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All he could think about was the way her lips felt, the way her body pressed against his. In this moment his disappointment was enough to make him nauseated. He peeked at her, then down at his hands as he curled them into fists and released them. “This might just be something out of our control.”
“Yeah… wait, what?”
“I’d be lying if I said I was willing to walk away.”
“What are you saying?” Her voice sounded dry, and it broke on the last word.
“I’m saying that I’d be willing to give this a try if you are. Any parameters you want to set out, I’ll follow them.” Zeke moved closer to her but didn’t reach out to touch her just yet. “It might be a stupid risk—us trying out whatever this is that’s grown between us. But I think it’s worth it.”
“You want us to start seeing each other?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” This time he grazed her jawline with his thumb. “I’ve never met anyone like you, and even though everything inside me is telling me to run, I… can’t. I’d much rather risk it all than never know what could have been.”
Agatha didn’t move a muscle. She stared at him with wide eyes. “You can’t possibly be serious.”
“Oh, I’m serious. I can’t ignore the fact that over the last several weeks, you are the one I can’t stop thinking about. Is it possible that we won’t work out? Certainly. But wouldn’t it be fun to go along for the ride and see what happens?”
She lifted a single brow. “I thought you valued being in control. What you’re suggesting goes against everything you say you need.”
“I’m not getting any younger. What do I have to lose?” The words tumbled from his lips before he had a chance to really think about them. Agatha had made several good points, and if he’d gotten a good night’s sleep and addressed this issue in the morning, he might have been a little more level-headed. Right now, all he could think about was kissing her again. Zeke shifted closer, dipping his face toward her.
But Agatha pushed against his chest with two of her fingers. “It’s tempting.”
His lips curled into a small smile. “Come on, Agatha. Take a chance, have some fun.”
She sucked in a deep breath, her eyes never leaving his. “Okay, but we’re going to lay out all the ground rules like you said.”
“And what might those be?” His voice lowered and he glanced down at her lips. One more kiss. He’d do whatever it took to be wrapped up in her embrace just once more.
Agatha placed her hand against his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. “I know this sounds strange, but I really do think we need to keep whatever this is under wraps. I don’t want Thomas to find out before I’m ready to tell him, and if anyone catches us together, it would only be a matter of time.”
“You really think he’d mind?”
She pressed her lips together firmly. He could see the battle of wills behind her eyes. He’d experienced this side of that very look several times. There was a good chance she wouldn’t be willing to share any information regarding her son with him, and he’d have to be okay with that. Agatha let out a sigh and dropped her hand to her side. “You have to understand that for the vast majority of his life, it has only ever been just the two of us. I can’t even recall a time when he was interested in a woman for himself. We’ve always only looked out for each other. It’s one of the big reasons I moved out here with him.”
The look on Zeke’s face must have told it all because she held up both hands and waved them. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It’s not that he can’t handle being on his own. I believe this is his way of paying me back for all of the years I spent raising him. He wants to make sure I’m taken care of and…” Agatha shrugged. She glanced up at him, then tore her gaze away from him just as quickly. “You must think this is terrible.”
“On the contrary.”
She stiffened, her gaze cutting to meet his.
Zeke chuckled. “I’m very well versed in this sort of dependency. Have you forgotten so easily that once upon a time, I treated my daughters in a way that prevented them from going out on their own? I can empathize with the young man. But there will come a day when he will need to branch out and find a lovely young woman to care for.”
No words. Agatha seemed to be staring at him in shock. He couldn’t tell if it was due to his being understanding or if she read some kind of condescending tone in his voice. He wasn’t trying to sound superior. It just so happened that he’d had to learn the hard way that his daughters needed to get out on their own.
He cleared his throat and glanced away. “What I’m trying to say is that I’m not quite ready for my daughters to find out either. If you’re concerned about Thomas, and I’m concerned about the girls, then I think we can safely say we’re on the same page. We don’t have to share what’s developing between us with anyone until we’re ready.”
“Are you sure? Do you even think it’s… possible?”
She made a good point. He hadn’t considered how hard it would be to engage in a relationship without the folks around town noticing. “I don’t know.”
Agatha frowned. “If you don’t think—”
“I said I didn’t know. There will always be a learning curve when something changes in your life. How many people have to deal with this sort of thing all the time? I’d wager famous people have to keep their relationships quiet. Why can’t we do the same? We can spend time together outside of the public eye. It shouldn’t be that hard.”
“Perhaps you’re right.” And just like that, the smile returned to her face. “It’s not like we haven’t been spending our fair share in each other’s company as of late. We simply have to be aware of how we treat each other when anyone else is around.”
He nodded. “Right.”
