sensation, no urge to jump from the speeding car just to escape.
“I know this neighborhood,” Emily announced suddenly, distracting Javy, who was starting to freak out over how un-freaked out he was. “Kelsey’s condo isn’t far from here.”
Emily leaned forward, straining against the seat belt, her excitement brimming as she looked around at the small, well-kept houses, the flower-lined lawns and the driveways crowned by basketball hoops. Javy followed the street numbers until they came to a row of townhomes.
“Oh, look! They’re so cute!” she cried.
She had her seat belt off and was out the door almost before Javy brought the car to a stop in front of a two-story unit marked with an open house sign and a bouquet of colorful balloons. Pale yellow shingle siding topped the redbrick lower level, and yellow-and-white-striped awnings shaded the front windows.
“It’s like…like a gingerbread house!” she exclaimed.
“That’s about the size of it,” Javy said beneath his breath as he circled the car to join Emily on the sidewalk.
Even from the outside, and without glancing at the listing, still clutched in Emily’s hand, he could tell the place was tiny. But when Emily turned to him with her blue eyes sparklingand her gorgeous features more animated than he’d seen, any thoughts—negative or otherwise—disappeared.
“I love it,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist, as if trying to contain her excitement.
Javy tossed aside any words of caution. He was here to support Emily on her quest for happiness, not to discourage her dreams. Either she would figure out for herself that the place was way too small or she would turn around and sell it in a year or two, when she started to miss the high-class amenities she could easily afford.
He knew he’d made the right decision when Emily offered him a soul-stealing smile. Her expression turned more seductive than he’d ever seen, though a hint of shyness remained. “I think,” she began, only to stop and run her tongue over her bottom lip, “this is the part where I get to thank you in person.”
Any protest Javy might have made dried up in his suddenly arid throat as Emily stepped closer. A part of him wanted to take credit. Not for showing her the house, but for the spark of feminine confidence in her eyes. He wanted to believe he touched something inside her no other man could. And even though he knew better, he was going to let himself revel in the foolish, potentially dangerous thought…just for a little while.
His pulse pounded in anticipation. Every heartbeat urged him to pull her into his arms and claim her lips with his own, but Emily had accepted the challenge he’d issued, and this was her move.
The control needed in the seconds leading up to the kiss was nothing compared to the tension building inside him as Emily slid a hand around his neck and pulled his head down to hers.
The excitement and anticipation she’d shown at her first glimpse of the town house bubbled up inside her kiss and burst against his tongue. He’d never been one for champagne, never understood the popularity or the price, but he thought maybethe most expensive vintage would taste like Emily, and he suddenly understood paying a thousand dollars a pop.
A brief thought about an addiction to the finer things in life crossed his mind, but he shoved it and every other thought aside to focus on nothing but the feel of Emily in his arms.
Her shirt had inched up ever so slightly, just enough for him to feel her skin against his palms. He trailed his fingers from her smooth back to the curve of her waist and the faint indentation of her hips. He brushed his thumbs against the underside of her rib cage and absorbed the shudder that quaked through her entire body until he felt like he was the one shaking.
She whispered his name against his lips as he drew in a much-needed breath, but the split-second window was all reality needed to sneak back in. Somewhere in
“I know this neighborhood,” Emily announced suddenly, distracting Javy, who was starting to freak out over how un-freaked out he was. “Kelsey’s condo isn’t far from here.”
Emily leaned forward, straining against the seat belt, her excitement brimming as she looked around at the small, well-kept houses, the flower-lined lawns and the driveways crowned by basketball hoops. Javy followed the street numbers until they came to a row of townhomes.
“Oh, look! They’re so cute!” she cried.
She had her seat belt off and was out the door almost before Javy brought the car to a stop in front of a two-story unit marked with an open house sign and a bouquet of colorful balloons. Pale yellow shingle siding topped the redbrick lower level, and yellow-and-white-striped awnings shaded the front windows.
“It’s like…like a gingerbread house!” she exclaimed.
“That’s about the size of it,” Javy said beneath his breath as he circled the car to join Emily on the sidewalk.
Even from the outside, and without glancing at the listing, still clutched in Emily’s hand, he could tell the place was tiny. But when Emily turned to him with her blue eyes sparklingand her gorgeous features more animated than he’d seen, any thoughts—negative or otherwise—disappeared.
“I love it,” she said, wrapping her arms around her waist, as if trying to contain her excitement.
Javy tossed aside any words of caution. He was here to support Emily on her quest for happiness, not to discourage her dreams. Either she would figure out for herself that the place was way too small or she would turn around and sell it in a year or two, when she started to miss the high-class amenities she could easily afford.
He knew he’d made the right decision when Emily offered him a soul-stealing smile. Her expression turned more seductive than he’d ever seen, though a hint of shyness remained. “I think,” she began, only to stop and run her tongue over her bottom lip, “this is the part where I get to thank you in person.”
Any protest Javy might have made dried up in his suddenly arid throat as Emily stepped closer. A part of him wanted to take credit. Not for showing her the house, but for the spark of feminine confidence in her eyes. He wanted to believe he touched something inside her no other man could. And even though he knew better, he was going to let himself revel in the foolish, potentially dangerous thought…just for a little while.
His pulse pounded in anticipation. Every heartbeat urged him to pull her into his arms and claim her lips with his own, but Emily had accepted the challenge he’d issued, and this was her move.
The control needed in the seconds leading up to the kiss was nothing compared to the tension building inside him as Emily slid a hand around his neck and pulled his head down to hers.
The excitement and anticipation she’d shown at her first glimpse of the town house bubbled up inside her kiss and burst against his tongue. He’d never been one for champagne, never understood the popularity or the price, but he thought maybethe most expensive vintage would taste like Emily, and he suddenly understood paying a thousand dollars a pop.
A brief thought about an addiction to the finer things in life crossed his mind, but he shoved it and every other thought aside to focus on nothing but the feel of Emily in his arms.
Her shirt had inched up ever so slightly, just enough for him to feel her skin against his palms. He trailed his fingers from her smooth back to the curve of her waist and the faint indentation of her hips. He brushed his thumbs against the underside of her rib cage and absorbed the shudder that quaked through her entire body until he felt like he was the one shaking.
She whispered his name against his lips as he drew in a much-needed breath, but the split-second window was all reality needed to sneak back in. Somewhere in
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