Chapter Eight
ROWAN
We ordered pizza, and the only downside was it was going to be a whole hour before it’d be here because there was a snowstorm and they were backed up. A big snowstorm was money time for the pizza delivery business.
After I ordered, I was in the kitchen where Mae had sent me to get a glass of water when she went to the bathroom. I had just set my phone on the counter when she stopped in the archway.
“Well?”
“Well, what?”
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. She was too fucking cute. I’d fallen for Mae in college for lots of reasons, and everything about her now felt as if it was in sharper focus.
“Did you order the pizza, or were they closed?”
“Of course, they're not closed. As far as I can tell, nothing closes here when it snows. You should know. You're the one who grew up in Alaska.”
Mae let out a throaty laugh, and lust sizzled like lightning through my body.
She took a few more steps into the kitchen, resting her hips against the counter and curling her hands on the edge beside her hips.
“That’s true. Nothing does close around here, but I’ve been away long enough I forgot.
What are winters like in the mountains in North Carolina? ”
“We get snow and ice. But it doesn't get as cold as here. You lived through some winters in North Carolina.”
“Not in the mountains,” Mae countered. “Chapel Hill isn't exactly cold.”
I grinned as I crossed over to her. “No, it's not.” Stopping in front of her, I lifted a hand and caught a lock of hair dangling on her cheek. I let it slide, soft and silky, through my fingers.
The little hitch in her breath sent another sizzle through my body. I decided this time I would ask because I needed to know. I wasn't just being impulsive.
“I'd like to kiss you.” Her breath caught in her throat again before she swallowed. “What do you think about that?”
Mae’s ginger eyes blinked. “About you kissing me?” she returned in a husky whisper.
“Yes.”
When she took a breath this time, her breasts brushed against my chest. “Okay.”
I started to lean forward, and then she placed her palm over my chest. My heart lunged, thudding against the heat of her touch.