953-0
Edited by Laurie Rauch
Cover by Angela Waters
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First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: May 2008
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