"What I mean is I love food in general. I'll eat just about anything at any time." He patted his stomach with his free hand. "Mom tells me it'll catch up with me someday."
She looked down at his lean form, and so many dangerous thoughts battled to be free, but she somehow managed to keep them in line. "I love anything with peanut butter."
"I make an awesome Thai peanut chicken with this fresh ground peanut butter I buy at a natural foods market in Henderson. I'll make it for you…"
His voice trailed off at the same moment the realization of his simple offer hit them both. Tessa raised her chin and looked him in the eyes, such blue eyes. They weren't any kind of special blue—not like she read in romance novels, the color of a sea during a storm or anything like that—but they were a perfect blue for him. A perfect blue to her.
"If you met me yesterday, just standing in line at that grocery store, what would you have done?" she asked, barely able to project her voice enough for him to hear.
Daniel shifted his studying gaze over her face, and she swore she could feel a whisper touch wherever he looked. Her cheeks, her forehead, her lips. She held her breath, waiting for his answer, watching it form behind his blue, blue eyes. He parted his lips but didn't speak yet, and she wanted to grab his shirt and shake him until he did.
"I would have probably been unable to say anything right away," he finally said, looking her in the eyes, that smooth smile forming dimples on his cheeks. "I'd have been too struck by how beautiful you are, but if I were lucky enough to find myself in line behind you, I probably would have tried to make a joke or strike up some lame conversation just to hear your voice. And then…" The smile grew, whimsical and warm. "I would have introduced myself somehow, and I would have walked you out, and tried to get up enough nerve to ask if I could see you again."
"Why would you have to work up the nerve?"
"Because it's hard to talk when your heart is pounding and your palms are sweating and you are almost positive you just walked into your future."
Her eyes burned and she had to blink to keep him in focus. He raised his hand and ran his thumb across her cheek, watching the path his touch took, and she closed her eyes, giving in to the momentary indulgence of turning into his touch.
"And as soon as possible, without scaring you as much as you terrify me, I would have kissed you," he said softly. She opened her eyes again, and he was closer, just close enough to make her dizzy. "And I would have kissed you again because I am positive, without any question, once I kissed you I wouldn't be able to stop."
