Racing to Love: Eli's Honor by Amy Gregory Page A

the man not far behind her, tempting him to dare say another word to the woman he still had in his arms. Eli guessed Honor thought it was an act, but in reality he didn’t like the thought of another man around his woman.
    His.
    That thought would have scared the shit out of him years ago. Hell, even a few months ago. Just like Carter and Molly, then Jesse and Emery, it was the right person at the right time. Eli thought about Honor for days, processed his feelings, and came to the conclusion with absolute certainty. Honor was his. He was pretty sure that she was entirely unaware of the fact, but he had a month to convince her. A month to make her fall in love with him. A month to persuade her to stay in Pennsylvania.
    Suddenly the confidence he had in his plan wavered. A month didn’t seem like near enough time.
    “I missed you too, Eli.” Her voice was quiet and sweet, not nearly as embellished as Eli’s had been.
    His stomach clinched at her admission, reading way more into that she probably meant, but it was music to his ears.
    With her back to the stranger, the other man couldn’t see the deep red in her cheeks, but it made Eli’s heart soar. Something about the flush and the embarrassed smile made her seem innocent and young. Poor Dallas had turned his back to keep from laughing, and Eli took a long minute to take in Honor’s presence. The gaze proved to be too much for her. She grinned and broke the eye contact.

    ****

    The three of them quickly headed to the baggage claim, and as soon as they were out of earshot, they all let the laughter go. Dallas apparently had been more aware of what was going on than Honor realized. So much for it being an adult inside joke. She gave a knowing look at Eli and shook her head. It was happening so fast, but she wasn’t ready for her baby to grow up yet.
    “Thank you,” she said shyly, nodding behind her, “for that.”
    “Trust me, the pleasure was all mine,” Eli whispered near her ear then winked.
    Damn the man was sinful.
    She pulled in a slow breath to steady herself, not knowing at all what to feel about Eli’s arm still around her waist.
    Honor had clued into Eli’s playfulness in front of the other man. She could even appreciate the fact he had, very purposefully, tried to make the man jealous. It was humorous, and although she’d never admit it to another living soul—it was exhilarating being possessed like that by a gorgeous man in front of everyone. Things like that didn’t happen to women like her. She was just a mom from a tiny little town. That had been a move made for a chick flick on the big screen. It was something that happened to beautiful women, not her. But, it was definitely her pulse that skyrocketed on contact.
    They were nowhere near that man anymore and Eli still continued to keep her close. Her heart pounded, no matter how hard she tried to control her breathing. Besides, Dallas was right there. What would he think? She sure didn’t want him to get the wrong impression. What kind of impression was Eli trying to make anyway?
    As they walked, the battle in her raged on. She didn’t think the physical contact was appropriate in front of her son, but the boy seemed clueless. However, she had thought that a few minutes earlier as well. She thought it was best if they weren’t touching, but a buried piece of her didn’t want to pull away. Honor knew that to those around them they appeared like a couple and a part of her thrilled at the thought. She didn’t want to be excited at his touch, but she was on fire. His cologne encircled her, and she subtly pulled in long breaths, getting drunk on him. Honor had never had a reaction of this magnitude to another man, even the one she’d married. Her senses were on overload. All the while her head spun with a thousand thoughts warning her to pull away. His fingers seared her as he winked again, pulling her closer to his side. She swallowed hard taking in the man staring back at her as they