“A lot of people live very productive lives from a wheelchair, Amber,” he said logically.
“Well, it looks like I’m going to be one of them, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be doing it in the bakery. Haylee already doesn’t want me there. Imagine if I’m rolling around in a wheelchair. The office isn’t even big enough for a desk chair.”
“Then you do the office work at home.”
I tossed my arms up and huffed. “That’s exactly what she wants me to do!”
“Something tells me a lot is going on below the surface with the bakery that has nothing to do with your leg.”
“Let me guess, Brady told you,” I said sarcastically.
“Not in so many words. He just said that you were having a business meeting. I’m a relatively smart guy and figured out the rest all by myself.”
“I’m really tired,” I said, “tired of talking. Tired of being in pain. Tired of thinking. Just tired.”
He nodded and motioned at my leg. “Why don’t you put the brace back on and I’ll walk you home. Tomorrow is a new day. When the sun comes up, it might be easier to sort out what you’re going to do.”
I strapped the Velcro down and let my dress fall again before I stood. “I hope that’s true, but I sincerely doubt it. Thanks for listening, Bishop, and for the hug.”
“Anytime,” he promised, putting his arm around my waist and walking me to the stairs. “I’m always here to listen, even if I don’t have the answers.”
I eyed the stairs, and frustration mounted. “I don’t suppose you have an outside entrance to this basement.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t even think about it when I suggested we come down here.”
“You didn’t know how bad my leg was. I can go down, but going up is impossible now. The leg won’t hold me up long enough to step up with the other leg. Mind if I go up on my butt?”
“I don’t mind at all,” he said with a smile, waiting while I worked my way up the stairs one at a time. He followed me up so I didn’t slip and, at the top, helped me stand again. “See, no problem, but we’ll stay on the first floor from here out.”
I nodded and hung my head. “I’ll stay at my place when there are storms.”
He helped me to the door and then out into the night, the sky already clearing off to reveal a smattering of stars here and there after the earlier downpour. There were puddles of rainwater on the sidewalk, but it was cooler, and a soft breeze blew across the lake. “It’s going to be nice sleeping weather tonight. I’m glad it cooled off. I love sleeping with the window open and the night air pouring in.”
“That sounds like heaven. Living in a basement, I don’t get much of the night air unless it’s from the patio doors.” I paused at the doors to my apartment and grasped the handle. “Thanks for walking me home, and for listening, again. I feel like that’s all you do for me. I’ll bring you that loaf of sourdough bread and a cake to make up for listening to me whine.”
He waved his hand at his neck and then grasped my shoulder. “Stop apologizing, Amber. I love talking with you, and I don’t mind listening. It’s not a huge burden to spend the evening with a beautiful woman like yourself. I’d do it all over again tomorrow night if you’d have me.”
I nodded and offered a genuine smile. “More like if you’d have me because I love sitting in your yard around a cozy fire. I guess I’m not going to work tomorrow, so I might be over after all.”
He returned the smile and squeezed my shoulder gently. “I’ll be there. Shout if you need anything before then, and I’ll come over. Until then, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Bishop,” I whispered, sliding the door open without turning. I was lost in the green eyes of the guy who, during any other time in my life, would have been real relationship potential. Unfortunately, that time in my life had passed.
His head lowered until our lips were nearly touching, but it was me who closed the distance to make sure they finished the journey.
Seven
Was this happening? My lips were on hers, and I was instantly lost in the sensation of softness, warmth, and passion I didn’t expect to course through me the way it did. Lord, she was delicious. The kiss was closed-lipped, but she vibrated with a need for more. She vibrated with a need to be kissed hard by someone who would still respect her when the kiss was over. Hell, someone who would come back for more again and again. I was that someone.
A moan rumbled deep in my throat, and she returned it with a soft mewling that made me instantly hard. Pressed up against her the way I was, there was no way to hide the evidence of what she did to me. I was a goner with this woman. She owned me already, and I had only spent a few hours with her. She was wounded but strong. She just needed to see that someone—anyone—understood her pain, her desire to stay independent, and her need to be held and comforted when life got to be too much.
I poured that idea into the kiss, my lips gentle and undemanding of anything she wasn’t ready to give. When it was her who traced my lips with her tongue, my dick pulsed against her belly, an uncontrollable reaction to the way she took what she wanted without care. She was beautiful, talented, smart, and sexy as hell, and I wanted all of her. I had to bide my time, or I’d scare her away. Our discussion tonight made that obvious.
She moaned low and needy when I opened my lips, tipped her
