My Missing Puzzle Piece (Creekside Falls #1) (9 page)

He lifted one hand to tilt her head to make the kiss deeper as she opened her lips for him. Their tongues met and danced like they were matched up perfectly. The kiss seemed to go on forever but neither one of them minded. Maybe it was just because they were half asleep….But it felt so right.

Trevor wasn’t sure exactly how they ended up kissing but he wasn’t about to stop. He loved the way she felt against him and how her soft lips felt against his. Her tongue was like velvet; so soft as it played with his. She still tasted like macaroni and cheese. Her kisses weren’t urgent they were gentle but still assertive. He could tell she wasn’t completely sure of herself and he would gladly take what she was giving. He loved it, he knew that for sure.

They both pulled back from each other at the same time gasping for air under slightly heavy eyelids, but
seemed to still be clinging to each other. Within seconds they were back at it. This kiss was the same at first but shorter and he started to gently place kisses on her lips as he pulled away, hating to stop but knowing he should. “Wow!” that was all Trevor was able to manage. He never had a better kiss in his life.

“Yeah, you got that right! I could get used to this.” Elle said breathless as her fingers briefly touched her lips.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen but I’m not sorry it did.” Trevor said as he looked into Elle’s eyes.

“I didn’t either and neither am I. We were pretty good at that.” Elle said hoping she wasn’t the only one who thought so.

“That’s an understatement!”

Trevor pulled her close for another quick kiss but ended up nipping at her mouth on the corners first then finally gave her one last kiss on her lips that she ever so willingly accepted.

He added with a wink and a smile. “I probably should get going now thanks for tonight.” Then reached for the door.

She walked him out the door and stood on her porch as he made his way to his truck. She said, “This was fun,” right before he got in his truck. As Trevor pulled out of her driveway Elle wasn’t sure what the heck had just happened but was so happy it did -- the whole night in fact. It was a really good night that felt like a dream. She was definitely going to have to thank Taylor for this one.

On Trevor’s drive home he wasn’t sure when the night took a turn to go his way, he thought it was when Elle
walked in the door at McDucker’s but maybe it was when both of their friends had to leave early. He was sure of one thing even more so than before, she was one hell of a woman and he really liked her. He also realized he had it bad and was almost definitely in over his head.

Elle was getting ready for bed when she got Trevor’s text saying he made it home safely he added in, “goodnight, sleep well. Can’t wait to see you again.” It made the smile plastered on her face even wider if that was possible. She realized just how much she liked him and liked being with him, what a weird, amazing turn of events.

he following Thursday morning, Trevor woke up later then he planned but still had time for his usual jog, just a shorter version, in the park with Bruiser. He grabbed a breakfast shake before he left and couldn’t help but think about Elle. He hadn’t seen her in a week and he felt like he was going crazy not being able to see her. He was happy it was Thursday and that all his appointments today were on the lighter side and later in the day, because he had to admit he was tired. But tomorrow he didn’t have any appointments so he had taken the day off. His guys could handle the weekend projects without him, they could always call if they had any problems or needed him. He fed Bruiser while he finished his shake, then they were off.

Elle got up that morning and had her usual breakfast of Greek yogurt and fruit. She was getting ready to run on her treadmill but it was so nice out she decided to run in the park. She didn’t usually run outside it made her feel
self-conscious, walking outside was more her thing. But she couldn’t waste the good mood she was in or the nice weather. She was really feeling good about things today.

Elle hadn’t seen Trevor, since the night at the bar. Friday she had meetings all day and this week she’d been busy going over notes and making plans on how to find the saboteur, keep his clients and prevent this from getting out or from happening again. She also had to work for her other clients and find time in there somewhere to exercise or she’d combust from all the stress. They had emailed about work and he did text her quite a few times with cute messages like, “I had fun the other night”, “miss you”, “want to see you again soon” and “want to get together again outside of work”. She was glad it was Thursday and her dinner night with Taylor, she needed to talk to her girlfriend about everything that happened after she left McDuckers last week. She was dying to see Trevor again; he made her feel happy and gave her butterflies in her stomach.

Trevor was running with Bruiser at his side like always, he was on the last few miles of his usual run. When he thought he saw someone who looked like Elle but figured it couldn’t be her and kept on going.

He was hoping to see Elle this week, it had been a super busy week and too long. It was driving him crazy not seeing her. He knew he would have to do something about it.

Elle tried to run two and a half to three miles most days, but didn’t always get around to it, especially on the weekends. Somehow today she felt like she could go
longer, which never happened when she was running outside. She was still running when she saw a man running on the other side of the park with an adorable dog. The guy looked like Trevor but she assumed he’d already be at work by now so it couldn’t be him and kept going.

