Free All Lit Up by Cathryn Fox

asked. “Is it because the room worked?”
    “Among other things.” The grin slowly fell from his face.
    She touched his cheeks. “What is it?”
    “There is something I’ve been wanting to ask you for years.”
    Anna felt her insides tighten. “What?” she asked, rather reluctantly, wanting to put the past behind her and revel in the present for a little while longer.
    Without preamble, he got right to the point. “Why did you suddenly stop talking to me?”
    Her early-morning bliss began to fade. Now why would he go and dredge up old painful memories and ruin a perfectly good morning? “Daniel—” She made a move to go.
    He cupped her elbow and stopped her. “Anna, I really want to know. I also want to know why you didn’t invite me to your sweet-sixteen party.”
    “Because you hurt me,” she blurted out, no longer able to hold it in.
    The vulnerable look that came over him tightened her heart. “How? How did I hurt you, Anna?”
    “I heard you, Daniel.”
    “Heard me?”
    “Yeah, I heard you, Justin Hollis, and the rest of your football buddies talking.”
    Understanding dawned on his face.
    “That’s right,” she said. “I came over to invite you to my party, but I heard them teasing you about all the girls you’d slept with and asking when you were finally going to nail me, the last on your list.” She lowered her head. “Everyone was laughing.”
    “Christ, Anna.” He cupped her head and pulled her to him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I had no idea you heard that. I’m so sorry.”
    Was he sorry that she’d overheard it, or was he sorry that they’d been discussing her so callously in the first place? She pulled back, but he simply moved with her. “Well I did hear it and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
    “Look, I’m not going to deny that I slept with girls in high school.”
    “From what I understand you reached out and touched more women than Hallmark.”
    “No, you’re wrong. There haven’t been nearly as many as you’d think. Most of my reputation was rumor, because there was only one girl I wanted, and she was the one girl I couldn’t seem to have.”
    She gulped, really wanting to believe that. “Really?”
    “Yes, really,” he whispered against her cheek. “I never understood what happened between us or why you never invited me to your party. It killed me to watch you dance under the stars with all those other guys.”
    She dipped her head. “It wasn’t the same without you there,” she admitted.
    Daniel pounded the mattress. “For years I used to lie in bed and dream it was me out there with you.”
    When his honest eyes met hers and she released those pent-up feelings, old hurts began to fade. “And I used to lie in bed and dream that it was me you were sneaking into your room.”
    “Really?” he grinned.
    “Yeah. It was my secret fantasy.”
    He gave a rough laugh and cupped her bare sex. “Well, there was a time or two—or a million—that I used to fantasize about you climbing that tree and slipping into bed with me too.” He brushed his lips over hers. “Dammit, girl, we’ve lost so much time.”
    “What should we do about that?”
    “We should try to make up for it.” With that his lips crashed over hers. Daniel pulled her beneath him, holding her captive with his body, as if fearing she’d disappear from his grasp. But she had no intention of leaving. She kissed him back with all the love inside her and then spent the rest of the day between the silk sheets with him while he made sweet passionate love to her.
    Hours later, Anna made her way downstairs to grab a bite to eat. Daniel had to make a run back to the shop, then to his parents’ house. They agreed to meet up later that night at the inn. But Anna had other plans. Feeling naughty and adventurous, she wanted to go back in time, relive their old teenage fantasy, and finish what they’d started in Daniel’s room.
    Night had fallen as Anna pulled her car into her