Free Nothing Like the First Time by Keren Hughes Page A

came , Carls,” Grey whispered as he stroked my face gently. I leaned into his touch and a small sigh escaped my lips. The next thing I knew, Grey’s lips were on mine. The kiss was gentle at first, like he was asking my permission. I opened my mouth and sought out his tongue with mine. What had started as an innocent kiss soon became something hot, sexy, and breath-taking.
    I broke the kiss to get some air back into my lungs.
    “I’ve messed things up, Grey,” I admitted softly.
    “How ?”
    “I saw you and Maggie that day in the coffee shop, your first day back in town. I saw the ring on her finger and assumed the two of you were engaged.”
    He laughed at that and I smacked him lightly on the arm.
    “Don’t make fun of me , Grey, I feel bad as it is. I now know the truth, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Maggie came into the restaurant, she was with Ben—she introduced me to him, her fiancé. So yes, I know I was wrong.”
    “None of that matters, Carls baby. All that matters is that you’re here right now and we can make up for lost time,” he said as he drew me closer to him.
    “I’m sorry , Grey. I should have spoken to you over the last few weeks, you would’ve had a chance to explain. But instead, I chose to ignore you and ignore how I felt about you in the hope that it would just all go away…” Grey kissed me, cutting off what I had been about to say.
    This kiss was soft and sweet, tender and loving. When he pulled back to draw breath, I saw it in his eyes—he loved me. That was all I needed to know now. After everything that had transpired, Greyston Sterling still loved me. I was one lucky girl.
    Grey took my hand and walked down to the dock. There was a blanket there already, plus a bottle of wine and two glasses.
    “Tim and Naomi said we can stay over. It’s up to you if you want to, of course, but I hoped that you might agree,” Grey said as he wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and started to pour the wine.
    “Okay, but I have no clean clothes for the morning ,” I said as I took the glass he offered.
    “I’m sure Naomi will have something you can borrow, you’re about the same size.”
    “Okay ,” I said as I settled onto the dock. I took my shoes and socks off and lowered my feet into the cool water of the lake.
    “I’ve missed you so much, Carls ,” Grey said as he took a seat beside me. I took some of the blanket from around me and offered to let him snuggle like we had done so many times before.
    “I’ve missed you too , Grey. I’ve been a fool. Can you forgive me?” I hoped I didn’t sound like I was pleading, when in reality, I guess I was. I had been so foolish. If I’d let him back into my life, I would’ve known who Maggie was sooner and Grey and I would have been back together before now. There was nothing I could do but make up for lost time.
    “There’s nothing to forgive. I can understand why you thought what you did. I didn’t exactly explain from the beginning , did I?” he asked as he snuggled closer to me and wrapped his free arm around my waist.
    “Can we just forget about it for now, enjoy tonight , and then we can talk some more tomorrow?” I asked hopefully.
    “Sure. We don’t really have to talk about it, though—we can just let it drop and start afresh, if you’d rather?”
    “ I’d like that a lot,” I said as I looked up at him.
    His eyes were hooded and his grin was one of the most beautiful things to behol d. He leaned down and placed his lips over mine.
    We sat on the dock for a couple of hours, then I saw what time it was and suggested we’d better head in.
    “I wish we could sit out here all night ,” he said in a wistful tone.
    “Like we did so many summers ago ,” I said.
    “Yes, just like then, only older and wiser versions of our teenage selves.”
    We stayed down on the dock a little longer before I realized I had forgotten something back in the car. I hopped up and told Grey to stay where he was. I went to the car