Authors: Kelli Evans
One Lucky Deal (31 page)
She still needed more. Obviously, she was greedy. This was everything she’d ever wanted and she still needed more from him? She felt horrible for asking so instead she remained quiet. She waited and hoped that he would just give her what she needed. He was usually so very good about that.
“You know, after Ricky died you would have thought that something like that would make you appreciate life. Not to take anything for granted because it’s so short and so unsure, but all it did was make me afraid to make any real connections. I couldn’t stop you from getting in. I took a look around our house the other day and wondered why you’d stay. It was a mess, a dump, so I decided to make some changes.”
That tugged hard on her heart. She fought at the stinging behind her eyes. “God, you’re dense.”
They both laughed softly at that until Tad’s eyes sobered and caught her gaze. She stood there not breathing, waiting for everything to stop shifting between them. Candace reached up and touched his face. Tad leaned into her and kissed her palm.
Damn it.
She might cry after all. “For you. I stay there for you.”
“So are you going to take this, then?” Tad held up the box that the key chain was placed in. It was really beautiful—silver with a few diamonds in it and three charms. A sand castle. A star. A dog that looked strikingly similar to Sara.
Candace smiled through the sudden tears in her vision. “If you tell me why.”
“You’re really going to make me say it?” Tad’s lip quirked up into that sexy knee-knocking grin.
“I’m going to make you wear it out.”
“Okay, warden,” he joked.
“That’s okay. If you do, I promise to wear out ‘Oh Tad, oh Tad, oh.’”
His smile spread. “You already do that.”
“Oh.” Candace tried to bite back her grin as well but thinking about panting his name like that had her feeling hot already and the romantic nature of their conversation had her feeling just a little more flustered than normal.
Tad went serious on her again as he cupped her face. “I wish you would have told me, though, before the whole town.”
“That wasn’t me. You can thank my sisters for that, but hey, at least I told you.”
Tad walked her back until she came up against the seat of the truck. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?” He tugged her up against his chest.
“I need to hear it, Tad. I just want to know where I stand with you.” She wound her arms around his neck. “Please.”
“Well, in that case,” he murmured against her lips. “I like you—”
“You like me?” Candace pulled back a little.
“Will you just let me do this?” Tad let out a deep, exasperated sigh, but there was a grin on his lips.
“Okay.” Candace nodded and allowed him to pull her back in close like before.
“I like living with you. I like laughing with you and watching the game with you. I love playing poker with you. I know your poker face—I know all your faces,” he said softly.
Candace’s heart was holding in her chest. This was turning out to be way better than she had anticipated. If he would only just say the three words she was dying to hear.
“I don’t want you to pick up women for me anymore. I’d die if we had to go back to that.”
Candace swallowed hard and wanted to tell him how she felt again but held out for what he had to say. It was so much more important.
“I want you—all the time, even if I’m only away from you for an hour. I miss you.”
She couldn’t take it anymore; her eyes were so full of tears she could barely see him. “Tad,” she whispered her plea to him. “Please.”
Tad let out a sigh that sounded a little like a tight laugh and he spoke again. “I like everything about you, hell, even those dogs … even Sara, but don’t tell her that.”
Candace laughed even as a tear leaked out and streaked down her face.
“God,” Tad whispered against her mouth. “I love your body. I love your spirit. I love you.” It was more perfect than she could have dreamed. This “I love you” she not only heard, but she felt it and she tasted it. It resonated inside of her, down deep, clear down to her soul.
Another tear leaked out. She sighed and closed her eyes. “I love you too,” she said against his lips with a faint catch snagging in her voice.
Tad made a desperate hungry sound in the back of his throat and took her mouth captive. The kiss, although it was possessive, , and mind-numbing, didn’t get very far before they were being interrupted.
“Did you get him to say it?” Reed called from the open door of the garage.
Oh yeah, she did. Candace just laughed and looked up at Tad. She found him staring down at her with such heat and … tenderness that it stole her breath away. God, she loved this man.
“Get in,” Tad ordered.
“What?” Before she could do anything, Tad was hoisting her up into his truck and tossing her onto the seat. “We can’t go home right now,” Candace exclaimed as she righted herself in the seat. “I thought you were working. What about my car?”
Tad shot her a look that set her on fire as he started up the engine. Hers was rumbling to life too. “We’ll come back for your car, and don’t you remember the deal? No more weekends for me.”
A smile spread joyously over Candace’s face. “Oh yes, the deal.” She made a show of waving to Reed on the way out. She even grabbed Tad’s hand, laced her fingers through his, and held it up for old time’s sake.
“We got pretty lucky with that one.” Tad squeezed her hand and inadvertently her heart squeezed too.
“Get me home and I’ll show you just how lucky,” Candace promised playfully.
Tad glanced over at her with those sexy gray-green eyes, and with one look liquefied her insides, turned her to mush, knocked her knees. “Keep talking like that and we won’t be making it home.”
Candace laughed even as her whole body quivered with readiness for Tad. “You’re such a slut,” Candace teased.
Tad reached over and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Only for you.”
The End
About Kelli Evans
Kelli Evans is a bright new voice in the contemporary romance world. She sets most of her books in Michigan where she lives with her husband Ed along with their cat and their pony-sized dog. When Kelli’s not writing she can be found spending time with her sitcomesque family, boating, fishing, crafting, or enjoying her first love—a good book.
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