He set his cup of coffee down before he dropped it. She wore yoga pants that fit like a second skin. Her toes peeked out from below, with pink sparkly polish finishing her off. As his eyes roamed back to her face he found her hungry gaze on him. She held a towel to her hair but had stopped attempting to dry it as she took a moment to look him over.
One step and he had her up against the wall and his lips on hers. It’s just a morning kiss. A good-morning-where-have-you-been-all-my-life kiss. She tasted like mint and smelled like spring. His body raged with the need to put more than his tongue in her, but he pushed those thoughts aside and just kissed her.
Just kissing with his hands on her br**sts and over the curve of her ass. Her hand fisted in his hair and pulled him tighter and when her hips pushed into his he came up for air.
“This abstinence thing is really hard,” she said.
“It’s just a morning kiss.” He returned his lips to hers to prove it, and he would completely ignore the hard parts of him seeking the warm soft parts of her. Just kissing.
She was the one to pull away the second time. “Morning tonsil hockey is more than a morning kiss, Barefoot.”
“Want me to stop?”
She shook her head and he dipped down for further exploration of her clean teeth and tasty lips.
Minutes later, pulling away was one of the hardest thing he’d ever done in his adult life.
Her laughing eyes sparkled when they looked at him. “Two adults really should have more control,” he scolded the both of them.
“You’d think.”
He reached down and picked up the towel she’d dropped on the floor and handed it back. “I think I’ll take a shower.” Because if he stayed there, he’d have Monica horizontal and naked… or vertical and naked.
He groaned and adjusted his pants to accommodate his need.
Monica chuckled as he walked away.
Monica dropped Trent off at Joe’s to pick up his rental car. The yellow Jeep made her laugh. “Not leaving anything to chance,” Trent had said.
With a list of errands to run and a physical therapy session to occupy her day, Monica knew she’d have plenty to keep her mind busy for the few hours she’d have by herself.
Trent had kissed her again as she dropped him off.
“I’ll pick you up at six,” he told her between kisses.
“You will?”
“For dinner. Wear something nice.”
She huffed out a breath, pretending disgust. “What, you don’t like my workout clothes?”
He ran a hand down her back and cupped her butt in his palm. The sparks his touch created were better than any Fourth of July.
“These clothes make my mouth water.”
She kissed him, tasted the water he spoke of.
“Are you asking me out on a date, Barefoot?” she managed once she came up for air.
“Do I need to ask?”
She thought about that. Releasing some of the control in her relationships had always been hard. With Trent, it felt right. Even if it was just asking if she wanted to go out. She knew she wanted to spend time with him. He knew it, too. “You don’t need to ask.”
“Good.” He managed one more quick kiss and opened the door of her car.
Physical therapy wasn’t as daunting as it had been two days before. The therapist thought they’d have her walking fast on a treadmill before her follow-up appointment with the orthopedic. She was one step closer to her morning runs, and one step closer to being released from disability and able to return to work. It was one thing to not be able to work and not have a job, it was quite another to be physically able to work, and be told you couldn’t.
Monica shoved those thoughts aside while she prepared for lunch with Katie and Jessie. They hadn’t brought the kids over when they’d all but ambushed her for an intense “girl talk” session. But that was yesterday afternoon, before Trent had found her… before he spent the night and didn’t sleep with her. Well, didn’t make love to her. She was thinking about their no-sex deal as she walked into the restaurant where she was meeting her family for lunch.
The Morrison Family Inn was the brainchild of Jack. It wasn’t the luxury hotel that the Morrison chain promoted itself as, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t posh in many ways. The family-friendly and family-affordable accommodations were evident in every foot of the establishment. All the rooms were at least one-bedroom suites. There were rooms pre-equipped with cribs and Murphy beds, hide-a-beds in the sofas, everything a family could need. The grounds were a child’s paradise. Even the restaurant Monica was walking into had families on the mind when it was laid out. The round tables left room for toddlers to move around without bumping into others. The lower ceilings helped muffle the noise of the room and instead of every television in the room hosting the local sports team, half of them were dedicated to kids’ television. Although the restaurant was part of the hotel, it had become an instant hit with the suburban community of Ontario.
For Monica, it was always a pleasure to eat with her family. Danny always had a smile when he was with them. Which might have less to do with the fact that mac and cheese was on the menu, and more to do with the fact that Jack had named the restaurant “Danny’s.”
Monica noticed Jessie waving at her from one of the booths across the restaurant and made her way to their table. Danny jumped up from his seat and ran to her with a hug. She missed her nephew and knew that one day those hugs and kisses would become gross and out of the question, so she made the most of them now and kissed his cheeks until he pushed her away, laughing. “Hey, cowboy.” She tilted the cowboy hat he wore down on his head a little farther. Ever since Gaylord had bought the hat for her nephew, he hadn’t taken it off. “How is your restaurant running?”
“It’s not really mine, Auntie Monica. It’s just named after me.”
She didn’t want to correct him. He’d own that restaurant and more when he grew up.
“Hey,” she said as she approached the table.
“Someone looks happier today,” Katie said.
“That’s because I get to see the kids.” She leaned down and dribbled kisses over Savannah’s cheeks. “Look who grew a foot.”
Savannah was nearing her second birthday and stringing enough words together to actually understand her.
Monica settled next to Jessie made a fuss out of looking at the pictures Savannah and Danny were creating. Savannah was great training for Danny. Monica had commissioned a custom T-shirt with Brother in Training written over the front. He’d loved it.