small-town-romance

He turned his head to look at her, trying to think of ways to plead his case. Some way to dazzle and beguile her and make her glad that it was him she was here with. Something witty and persuasive, but she turned at precisely the same moment he did, with invitation in her eyes, and all he could come up with was, __amn, I really want to kiss you._ Her hesitation was a mere fraction of a second. __e too,_ she whispered. It was all he needed to hear, and in an instant she was in his arms. He kissed her, hard, with no prelude, no artful negotiations or seductive machinations. Just hungry kisses that sent his mind spinning and his body following. She kissed him back with equal enthusiasm, with one hand on his chest and the other wrapped tightly around the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Her mouth was sweet, as sweet as he__ imagined, with lips so soft he could have fallen over the edge of that lighthouse and thought the sensation was just from her touch.

Matt?_ __mm?_ __iss me._ He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. __weetheart, I thought you__ never ask.

Her life was more like a series of tattered Post-it notes with hastily scribbled goals written in dull pencil. Some of them stuck. Lots of them didn__.

That place is turning into the Hotel California.You know, you can check in, but you can never leave.

Damn, I really want to kiss you.

He was the most handsome nightmare she had ever met.

Heaven__ Bakery help them all.

I think if we ignore that night, that kiss, then we__e both denying a part of who we are.

There are no bears on the island.___eally, are you sure because I was hiking with my Dad and I__ sure I saw one? Either that or it was a humongous man-eating badger, with fangs. It might have been frothing at the mouth.___an-eating, huh? No problem then. I__ a girl.

Too bad he was officially the enemy.

It__ hard raising parents.

Is he nice?_ one whispered over her gum paste roses for this weekend__ wedding cakes. __m, obviously,_ Kimmie said. __ou__e why he__ always coming around? I know he__ hot stuff in Chicago, but he always seems so stiff when he comes here,_ another added from the sink. __oney, you want them stiff,_ a third said_

We don__ have to tell secrets. We don__ have to talk at all. We could just, you know, kiss . . . and stuff.

Hey there,_ she said, her blue eyes shimmering.Collin swallowed hard, and took her in his arms, cradling her head against his chest. __ey, yourself,_ he murmured into her hair, and kissed her head. He held her there for as long as he could without it becoming awkward, then gripped her shoulders and stepped back.

When he grasped her hand, he felt the calluses on her palm. He was thinking about how tough she was, and then she smiled. It was tentative and brief but it touched his heart, and then she was gone. He watched while she disappeared over the hill and then took the box into the kitchen, refilled his coffee and opened the lid. 36%

Maybe you should get a very large life insurance policy on the next husband,_ Lily suggested slurping her coffee loudly. __ou know, before he makes an ash of himself.___ery funny, but don__ think I haven__ thought of it. It__ an unpredictable way to score more rental properties, but I do seem to be good at burying men.

Right on time, sugar._ Josh draped his arm around her shoulders and steered her through the lobby. __raffic okay?_ __eah, except when that alien spaceship landed on I-90 and then all those crickets jumped out to perform Beethoven__ Fifth on kazoos. Otherwise, clear sailing.

Mom used to tell me not to worry when people didn't get me. People throw rocks at things that shine - from the mixed up files of Tilly Adam's journal