He waited, sensing there was more she wanted to say.
“Until you.”
His heart stuttered as blood pounded through his veins, the implications of her statement reaching his soul. “I feel the same way,” he whispered. “I think we have something special going on here.”
“Me, too.”
Neither spoke as they gazed into each other’s eyes, the connection almost tangible.
Max finally broke the spell when he gently pulled away. “I better go. Maddie might…”
She tugged on his shirt, her gaze soft as a caress. Her eyes fluttered shut, then opened. “Could you…we …just sit a while?”
He eased back on the couch, the meaning in her words crystal clear.
She needed him. Wanted him.
He gathered her into his arms. Her head fit perfectly into the hollow between his shoulder and neck, and her warm breath floated out on a sigh of pleasure as slender fingers lightly stroked his chest.
His heart rate eased into a steady rhythm as it swelled with a sense of fulfilment and completeness that astonished him.
He’d found it. The thing missing from his meager existence. The thing he desperately wanted but never expected to find.
Love.
At last.
Did she…could she…love him in return?
He pulled her tighter against him and buried his face in her hair.
I love this woman.
Her arm slid across his chest, feet curled up beside her. “Max…”
Her soft entreaty branded him forever. He was hers. Heart and soul.
He lifted her chin with one finger, memorizing every nuance of the moment, composing an image he would take to his grave. “Sky…”
He kissed the tip of her nose, then her eyes, and, finally, satisfyingly, those tempting lips.
A shudder passed through her as she melted against him, a dreamy intimacy encasing them while the kiss went on forever.
At last, he pulled back, his gaze searching hers.
Something intense flared between them.
No words were needed as their hearts spoke to each other.
Regardless of what happened tomorrow or next week or next year, he had this one moment in time. A moment where hope and love and promise flourished, and he would cherish it as long as he lived.
They drifted off to sleep, her head on his shoulder—his heart in her hands.
The next week passed in a blur. Remnants of the icy weekend faded more each day as the sun rose in a cloudless sky, though the nights remained frosty. Shaded areas still harbored patches of white, but the roads were clear.
Though she missed being chauffeured around by Max, Sky was thankful for the better weather. Diner customers came and went in a steady flow, making the time fly by.
Since her shift didn’t start until eleven, Max joined her for coffee each morning before he left for work and even offered to take Maddie to school a couple of times, which the child loved. Most evenings, she got off by six-thirty, and the three of them enjoyed a late supper.
The ease with which they fell into this new routine made her long for something more. Each time she saw him, her heart mushroomed with emotions she thought long dead, the sense of rightness staggering in its intensity. The night they fell asleep cuddled on the couch, the ecstasy of being held against his strong body remained a cherished memory. When he kissed her goodbye the next morning, an immense void followed his absence.
There was something special about him, something she sensed from the beginning. The thought barely crossed her mind before another followed that rocked her to the core.
She loved him.
The acknowledgement both thrilled and terrified her and made for a sleepless night last night as she worried about what happens next. Did he feel the same way? Instinct said yes, but he’d never spoken the words. Maybe she should go first, let him know how she felt.
Lost in a world of possibility, she licked parched lips, unable to stifle a timid smile of hope. Does he love me, too?
“Hey, Sky?” The call came from a customer at the other end of the counter. “Can I get a refill on my coffee, please?”
Embarrassed to be caught in her daydream, she hurriedly filled Billy Ray’s cup. “I’m so sorry, Bill. Don’t know where my mind is today.”
“Judging by that smile on your face, I bet I know.”
His suggestive wink brought a rush of heat to her face.
