by Kait Nolan
She could see her grandmother’s familiar sapphire ring nestled in the velvet.
“Please, take it,” said Everett.
She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. But what would he expect in return? “What do you get out of this?” she asked instead.
“The satisfaction of knowing an heirloom went back to the family it came from.”
“You’re trying to convince me that you’re not nuts, but you’re failing miserably. Everett, people don’t go around spending thousands on a whim to give something back to a complete stranger. Not with no strings attached. Nobody is that selfless.”
“You should talk to my friend Brandon. He’s always on me about doing stuff like this. Figures I did enough when I started New Day. But what the hell good is an inheritance if you can’t spend it to make people’s lives better?”
Sylvie stared at him. He’d started New Day? It was his company? She’d thought he was Neal’s opposite, but she had no way of knowing how right she’d been. Neal had been a selfish con man, pretending to be rich to take advantage of the unsuspecting. And here was Everett, apparently legitimately wealthy, trying to use that wealth for the benefit of others.
When Everett took a step to close the distance between them, Sylvie held her ground.
“You don’t owe me a date or dinner or even a chance to ever see you again, if you don’t want.” He lifted her hand, curled her fingers around the box. “This belongs to you.” He stepped away and put his hands behind his back, as if to keep her from handing the ring over again. “It’s paid for, free and clear. You can check with Mr. Vandevelde yourself, if you want.”
“I believe you,” she murmured. The stones glittered in the faint wash of light from El Charro. Sylvie ran a light finger over them, feeling the comforting contours. Her grandmother’s ring, back in her hand. Because of the extraordinary kindness of a stranger. Throat tight with emotion, she looked up at Everett. “Can you possibly be for real?”
He reached over and pinched his wrist. “Ow. See, flesh and blood. Seriously, my only motive was to do something spontaneous and nice for someone at Christmas. I didn’t—don’t expect anything in return. You don’t have to finish dinner, even. If you want to go on home, I absolutely understand.”
He meant it. Sylvie could see it in his face.
What a guy, she thought again.
Saying nothing, she reached up and unclasped the chain around her neck, sliding the ring back on. Feeling the faint weight of it settle against her chest, something inside her eased and opened. With a sigh, she stepped toward Everett and laid a hand against his cheek. “You can’t know what this means to me.”
~*~
But Everett did know. He could see it in her eyes, feel it in the careful way she cupped his cheek. And he was pretty sure that no matter how many people he helped, in how many ways, nothing else was ever going to feel quite like this, mean quite this much to him personally.
“Glad I could help,” he said, his voice a trifle ragged at the edges.
“Thank you,” said Sylvie. She eased in closer, rose to her toes.
Everett froze. “You don’t have to—”
“I know,” she said and laid her lips over his.
Just a light, sweet pressure, but his heart leapt into his throat. His hands fisted to keep from reaching for her, and it took everything he had to hold himself still, accepting what she offered without giving any pressure in return. Her body swayed closer, the warmth of her thighs, belly, chest brushing up against his, cooking what remained of his brain cells, making him want to touch. Everett fought back a groan. He was pretty sure this might kill him, but he’d be damned if he’d do anything to make her feel threatened or used.
Sylvie eased back, just a fraction, hand still curved against his cheek.
Everett swallowed hard, eyes still closed. “You’re welcome,” he managed.
“Everett?” she said softly.
“Yeah?” He should really open his eyes now, but he didn’t want to lose the remembered sensation of her mouth on his.
“You could kiss me back. I wouldn’t mind.”
His eyes popped open at that to find her mouth curved in that half smile again. God, if she had any idea what that smile did to him.
Sylvie’s hand slid from his face to twine in the hair at his nape. Everett framed her face, loving the smooth feel of her skin against his palms as he lowered his lips to hers, tasted her smile. She sighed and softened against him, a surrender that had him angling his head, diving just a little bit deeper to torture them both. Her arms wrapped around him, but he kept his hands at her face, where they were safe and in control. He stroked the edge of her cheekbones with his thumbs and enjoyed one last taste before edging back.
“Wow,” he said again.
“I own an art gallery,” blurted Sylvie.
Everett blinked at her. “Sorry?”
“I’ve been letting you do all the talking. Before this little diversion, we were working on that get to know each other portion of the night. I figured maybe it was time for some quid pro quo.” Her smiled turned suddenly shy. “That is, if you’d still like to see me.”
Everett smiled and dropped his brow to hers. “I would. I really really would.”
“Do you suppose they’ve already cleared our table?”
“If they have, we can start over,” he said. “No agenda, no weirdness.”
“I’d like that,” she said.
Tucking Sylvie’s hand in his, Everett opened the door to El Charro and led them both to a new beginning.
