Page 27 of A Heart of Little Faith
“Wow.”
“Funny.”
“I can’t believe I let you do this to me. It’s not enough I had to sit through an endless dinner with Steve as my dinner partner, but you made faces at me!” Her voice was higher than normal, her eyebrows arched.
“I know. I’m sorry.” He flashed a sheepish grin, secretly enjoying the memory.
“You’re sorry. Sorry? Argh.” She threw her arms up over her head.
“Come on, it wasn’t all bad, was it?” For some reason, he wanted her to have enjoyed the evening, for it to have been a bonding experience for her as much as it was for him.
“Well, once you stopped frowning, no, it wasn’t bad at all.” She grinned and relief washed through him. “Although next time I’ll have to find out from you beforehand whom we’re entertaining. I don’t know if I can take much more of those people.”
“You don’t have to.” Relief flooded through him at her words. She’d said “next time.” Her presence made things easier for him. Most times, he felt like the outsider, entertaining everyone but not joining in. Tonight, he’d felt like part of the group. Not that he wanted to be part oftheirgroup—they were overbearing and not his style—but having someone there with him tonight made him feel like part of a couple. They played off one another, defended each other, and it felt good.
“Listen, I appreciate your coming with me tonight.” He clenched his fist to prevent it from rising and caressing her cheek. Her skin glowed and his fingers itched to trace the curve of her cheekbone to her jawbone, to feel the soft skin on the hard bone. He could almost feel her lips on his fingers, her breath cool and moist. He blinked, and the image receded. But his desire did not.
Lily smiled. “I actually did have fun. It’s a fantastic restaurant and I enjoyed your company. It’s not your fault they’re like that.” The car pulled in front of the restaurant and the driver opened the door.
“Your ride’s here,” Gideon rasped, still caught in his imagination. He shifted in his chair.
“Do you want a lift?”
“No, it’s okay. Consider this your private reward for putting up with the lecherous Steve.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well this was a nice touch.” She gestured toward the car.
“It was the least I could do.”
“Well, thank you for it, and for tonight. I did have fun, and I’ll join you whenever you want.”
Unable to resist, Gideon pulled her down toward him and kissed her gently on the lips. As anticipated, her lips were soft and delicious. “Thanks for coming with me tonight. Get home safe.” He dropped her hand and reversed, as she got into the car and it pulled away.You fool. What did you do that for? You turned a perfectly fine evening into a disaster. She’s never going to want to be with you again. And you’re never going to be able to get her kiss out of your mind.
****
After Lily paid Tara and checked on Claire, she lay in bed and relived Gideon’s kiss. She touched her lips, which were still marked with his imprint. The kiss had been soft, gentle, yet filled with promise. But maybe she was reading it wrong. Maybe it was only a goodbye kiss. Granted, it was on her lips, but some people did that, right? The last man who’d kissed her was Daniel. She was out of practice, but she didn’t think she’d read the signals wrong.
When Gideon called to suggest a business arrangement, she’d thought it sounded strange, but she’d agreed because it was a chance to spend time with him. And she wanted to do something to thank him for taking Claire to the Father-Daughter lunch. But she’d never expected him to kiss her.
“He kissed you?” Samantha shrieked and Lily pulled the phone away from her ear the next morning as she waited for Samantha’s decibels to return to normal. With her back to her office door, she propped her legs on her credenza and tipped her chair back. She pointed and flexed her toes as she talked on the phone. She’d come into work and called Samantha first thing, wanting her take on the situation.
“My brother? Big guy in a wheelchair? Kissed you?”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Try to keep up, Samantha.”
“Sorry, it’s just the thought of my brother kissing someone is so far beyond the realm of normal, I got sidetracked. Now tell me everything,” Samantha said, significantly quieter now, but no less excited.
Lily told her the details, interrupted every few seconds by gasps or laughter from Samantha. When she’d completed her story, she waited. Samantha did not disappoint her.
“I can’t believe he kissed you!”
Her giddiness started to fizzle. “Do you realize that was my first kiss in years?” Gideon’s kiss was her first since Daniel. The thought made the kiss bittersweet.
Samantha sensed her hesitation. “Are you okay with it?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I mean, I loved the kiss, regardless of what he meant by it. But there’s a part of me that’s sad too, for the old Lily. The one with the perfect life with the perfect husband and perfect baby daughter.” Her voice cracked. She tried to remember the fantasies she’d held for her future life with Daniel, but they’d faded with time and she couldn’t quite hold them in place. She just knew that her life now wasn’t what she’d imagined and she lowered her head. “I never expected my life to turn out like this, a single mother faced with the prospect of dating again. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Do you think life with Gideon would be less than perfect?”