Free Change of Hart by M.E. Carter Page A

seem a little . . . strategically placed.”
    She snorted. “Yeah . . . you can expect to be in the background of her Facebook pictures tonight so try not to pick your nose or anything while you’re here.”
    “I will refrain from all nose-pickery while in the vicinity of Samantha’s phone, I promise.” We went back to our comfortable silence for a few minutes. “So why doesn’t Mick come over much anymore? Jaxon said he doesn’t come around much, but they seem to get along really well.”
    “They do,” she said, grabbing the newly sliced apples and putting them on the display tray. “But he lives in Lancaster, so it takes a good hour or so to get here.” She shrugged, grabbing some grapes. “I was hoping when Austin died he’d be over more, but, ya know, life moves on I guess.”
    “It’s gotta be hard on him,” I replied. “Austin was his son, right? It was bad enough when I lost my dad. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to lose a son.”
    “Yeah, he was a mess for a while. But he’s starting to get back to normal again . . . smiles more, and, oh shit!” she yelled, throwing the knife down on the counter. “Oh fuck that hurts,” she said, holding one hand in the other, a grimace across her face.
    “What happened,” I asked, feeling panicked. “Did you cut yourself?”
    “Yeah,” she said, turning to me. “Sliced right down my thumb.”
    I grabbed her hands in mine, pulling her closer to me. “Breathe through the pain, Addison,” I said. “I know it hurts. Just breathe through the pain.”
    She took a couple of deep breaths and stopped hopping around so much.
    “Let’s get your thumb under some cold water and see what we’re dealing with.” I reached over and turned on the faucet, noticing all the blood on both of our hands. I hoped it didn’t need stitches. Even with a minor cut, thumbs could bleed forever.
    I should have been focused on Addison’s thumb, but I couldn’t help the part of me that noticed how close she was. Frankly, it made me nervous. Not because I didn’t want to be near her, but because I could really get used to being this close to her all the time.
    After a few minutes under the water, it wasn’t bleeding as hard anymore.
    “Looks like it’s just a small slice,” I said. “Doesn’t look like you need stitches. But you do need a couple bandages. Do you have any?”
    “Yeah,” she said in that soft voice I just loved. “In that cabinet right above your shoulder.”
    I handed her a paper towel to dry her hands with while I grabbed the bandages. Then I took her small hand in mine and started patching her up. I tried to be gentle and take my time. Not just because of the injury, but because I was trying to draw it out as long as possible. I really liked touching her.
    “You’re pretty good at that,” she remarked.
    I smirked. “I’ve had an injury or two,” I said, finishing up with the last bandage. “These won’t last all day long, but adding the gauze inside should help keep the bleeding a little more under control.”
    “Thank you,” she said, looking up at me with those hazel eyes.
    “You’re welcome,” I said softly, looking down at her, still holding her hand. I swear I was getting those signals again but after being rejected, I just couldn’t be sure. So I just kept holding her hand and looking at her when . . .
    She stretched up on her toes and kissed me.
    Right on the lips.
    I was stunned for a moment, but quickly remembered what to do and kissed her back. I kissed her softly and slowly, just wanting to enjoy the moment. When she didn’t pull away, my hands made their way to her face and I tilted her to the side so I could slide my tongue into her mouth.
    Good god could the woman kiss. Her tongue was soft and gentle. Seductive, without turning into a soft porn movie in the middle of her kitchen. And her breath. Damn.
    Let’s face it, breath is pretty nasty. We put up with it to get to the good stuff. But unless you brush