Waiting for You by Heather Huffman Page B

sleep thinking about the very muscles she now traced with her fingers. She moved to kiss his jaw, then his throat, then met her hands at his chest. He stopped breathing when she traced a feathery trail of kisses along his abdomen.
    With lightning speed, he scooped her up and flipped her onto her back, his mouth setting fire to her throat while his hands splayed her small waist before moving up to her rib cage. He shifted his weight, the friction of his jeans against her shorts nearly her undoing. It hit her like a tidal wave – she’d reached the point of no return. Either she stopped him here or they crossed a threshold in this poppy field.
    She placed her hands on his chest, pushing him gently away. He took her cue and stopped his tender assault. When he would have pulled back, she held him tighter , snuggling against him. It took a few moments for both of them to regain their breath. While they waited, he stroked her hair and she clutched his shirt as if she might fall otherwise.
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin the moment.”
    “Hey, don’t ever apologize for telling me what you want,” he murmured against her brow.
    As much as Karise tried not to compare Aidan to William, she couldn’t help marveling at the difference. William would have seethed quiet irritation, making her feel smaller and smaller inside. She didn’t feel small now in Aidan’s arms. She felt cherished. Why on earth had she settled for small? Why hadn’t she waited for cherished?
    Karise knew that, at some point, she’d have to sort out what this new development meant, how far she was willing to take this thing. He was more than a rebound, but she wasn’t sure she was ready for a relationship. It might not have a label yet, but it was clear the boundaries had shifted , placing them in that magical moment where it was okay to reach out to take the other’s hand or brush aside a stray lock of hair. Now that they could touch each other, both were hesitant to break contact.
    They held hands the entire walk back, stopping every so often to steal a leisurely kiss before strolling a little bit further. When they reached the main house, a shiny sedan was parked next to Aidan’s truck. When Zoe burst out of the house, eager to see her daddy, Karise tried to pull her hand away. She didn’t know anything about raising children, but she knew it could be tricky to know what to communicate and when.
    Aidan was having none of it, though. He tightened his fingers around hers, pulling Karis e in closer. Without missing a beat , he scooped Zoe up in his free arm, happily accepting the kiss she planted on his cheek. She wrapped her skinny arms around his neck and beamed at them both.
    “Did you show her the flowers?” Zoe accurately guessed where they’d been.
    “They were beautiful,” Karise answered. “You’re lucky to live here. It’s like something from a fairy tale.”
    “It is a fairy tale,” Zoe informed her. “Daddy tells me a little more each night. Did you see the pixies?”
    “You have pixies too?” Karise stopped short and placed a hand on her hip. “Now I am jealous.”
    “I haven’t seen them either,” Zoe mourned. “But Daddy told me they live in the hollow tree at the edge of the flowers.”
    “Pixies do like hollow trees,” Karise commented. “I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for them now that I know they’re there.”
    Zoe nodded, as if to agree that was the wisest course of action.
    “Come on.” Aidan nodded toward the house. “I want you to meet Elsie and Mark.”
    As many new people as she’d met since arriving in California, one would think Karise would be immune to it at this point. She had no such luck, though. With each friend of his she met, she was nervous – especially after Jack Cooper’s instant dislike of her. She was in no hurry for a repeat performance of that disaster.
    Elsie was waiting on the front porch for them, greeting the trio with all of the effusive warmth Karise would expect from