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“Not much. Just on a mission to grab dinner for the wife. What’s going on with you?” He looked over at Delaney, sizing up the situation.
“We were just skating at the rink. Delaney, this is my buddy Nick, from work. Nick, this is my girlfriend, Delaney.”
Nick’s eyebrows shot up as I realized what I’d just said. The words rolled off my tongue without much thought and now they were out there in the universe. I stole a quick sideways glance at Delaney. She seemed unfazed, taking the conversation in stride, politely chatting with Nick about his holiday plans. I pushed down the hot wave of panic rising up in my gut, took a deep breath. Delaney squeezed my arm and I relaxed under her touch.
“Well, it was great to officially meet you, Delaney. I’ve heard a lot about you from your brothers. And I’ll be sure to tell my wife your bakery is open. She’ll definitely stop in. See you guys!”
Nick walked over to the bar for his food as my heart flip-flopped double-time in my chest.
“He’s nice,” Delaney said, taking a swig of her beer.
“Yeah, he’s cool. He hasn’t been at the station long, but I like working with him.”
“Cool.”
We sat in silence for a few seconds, neither of us mentioning my choice of relationship descriptors, while top Christmas hits played in the background. I polished off the last bites of my burger, took the final swallow of my beer, wetting my dry throat.
“So, girlfriend, huh?” Delaney tilted her head, a smile dancing on her pink lips.
“Are you good with that title?” I asked, locking eyes with her. My breath caught in my chest, but I tried to play it cool.
“Yeah. I am.” She grinned at me, leaning in and kissing me square on the lips. I kissed her back, warmth surging through me, my pulse speeding up again.
“Glad to hear it,” I murmured against her soft, warm mouth. “Because most of Peachtree Grove will probably know about it by Monday, so now’s the time to change your mind.”
“Nah,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m good.” She smiled at me, our faces inches from each other, and I inhaled, breathing her in. She was so very, very good and I wanted her, tonight, tomorrow, for a long, long time.Maybe forever.
That scary, exhilarating whisper swept in out of nowhere and even though I tried to remain calm on the outside, my heart pounded double-time in my chest and my hands started sweating. I’d tried to do this before and look how it had turned out.
“You ready to get out of here?” Delaney asked, nuzzling into me.
“Sure, if you are.” I pushed my doubts down, shoving them aside for the moment.
“Let’s go. I want to know more about all the things you can do.” She squeezed my upper thigh, shooting me a flirty look.
I gave her a sly grin and grabbed her hand, helping her up from the table. “Don’t have to ask me twice.”
14
Delaney
We parked in front of a red brick building a few streets over from the fire station. Quinn took me by the hand, lacing his strong fingers with mine, and led me up a flight of stairs.
“This is it, home sweet home,” he said, unlocking the front door and stepping aside so I could enter. “I’ll give you the grand tour. That’ll take all of five minutes. As you can see, this is the living room/dining area.” He gestured to a brown leather sofa, oversized TV, and the small square table in the corner with two chairs. “I don’t entertain much.”
“Through this door is the kitchen.” We walked into the kitchen and Quinn flipped on the light. “Nothing too exciting here. Standard stuff.”
“All up to fire code, I assume?” I cocked an eyebrow at him and he laughed.
“Definitely. Just in case, though, the extinguisher is under the sink.”
“Good to know.”
“And my favorite room by far, my bedroom.” We walked past the kitchen, down the hall to his room.
I surveyed the space, taking in the neatly made king bed, tall espresso dresser, the lone, uncluttered nightstand. “It suits you.”
“Really?”
