life opened, stroked. This gentler, sweeter emotion that shimmered from
him was no calmer than that first whip of greed; it only gilded the
edges of the yearning he'd stirred.
She could smell him, heat and man. She could smell her daughter, powder
and child. Her arms circled them both, instinctively making them a unit,
holding there when the kiss ended and she could press her face into his
shoulder.
He'd never kissed her in front of anyone. She knew Cam had only been a
few feet away when Ethan had taken hold of her. And Seth would have
seena and Anna.
What did it mean?
"Kiss me!" Aubrey demanded, patting her hand against Ethan's cheek and
puckering up.
He obliged her, then nuzzled at her neck where it would tickle and make
her laugh. Then he turned his head and brushed his lips over Grace's
hair. "I didn't mean to grab you that way."
"I was hoping you did," she murmured. "It made me feel you've been
thinking about me. Wanting me."
"I've been thinking about you, Grace. I've been wanting you."
Because Aubrey was wiggling, he set her down and let her run off toward
Seth and the dogs. "I meant I didn't mean to be rough with you."
"You weren't. I'm not fragile, Ethan."
"Yes, you are." When he saw Aubrey fall on Foolish so they could wrestle
in the grass, he looked back at Grace, into her eyes. "Delicate," he
said softly, "like the white china with pink roses we only use on
Thanksgiving."
It made her heart flutter pleasantly that he would think so, even if she
knew better. "Ethan--"
"I was always afraid I'd pick it up wrong, break it in half from being
clumsy. I never really got used to it."
He skimmed his thumb lightly across her cheekbone, where the skin was
warm and soft and silky. Then he dropped his hand to his side. "We'd
better pitch in before Anna drives Cam over the edge."
grace's stomach continued to flutter with nervous delight even when she
went about the chore of carting food from the kitchen out to the picnic
table. She would catch herself stopping, a bowl or platter in hand, to
watch Ethan drive the horseshoe stakes into the ground.
Look how his muscles ripple under his shirt. He's so strong. Look at the
way he shows Seth how to hold the hammer. He's so patient. He's wearing
the jeans I washed just the other day. The cuffs have gone white and
they're starting to fray. There was sixty-three cents in the right front
pocket.
See how Aubrey climbs up on his back. She knows she'll be welcome. Yes,
he reaches back, gives her a little hitch to secure her there, then goes
back to work. He doesn't mind when she steals his cap and tries to put
it on her own head. His hair's gotten long, and the ends glint in the
sun when he shakes it back out of his eyes.
I hope he keeps forgetting to go to the barber for a while yet.
I wish I could touch it, right now. Make those thick, sun-bleached ends
curl around my finger.