A Note From The Author
Thank you for trying a Meet Cute Romance! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you don’t miss out on new releases! You can get a free copy of Be Careful, It’s My Heart! http://kaitnolan.com/free-copy-be-careful-its-my-heart/
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Find out more about me at my website http://kaitnolan.com
Other Books By Kait Nolan
Contemporary Romance
Wishful Series
Once Upon A Coffee (Avery and Dillon): Available for FREE!
To Get Me To You (Cam and Norah): Available for FREE!
Be Careful, It’s My Heart (Brody and Tyler)
Know Me Well (Liam and Riley)
Once Upon A Setup (A Meet Cute Romance with Piper and Myles!)
Just For This Moment (Myles and Piper)
Wish I Might (Reed and Cecily)
Turn My World Around (Tucker and Corinne)
Wishing For a Hero Series (A Wishful Spinoff Series)
If I Didn’t Care (Judd and Autumn)
Meet Cute Romance
Once Upon A Snow Day
Once Upon A New Year’s Eve
Once Upon An Heirloom
Once Upon A Coffee: Available for FREE!
Once Upon A Setup
Meet Cute Romance: Volume 1 (Meet Cutes 1-5)
Paranormal Romance
Mirus Series:
Genesis (an omnibus including, Forsaken By Shadow (Mirus 1.1), Devil’s Eye (Mirus 1.2), and Blindsight )
Riven
Whisper of Shadow(Also available in the Magical Mayhem anthology)
YA:
Red
Whisper of Shadow
Wishful, Mississippi. From the post Civil War fountain on the town green, to the gossip served along with grits and coffee at Dinner Belles Diner, it will always be Campbell Crawford’s hometown–preferably just as it is. The way he sees it, the corporate big-box store that wants to unpack on the outskirts threatens everything he holds dear, but the town’s economy demands some kind of change. He’s not sure city girl Norah Burke can possibly understand Wishful enough help him turn things around–no matter how much his dog loves her. Norah falls for the charms of the town as hard as she falls for the charms of the man, and she’s determined to help.
But even if they can get the votes to send the suits packing and get the town on its feet again, can she really give up her corner office and power lunches for the corner booth at the local diner? What’s a nice executive like her going to do in a place like this?
Excerpt To Get Me To You
“Let’s step outside for some air,” he said. There were things he wanted—needed—to give voice to, and the middle of a crowded dance floor wasn’t the place.
She nodded once and let him guide her by way of a hand at the small of her back toward the back door. By grace of the frigid temperatures, the porch designated for outdoor dining and smoking was empty. Norah went straight to the railing and leaned against it, lifting her face to the sky. Cam resisted the urge to move in behind her, boxing her in, and instead leaned beside her, his arm brushing hers.
“I miss simple.” She sighed and tipped her head against his arm. “I miss you.”
He hadn’t expected the admission and credited lowered inhibitions due to the Three Furies. “You don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere. And neither have you, not yet.”
“But I will. Not tomorrow. Probably not next week. I don’t know when I’m leaving. But I have to start taking control of my life again. If that conversation with my father did anything, it lit a fire under me to finally start facing the long job search. I can’t keep putting it off.”
He was losing her, back to the life she’d come here to escape. Because he was perilously close to begging, Cam kept his mouth shut, fisting both hands around the railing until the wrought iron began to creak.
She mistook the reason for his silence. “I promise you, I won’t go until Wishful is safe. And I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
He believed her. And cursed himself for wishing more danger on his town, just so she’d stay.
If he said nothing now, if he let her walk away, he’d regret it for the rest of his life.
Cam turned her to face him. “Isn’t it worth grabbing whatever happiness we can, while we can?” He could feel the pull between them, always the pull.
Her yearning to give into it was written clearly on her face. But mixed with it was equal parts sadness and resignation. “It isn’t about happiness.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because there are bigger things at stake.”
“I get that you’ve got this mission, this purpose. I support that. Hell, I asked you to take it on. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take something for yourself. Even Wonder Woman had Steve Trevor.”
“You’re no Steve Trevor.”
Before Cam could process the insult of that, she was reaching up, cupping his jaw. “Steve Trevor didn’t recognize what was right in front of him. You actually see me.”
What Cam saw was a brilliant, beautiful woman with an inexplicably fast hold on his heart and a mule-headed resistance to taking it. He might’ve said any number of things to try to persuade her, or he might’ve just given in and kissed her, as he’d wanted to do pretty much since the moment he’d stopped. But Fate, cruel bitch that she was, had other plans in the form of his meddling cousin, who came barreling out the door like an overgrown golden retriever.
Mitch drew up short, his mouth dropping open as he took in their embrace in a glance. “I…uh…just came to say the food’s ready. And Miranda’s here.”
“Great. I’m starved,” said Norah. She tapped Cam’s cheek gently. “Thanks for the dance, Leonidas.” She stepped away from him with the grace that completely eluded her on the dance floor and made her way to the door with the careful deliberation of the inebriated.
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