Page 19 of Apple of My Eye
“Knox—” I breathed.
He stepped in fully then, his hand sliding from my wrist to my jaw, until his fingers tipped my chin up just enough that I had no choice but to meet his gaze.
“But I’ll take that kiss to start,” he murmured.
His lips slanted to mine, brushing there, warm and deliberately lingering. For a heartbeat, I didn’t move. I scrambled, reaching for all the reasons I’d built to keep him at arm’s length—the orchard, my sisters, the weight of everything I carried from the past—but they slipped through my fingers as if they’d never been solid enough to begin with.
His lips took mine, too close to real between us, too safe in a way that was almost reckless.
I leaned in for more, losing myself. His hand tightened on my jaw, the other pulling me closer while our kiss deepened, tongues exploring.
My fingers curled into his shirt, grounding myself in the flannel fabric as something inside me gave a little more. The careful control I held onto every day loosened, inch by inch, under the weight of his mouth on mine. He kissed exactly as a man who’d been waiting for this moment and wasn’t about to waste it.
“Daisy…”
My name groaned from his lips on mine that rocketed heatthrough me, and made it harder to remember why this was a bad idea.
What if maybe, this once—I let myself have this. I kissed him back, melting into him and the solid warmth of his body and the way his hands held me in place as though I was something he intended to keep. I moaned and lifted my leg on his thigh, desiring more than ever to feel alive and wanted by a man again, a man who I could trust with my whole heart and soul.
“Daisy?” Ivy called, and cut through the moment from outside the stable, sharp enough to snap reality back into place.
We broke apart too quickly; the space between us returned all at once.
“There you are,” she said, stepping into the doorway, her gaze flicking between us just long enough to make heat crawl up my neck. “We’re ready to go when you are.”
I cleared my throat, putting just enough distance between Knox and me to pretend nothing had happened.
“Yep. Ready,” I said, brushing a hand down my shirt like that might smooth out the evidence of my mind and body reeling.
“I’ll text you that name and number for the produce manager,” Knox called behind me as we left.
In the car, Ivy glanced at me, one brow lifting slightly. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything between you and Knox?”
“Nope. Just talking,” I clipped.
She hummed like she didn’t believe me for a second. “You wouldn’t tell me if I did, I’m guessing?”
“Exactly.”
“Wait, what’s this? What’d I miss?” Sage demanded to know, with Poppy all ears, too.
“Nothing,” both Ivy and I said in unison.
I turned my head toward the window, pressing my fingertips to my lips where the ghost of Knox’s lips remained. He wanted to kiss and find out… I couldn’t believe how easily I’d tumbled into his plan.
Chapter 6
Forest Grove Gossip Gal
Fourth Edition
Forest Grove GossipGal
Your anonymous source for everything happening in Silver County.
Rodeo Nights & Almost-Moments?
Posted: October 5, Forest Grove, MT
