I laughed again nervously, hanging my mouth open, hoping I looked gross enough that he’d stop watching me like he was. “No. I mean, why would you even say that? Jealous.” I swallowed and blew air out between my lips so they flapped. “Everything’s fine, Tyler. So fine. I set you up with her. I basically want you to make little beautiful babies who play football or win beauty pageants or are supermodels because your kids would have like the longest legs in the whole world. I even want you to kiss her, if you haven’t already. Have you?” I asked, not giving him time to answer before saying, “No, I don’t care, because I’m not jealous. You should kiss her. You should leave here right now and go over there and kiss her instead of looking at me like that, because when you look at me like that, I want you to kiss me instead.”
I froze.
He didn’t.
He sprang to life from still as stone, moving across the room, around the table with burning eyes and a small, crooked smile.
“You want me to kiss you?” he asked, closing the distance.
“I — no, that’s not what I meant.” I stammered. “Yes. I mean, no! Maybe.”
He stopped in front of me, pressing his hips against the counter between my knees, spreading them apart. His hand found my cheek, and he said softly, “You want me to kiss you right now, Cam?”
“I…” I breathed, looking up into his eyes, unable to say anything, drunk from the proximity of his lips. But he didn’t wait for me to speak. I think he already knew the answer without me having to say a word.
He inched closer until his nose trailed up the bridge of mine, his lips so close that I could feel them — every nerve reached for him. If I’d moved a half an inch, our lips would have met, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe as I sat on the counter in my kitchen with Tyler Knight’s hand in my hair, his breath mingling with mine, with nothing to separate us save a few layers of clothes and a gallon of ice cream. And after that long, stretched out moment, he kissed me.
The moment our lips touched, we both pulled in a long breath through our noses, lungs sipping the air like it was the first time. He was strong, even in something so tender as a kiss, his lips closing over mine, his tongue running across my bottom lip in his mouth, hand guiding my jaw to put my mouth where he wanted it.
There was no thought other than him as he filled every sense, my brain and body and heart and soul overloaded with Tyler. And everything was blissfully simple, without consequences or questions, no wondering or uncertainty.
He broke away, but I couldn’t open my eyes, just stayed where I was with my head tilted up to his, lips parted.
“Wow,” he whispered.
My lids weighed a thousand pounds, but I pried them open to meet his gaze. “Wait, am I daydreaming?” I asked, not at all kidding.
He laughed softly, thumb stroking my cheek. “You’ve daydreamed about this?”
“Maybe.”
He bent his head, lips on a track to mine. “Me too.”
He kissed me again, this time deeper, his tongue brushing my lips that parted for him. My arms wound around his neck, and I was so mesmerized by his lips, I barely noticed him move the ice cream out of the way. He slipped his hand into the small of my back, sliding me to him until I was flush against his waist. His arm was strong around me, his free hand in my hair, and my legs curled around his waist, squeezing to bring him closer still. Our lips moved together, tongues circling each other, breaths shallow, hearts hammering.
I decided then that I could kiss Tyler forever.
He broke away again, laying a small kiss on my lips, then my cheek as he cupped the back of my head and tucked me into his chest.
“Wow,” I whispered, unable to form any other coherent thought.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest. Even sitting on the counter, my head tucked easily under his chin, since he was basically a giant. A giant and a fairy.
I laughed, a small sound, my heart filling with the sound of his heart beating under my ear.
Tyler’s heart.
Tyler had kissed me. Twice.
My smile fell as my brain whirred with questions and doubt and curiosity.
The first question was the easiest. I swallowed, not daring to pull away to see his face. “Why did you kiss me, Tyler?”
“Because I wanted to.”
“For how long?”
“Too long.” His fingers shifted in my hair.
My heart ached. “Why now?”
“Because once I knew I wanted to be with you, I had to do something about it, even if you said you thought we weren’t right for each other. I never believed it, you know. I just thought you didn’t want me. Plus, you said you wanted me to kiss you. I don’t think I could have asked for a more obvious sign.”
I pulled back and looked at him like he’d told me he was from the future. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What do you mean?” He looked genuinely confused. Beautifully, blissfully unaware.
“Because you’re… Tyler, you’re so amazing that some days I can’t believe you’re even real. You’re beautiful and kind, loyal, strong. You’re funny and smart and just … you’re the ultimate. And you could have had Adrienne Christie, who’s an actual goddess. You left your date with a goddess and came back here and kissed me.” I shook my head. “It doesn’t make any sense that you’d want me.”
He stroked my cheek, his dark eyes soft. “Maybe not in your universe, but it makes perfect sense in mine.” He brought his lips to mine again, and I melted like a pat of butter in his arms. When he broke away, he said, “Come here,” and grabbed me around the waist like I was sack of sugar. He carried me to the couch and sat down with me straddled across his lap.