Jaws clamped so tightly they hurt, he finally ground out a reply. “You don’t know that. You don’t know me.”
“I know all I need to.”
She placed her hand on his chest, and he feared he would combust on the spot.
“You’re a good man, Max, with a kind heart.”
He swallowed hard, unable to break eye contact. He couldn’t say who took the first step forward. Maybe they took it together. One minute they were three feet apart, the next his nose was filled with the citrusy aroma of her shampoo.
For her sake, he tried to be reasonable. “I’m no good for you,” he whispered as he drank in her beauty. “Cade was right about that.”
She ran her hands up his chest. “He’s an asshole. What does he know?”
Of their own volition, his hands slid around her waist, the dreaded words wrenched from his soul. “Afghanistan messed me up. I’m still not over it.”
“One day,” she whispered, “one thing at a time.”
Standing on her tip toes, her lips lightly brushed his.
And he was lost.
Her touch was a command, and he obeyed.
He slowly pulled her against him, lightly tracing the silky fullness of her lips with his tongue before delving inside to explore the softness hidden there. He pressed his mouth to hers, caressing more than kissing it, savoring the taste, the feel, the smell of her. A kiss for his wounded spirit to melt into.
She responded with a soft moan as her hands gripped his shoulders.
He deepened the kiss, and she countered, matching his fire with fervor of her own.
From…somewhere, willpower he didn’t know he possessed emerged, and he ended the kiss, resting his forehead on hers.
She shivered and gulped in air.
Old doubts and fears assaulted him. Cade was right; he wasn’t good enough. She was too good for the likes of him. He needed to stop now before things went any further.
“Please don’t do that,” whispered Sky. “Don’t shut me out.”
“I’m a mess.”
“Who isn’t?”
“You deserve better.”
“So do you.” She slid her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.
He hesitated a moment, then folded her in his arms and kissed the top of her head, pulling the goodness she radiated into his shattered soul. How long they stayed that way, he didn’t know. He only knew how right it felt to hold her in his arms. At long last, he whispered, “Maddie’s going to be worried.”
She nodded against his chest. “Yeah. I should get home.”
He ran his hands up her back, enjoying the feel of her body against his, terrified his past would destroy her. Them.
She pushed back enough to look up at him. “It’s been a long time since I met someone I wanted to be with. Someone who didn’t mind a woman with a child.” She brought her hands around and rubbed them on his chest. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with us, but I want the chance to see if it can be as good as I think it will.” She stretched up and lightly kissed him again. “Good night, Max.”
She picked up her things and walked out, Cade’s words echoing through his mind. You aren’t good enough. You never will be.
Sky went through the motions of work, but her mind kept returning to last night’s events. The warm atmosphere in Max’s kitchen as she put things away while he and Maddie chatted just seemed…right.
And then Cade ruined it. Even now, his presumptuousness spiked her temper.
“Morning, Sky.”
The greeting from the local doctor, Samantha Delaney, Sam or Doc to most folks, broke into her musings. “Morning, Doc. What can I get you?”
“Just coffee for now. Waiting on Coop to join me for lunch.” She settled into a booth. “How’s Maddie? Any new issues with her breathing?”
“No, she’s fine. The inhaler worked great, and she hasn’t had any other episodes. But we keep it handy just in case.” Asthma, another side effect of Maddie’s premature birth, had not been an issue in some time. Recent episodes of shortness of breath dictated action. Doc thought the colder-than-normal weather was the cause, and the inhaler she prescribed worked well thus far.
“I know it’s difficult to keep her inside,” said Doc, “but when it’s this cold and damp, it’s probably best.”
“Yeah, she’s not much for being cooped up.”
Sam sipped her coffee. “I know this isn’t really the time or place to ask, but have you given any more thought to my proposition?”
Once Sam discovered Sky was a registered nurse whose license was inactive, she offered to help her get reinstated. In return, Sky would work for her at the clinic. Sky understood there would be hoops to jump through, but Sam was confident they could make it happen.
“I would love to get back into nursing, Doc. I really would.”
