Well that shut up any replies they might’ve made.
As he spotted Corinne coming back, he leaned down to Piper. “I’ve got a favor to ask of you. I’ll call you about it later.”
She cut her eyes toward Corinne, then back to him. “Okay.”
Everybody made polite farewells. Tucker found himself grateful to step out into the hot, sticky night, if only to escape the interrogation he knew was brewing.
“I’d say that went better than you expected. Seems like you maybe enjoyed yourself a little.”
“Do you want a cookie for being right?”
He liked the sass in her tone and grinned at her as he took her hand. “Well now, a smart man never turns down a cookie. Especially not a cookie from a pretty woman.”
“How is it I never knew you were charming?”
“I never had a chance to charm you back in the old days. Besides, I’ve improved with age.”
She looked down at their joined hands as they crossed the town green. “You’re taking your reputation in your hands, you know. Risking being seen like this with the likes of me.”
At the side of the fountain, he stopped, used momentum to pull her in. “Oh yeah. Tucker McGee finally wised up and decided to go after that pretty brunette he’s been eying for more than a year. Took him long enough.”
“That’s not what they’d be saying.” But she slid her arms around his waist.
“Well, they should be.” He dipped his head to within an inch of hers.
“I like your version better,” she whispered, tipping her lips up until only the barest hint of breath separated them.
“Me too,” he murmured.
They met on a sigh. And oh yeah. He’d been wanting this pretty much from the moment he’d stopped on the roof. She melted into him. That slow, gradual release of tension was the best kind of victory. Heat licked in his blood, but he held it in check. This wasn’t the time or the place. So he kept it easy, sweet. The kind of kiss he’d imagined giving her years ago. The kind of kiss that said he had all the time in the world to savor her. That she was worth savoring.
She swayed a bit in his arms when he pulled back. That was gratifying, too.
“I’m thinking charm isn’t the only area where you improved with age,” she said, still a trifle breathless. “If you’d kissed like that in high school, I’d have heard about it.”
Tucker laughed. “I was a lot more talk and a lot less action back then.”
“I like action. God, I’d forgotten I like action.”
His body was a hundred percent on board with that plan.
She took a breath and blew it out. “But this is…I’m not… I wasn’t expecting this, Tucker. And I certainly wasn’t looking for it.”
“Not a fan of surprises?” he said lightly, working to ratchet down his own reaction.
“It’s not that, I just don’t know what to do with this. My life is a mess.”
“Seems to me you’ve been doing a damned good job of straightening out that mess since you came home.”
“I’ve got a long way to go, yet.”
He stroked a hand through her hair, then took her hand and began strolling again. He hoped it was toward Dinner Belles because he was rattled, too. “There’s no time clock on this. No expiration date. I’m not in a hurry. I just want to see where this goes. That’s all I’m asking for. A shot.”
“I’m a package deal.”
“It’s a pretty great package. Kurt’s an awesome kid.”
“Easy to say on a morning’s acquaintance.”