Page 34 of The Calendar of New Beginnings (Dare Valley #9)

“Like what?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. “It seems silly for you to say that after showing me her letter. Andy, you were married. You have stories. It’s all right if you talk about Kim. You always did before.”

Yeah, he had, but somehow everything had changed. “I don’t…oh hell…I don’t want you to ever think I’m comparing you to her. I mean—heck, now I’m saying it—I didn’t want her letter to imply you’re…”

“The consolation prize?” she asked in that bold-as-brass Lucy way of hers. “If you feel weird, tell me. I’m glad you showed me the letter, Andy. You never mentioned it to me before.”

He hadn’t been able to—not even in an email. He’d been too raw, and the words were the final ones he had from his wife. For a long time, he hadn’t been ready to share them. Someday he’d show it to Danny when he was older, but not for years.

“I never want you to stop remembering Kim or your life with her,” Lucy went on. “It’s not just important to you, but to Danny. I only want…”

“What do you want?” he asked, so bowled over by her, by this , that he couldn’t see straight.

She lifted her shoulder. “I only want us to be honest with each other. Like you did when you showed me the letter. This is weird. We’ve been best friends forever, and now I suddenly want to jump your bones.”

He couldn’t help it. He started laughing. “You want to jump my bones? Did you have to say it that way?” But then he realized why she had. Lucy O’Brien was tough, and when she was scared, she got tougher. This was uncharted territory. “How about we try calling it making love?”

And that was all it took to make tough-as-nails Lucy O’Brien squirm before his eyes.

“I mean it,” he said, wanting to squirm a little himself.

“We love each other—even if this other kind of love is new. We know almost everything there is to know about each other. And now we want to be together. When we decide to have sex, it won’t just be sex.

Honestly, I wouldn’t want it to be. We both care too much about each other for something that simple. ”

“What if this whole I-want-to-kiss-your-face-off thing fades?” she asked, her eyes vulnerable. “Maybe we won’t make it to sex.”

“I would never have showed you that letter if I believed that,” he said, and he realized it was the God’s honest truth.

Because he needed the confidence building as much as she seemed to, he leaned in and kissed her again.

She made a show of trying to keep reserved, but soon she was fisting her hands in his hair and opening her mouth, giving him a whole other impression of heaven on earth.

This time he couldn’t stop himself from running his hands down the sides of her body, and when she inched back on his lap to make space, he set those same hands to her breasts.

She moaned into his mouth, and the kiss turned wild. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she met him stroke for stroke. She shifted in his arms until she was straddling him, and he almost lost control when he felt her core press against him.

“Okay,” he said, breathing hard. “Now we’d really better slow down.”

She gave him some space, thank God, but stayed close enough for him to stroke her back. “I guess we might be heading toward sex, after all,” she said, gasping for air.

“Seems so,” he said, smiling softly against her hair. “Would you go to dinner with me sometime soon? After all this kissing, the least I can do is take you out and show you a good time.”

“So we are dating,” she said, making a face. “This is so weird! We’ve hung out a million times, but this feels different.”

“You didn’t answer my question. Will you go?”

“If we go out together, people are going to know. Are you ready for that to happen? Maybe we should wait a while? Until we’re more sure.”

He shook his head. “People are already talking because that’s what this town does. I would like to take you out and have some fun. What do you say?”

“Okay,” she said softly. “Sounds like a plan. But you don’t need to fuss and bring me flowers. I’m low-maintenance. ”

He was going to go the extra mile because she didn’t expect it. Because he deserved it. They both did.

“What are we going to do about our families?” she asked, her mouth twisting. “They’re going to know something is up.”

“I’ll tell them we’re starting to date, but it’s early so they need to leave us alone.” Yeah, that would work. His mind flashed back to his earlier Sibling Sharing Time, as Matt had called it.

“Our mothers are going to be thrilled,” she said, laying her head against his shoulder. “What are you going to tell Danny?”

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “I’ll tell him you’re really special to me and that I like having you around a lot. And that his mom really liked you too.”

Her eyes gleamed with unshed tears.

“You mentioned it before. Kinda. But you like kids, right?”

“I love them.” She leaned back, smiling. “And I would never do anything to hurt him.”

“That’s not what I was asking,” he said, his voice gruff.

“Yes, it was.” Her voice was whisper-soft as she traced his brow. “It’s okay. Kim will always be his mother, but I’d like to be his friend.”

Okay, so it hadn’t gotten easier after the kiss and showing her the letter. His ribcage felt like it was inside a trash compactor. He didn’t think Danny would fully understand what it meant for him to like a woman other than his mother. But it still worried him.

“It will be fine,” he told her, making himself smile.

“We have a lot of things to talk about,” she said, crossing her arms behind his neck.

“Good thing we’ve had all that practice talking,” he replied, sliding his hands down her back to her hips. “There are a few areas where we still need some practice.”

“Like I haven’t heard that before.”

“I don’t mean it to be a cliché.” He tugged her closer against his body again. “I’m glad you kissed me back this time, Lucy.”

“Thank God for the subconscious mind,” she said, laughing under her breath.

“Shut up,” he replied and kissed her senseless.