Mid Life Love (Mid Life Love #1)(74)

“I bought everything in that box just for you,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I’d planned on bringing you here after our first date at Michel Mina’s, but I believe you stood me up.”

“You’re still not over that?”

“I’m getting there. You can go change in the bedroom. Would you like a sandwich?”

“Yes...Thank you.” I walked over to the bedroom and closed the door.

This is beautiful...

The room was set up like a dream suite: The satin canopy that hung from the ceiling was swaying back and forth in the wind. The elegant bed was covered in a sea blue duvet that complemented all the white furniture.

I ran my hands across the sheets and knew that their thread count was in the thousands. I drew the drapes completely open and gasped at the breathtaking view; I could see the ocean waves lapping up over the shore, the seagulls circling around the dock above.

Sighing, I pulled the drapes closed and peeled out of my wet clothes. I bent over to pick up the stack of towels and froze—Jonathan had walked into the room.

He wasn’t wearing anything but a towel around his waist, and I was pretty sure he couldn’t see me from where he was standing.

He stepped further into the room. “I forgot to ask what type of sandwich you—” His eyes met mine.

He didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t look like he even remembered that he was talking. He was standing there staring at my naked body, making me blush red all over.

He walked over and picked up my towels. “Face the window.”

I froze. I couldn’t function—couldn’t even breathe, when he looked at me like that.

He kissed my lips and smiled. He pulled my hair on top of my head and tucked it into a towel, planting light kisses all over my face. He took another towel and slowly brushed it over my shoulders, my br**sts, and my stomach. “So beautiful...”

I gasped as he bent down in front of me and rubbed it between my legs, as he kissed the inside of my thighs and groaned.

He stood back up and looked into my eyes, sighing. “What type of sandwich do you want?”

“Turkey...”

“With cheese?”

I nodded.

“Don’t take too long getting dressed.” He kissed my forehead and left the room.

I collapsed onto the bed and shook my head in disbelief. I knew I’d be in serious trouble if I didn’t walk away from him right now. If I left this room and didn’t ask him to take me home right away, I wouldn’t be able to rein in my feelings for another minute.

He was getting to me and I couldn’t deny it anymore. I thought about him all the time. My heart did flips whenever I saw him at work, and I looked forward to hearing his sexy voice over the phone at night.

This is not how this was supposed to go...

I sat up and reached for the clothes he’d bought me. I slipped into them and smiled once I saw that they fit me perfectly. I kicked on the flip flops and headed back out into the kitchen, rehearsing a short speech in my head:

Jonathan...I need you to take me home. We can talk about why on the way, but I don’t think—

He looked up and smiled once I stepped into the room, making me lose my train of thought.

Screw it...I’ll just take the trouble...

He handed me a plate and walked me outside, to a small wooden swing that was standing on the porch. He waited for me to sit down first and placed his arm around my shoulder.

Our special silence slowly crept in on us and we ate our food without saying a word. We simply looked out at the ocean, at the calm waves that were frothing and foaming against the coast.

As soon as I set my empty plate on the ground, he pulled me into his lap and held me close.

I lay back in his arms and smiled as he kissed me—repeatedly.

Chapter 16

Claire

I tossed and turned in my bed, wishing I could somehow will myself to sleep, but it wasn’t working. All I could think about was him—him touching me, him kissing me, him getting to me.

After he dropped me off at home yesterday, I promised myself that I would spend my Sunday alone so I could further analyze the situation between him and me. I needed to write down my expectations, best and worst case scenarios, and weigh all the pros and cons of whatever the hell this was.

I even told Sandra and Helen to come over so we could discuss it over chilled wine and cheese—so they could distract me from calling or texting him.

All of a sudden, my “get ready to run” alarm started ringing. I knocked my phone off the nightstand to get it to shut up. There was no way I was running this morning.

My phone hit the floor with a thud, but the alarm kept blaring on and on.

“Ugh!” I rolled off the bed and onto the floor, feeling around for it in the dark.

Once I finally had it in my hand, I looked to hit “dismiss” but I saw that it was a phone call. It was Jonathan.

“Hello?” I answered.

“What are you doing?”

“At five in the morning?” I groaned. “Take an easy guess.”

“Are you on your way outside to let me take you away for the day?”

“What! No. I’m going back to bed. I went out with you yesterday. We don’t need to—”

“Can I please take you out for the day?”

“No. You should’ve mentioned this earlier. I have—”