Trevor was finishing up his run when he saw the woman who looked like Elle up ahead, stretching near the benches. This time when he saw her, he swore it was her so he had to go see for sure. He walked up to the empty bench a safe distance away, he didn’t want to look like a stalker, and did some cool down stretches as well. He looked over to check her out, ‘good-body’ he thought, he caught a glimpse of the side of her face and he’d be damned, it was her. How they timed it so perfectly he didn’t know but he’d take it. As he walked over his eyes grazed her body and he thought how cute she looked in her Capri workout pants and tank top, that look never really did anything for him before but somehow this time it made him suck in a deep breath, he couldn’t pull his gaze away and stop looking.

Elle looked up and saw Trevor standing close with a look on his face that was hard to decipher. It must’ve been him before then. She used her hand as a visor to shield her eyes from the sun, “Hi. How are you? What a coincidence. I assumed you’d be at work by now. This has been such a crazy week.”

Trevor blinked and shook his head, “I know, I hate we kept missing each other, but this is a nice surprise. I wanted to come over but didn’t want to bother you when you were stretching before and I wasn’t totally sure it was you.”

“Thanks for that, I’ve been told I scare easily,” she said with an awkward laugh, hoping she didn’t give off how awkward she felt standing there sweaty with her workout clothes on, she started thinking she should’ve worn something sportier or even sexier. She looked down and noticed his cute dog wagging its tail and looking up at her. “Is that your dog? What’s its name?”

“Yeah, his name is Bruiser. He loves to come jogging with me in the park, it’s kind of our thing.” Trevor couldn’t help but notice her body language; no direct eye contact and constant movement showed she was uncomfortable. Man, he hoped to hell it wasn’t because of the kiss the other night, but what else could it be? He hated this awkwardness between them. He thought of one way to solve that problem. It was all in or nothing.

“Does Bruiser live up to his name or is that to throw people off? I didn’t even know you had a dog.” She said with a smile and quickly added, “I bet he helps you get women too, huh?” She said it but couldn’t believe those words had just come out her mouth. She wanted to rewind the morning and start over. They had come so far and she had probably just blown it by saying too much and saying the wrong thing. Why couldn’t she be cool and confident, like Taylor? She always knew the right things to say to men.

Trevor was laughing but suddenly stopped when the last part of her sentence registered with him. He said almost defensively, “I haven’t dated a woman because of my dog, but I’ll be honest I have had quite a few approach me because of him.” There was an edge to his voice when
he said that but he took a breath and tried to repair her damage by answering her original question, “He doesn’t live up to his name at all. He’s so gentle it can be embarrassing but I didn’t know that when I named him, it sounded like a good name for a lab. Do you usually run here?”

She just laughed self-consciously at his answer about Bruiser and recognized his efforts to smooth over her ‘women’ comment. She was also grateful he didn’t say anything about her not knowing he had a dog. She could tell by his tone and the way he made eye contact he was telling her the truth about using his dog to pick up women. Elle looked up at him embarrassed, “I didn’t mean to offend you, and to be honest it just slipped out before I thought about it.”

He relaxed and shook his head, “It’s fine.”

She moved on quickly to change the subject and hopefully restore what she screwed up, “No usually I’m a treadmill runner but the weather was too nice to pass up today plus I had a few extra minutes than I thought before my first appointment so here I am.”

She remembered she had an appointment, glanced at her watch and said, “Speaking of time, I better get going. I’ll see you later Trevor,” she bent down to pet Bruiser and said, “nice to meet you Bruiser.”

God her laugh was amazing Trevor thought to himself, he definitely wanted to hear more of it and more often. He was still ticked off a little at what she said about him meeting women thanks to Bruiser. He didn’t want to imply he didn’t date but he didn’t date a lot and when
he did he didn’t need his dog to score women for him. He tended to be somewhat picky, something his friends always ragged on him about.

She started to walk away when Trevor reached out and touched her arm to stop her, “Speaking of dates. Would you want to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?”

She turned to look at him and said, “Really?”

He was a bit taken aback by her reaction he had no clue why she would be so surprised but he did see a sparkle in her eyes so he continued, “Yeah. You sound surprised.”

“No I’m not.” She let a minute pass before saying, “Okay maybe I am a little but sure I would like that.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised. I told you I like spending time with you, I want to get to know you better Elle. What time should I come get you?”

Elle said, “How about seven?” Then she got that feeling back again, one of excitement and desire.

“Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” He said with a smile he didn’t bother hiding.

“Okay perfect,” She said as she turned to walk away with a smile on her face too. This running outside thing turned out to be a better idea than she originally thought.

y the time Elle got back to her house and ready for the day she was rushing around. Her day seemed to fly by in a blur. She didn’t even realize the time until Taylor stopped by at seven that night with takeout and a bottle of their favorite white wine.