Texas Fever
Page 19
The expected round of applause erupted as she handed the dessert to the woman on her right to be passed around, and gathered up her notes.“That wasn’t exactly what we expected.” Lolly Langtree met her as she stepped down off the podium. “It was a cooking lesson,” she said accusingly.
“You wanted an Ultimate Orgasm and they’re my specialty.”
“But—”
“I thought it was great. I can’t wait to make it for Melvin.” Another woman that Holly recognized from the initial Juliet welcoming wagon stepped up to her. “Why, he loves to eat and I’m sure he’ll be so grateful, he’ll do any and everything I ask. Do you have any extra copies of the recipe? I’d like to send one to my sister up in Austin. She loves to bake.”
“Of course.” Holly handed her a copy.
“Me, too,” another woman said, reaching out.
“And me.”
Much to her surprise, Holly spent the next fifteen minutes handing out copies of her coveted recipe and giving cooking tips to a crowd of eager Juliets.
“What happened to the menu of sexual delights?” The deep, husky voice slid into her ears as she walked out of the dining room, her briefcase in hand, and stopped her just shy of the front door.
“I…” she started as she turned to find Josh leaning just outside the dining room archway, his arms folded, a strange look in his eyes.
Outside, branches swayed with a slight afternoon breeze. Rays of sunshine filtered through the front windows of the restaurant and chased shadows across his heavily stubbled face.
He looked as bad as she felt. She noted the tight lines around his mouth, the shadows beneath his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept any more than she had the past week, as if he’d done his own tossing and turning. As if he’d been as lonely and upset.
As if.
Her heart pounded. A strange sensation to a woman who’d felt nothing but a slow, dull, aching thud in her chest for the past several days.
She swallowed against the sudden tightness in her throat. “What are you doing here?” she finally managed.
“I asked first. What about all the research we did? What was the purpose of all that touching and kissing and loving?”
The questions stirred a rush of images and her body trembled. “I guess I’m not one to kiss and tell.” When he continued to stare at her, into her, she shrugged. “It didn’t feel right talking about it. About us.”
“Is that why you moved out of the house? Because it didn’t feel right?”
She wanted to tell him to mind his own business. To take the house and the land, no questions asked. But there was a sincerity in his gaze, as if he really and truly cared about her answer. “Too many memories.”
“I thought you wanted memories.”
“I do, that’s why I moved out. I need to start over and make my own memories.” Without you. She didn’t say the words, but she didn’t have to. He knew. “I want a real home of my own making. A place where I belong.”
“That’s fine with me so long as there’s plenty of room in the bathroom. I know how you women can be with all that perfume and makeup. I need at least a place to stash my shaving cream and razor.”
“Your shaving cream…” Her words trailed off as she tried to absorb what he was saying. He couldn’t… He wouldn’t…
She noted the strange twinkle in his eyes, the flash of desperation, and her mind snagged on something he’d said earlier.
What was the purpose of all that touching and kissing and loving?
Loving. As in love.
“What are you doing here?” she asked again. The answer was there, but she needed to hear it.
“Hanging on to the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He pushed away from the wall and stepped toward her, so close she could feel the heat from his body and hear his heart beating in her ears. “The most important thing. You can’t leave me.”
“I’m not the one leaving. You are. Aren’t you?”
“If you think you’re getting rid of me that easy, you’d better think again. I’m not going anywhere.”
Joy erupted inside her. “But what about your charter business?”
“It’s not the flying I like. It’s the engines. I like breaking things down and building them back up and getting my hands dirty. I can do that right here. There hasn’t been a really good auto shop in town since old man Witherspoon died two years ago.”
“So you’re staying.” She blinked as the enormity of his words hit her. “You’re really staying.”
“I can’t leave.” He cradled her face and smoothed his thumbs across her trembling bottom lip. “I love you, Holly. I always have, I just couldn’t see it. I’ve never been in love before. Hell, I’ve never felt anything even close to what I’m feeling now. I didn’t have a clue what was happening to me. And then when I realized it was damned powerful, I was scared shitless. But I’m not half as scared of the way I feel as I am of losing you.” He closed his eyes and anguish gripped his expression. “When I found the house empty and I thought you’d left for good…” He shook his head and stared deep into her eyes. “I hope you love me because I sure as hell don’t think I can handle living without you.”
“I might be able to fit you into my new bathroom, if you’re only packing one can of shaving cream.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Hope fired in his gaze.
“If you think I’m saying that I love you and want to be with you, I am.” When he started to slide his arms around her, she held him off. “But I still want a real relationship.” She swallowed and forced herself to finish her ultimatum. “I want love and marriage.” She swallowed and gathered her courage. “I want it all—a real home and a real family—or nothing at all.”
He grinned and the tight coil in her chest started to unwind. “Does that mean you’re asking me to marry you?”
“I’m asking when you’re going to get around to doing the asking.”
His expression faded and a serious light filled his eyes. “Will you marry me and live with me and make lots of babies with me?”
“Yes,” she murmured, “and yes, and maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“It depends on what you mean by ‘lots.’ If you’re talking three or four, yes. If you mean seven or eight, we still have some talking to do. I’ve still got a lot of Ultimate Orgasms ahead of me, you know.”
“Damned straight, you do,” he vowed. “And a few of them might even be the edible variety.” He drew her into his arms and hugged her fiercely. “I won’t lose you. Not now. Not ever.”
She slid her arms around him and held tight, her heart swelling with emotion and the certainty that he loved her as much as she loved him.
It was then that Holly realized she’d finally found what she’d been looking for her entire life, and it had nothing to do with four walls or a Home Sweet Home quilt sitting in the living room. It was about feeling good and comfortable and truly belonging somewhere.
Home, it seemed, was right there in Josh McGraw’s strong arms.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6329-5TEXAS FEVER
Copyright © 2005 by Kimberly Raye Groff.
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