Free Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) by Nicole Smith Page A

feel?"
    "I've been afraid to look at what I feel.
Because it seems like it's too soon to be feeling what I'm feeling."
    "But...?"
    "But I feel the same way. I love you, Eric. I
think I fell in love with you when I heard you singing that first night. Is
this even possible? Can it be real?"
    "Sure feels real to me. I think sometimes
people do fall in love at first sight."
    "Make love to me, Eric. Make it all real."
    * * * *
    Maggie thought waking up next to Eric was the most
delicious feeling she'd ever experienced. Until she realized that she'd been
asleep, and that they were supposed to be going to dinner. She sat up abruptly
tossing Eric's arm to one side.
    "Yikes! Wake up! We barely have time to get
ready."
    Eric raised his head from the pillow and stared at
her blearily. "What are you talking about?"
    "It's evening. We fell asleep after we, uh,
made love. A lot." She couldn't help but smile at that. "Anyway, we
have to get dressed to go to Cody and Julia's house for dinner."
    His eyes widened, but then he nodded and started
to get out of bed. "How much time do we have?"
    "We can take a quick shower if we do it
together--and no funny business! My hair dries quickly but you'll probably need
the hair dryer."
    They managed taking a shower together with minimal
distractions. Maggie was sure that the shower would be revisited when they had
more time to explore the possibilities. She yanked a green velvet skirt from
her closet, pairing it with a soft gray dressy sweater. Eric came in just as
she finished her make-up in the mirror that hung on the closet door. He looked
startled.
    "You're ready?"
    "Except for my boots, yes."
    "I didn't think women could actually manage
to get ready that quickly."
    She punched him in the arm.
    He reached out and touched her hair. "It's
still damp. Let me dry with the hair dryer."
    "No, I'll do it. You still need to put on a
shirt." She couldn't help staring at the picture he made, bare chested
with gray pleated-front pants that fit him perfectly. His hair was down around
his shoulders and she wanted to wrap her hands in all its silky goodness. That
was a lovely memory from their afternoon together.
    She left him at the mirror pulling his hair back,
while she went in the bathroom to quickly dry her hair.
    "All set?" he called out from the living
room.
    "Yeah," she said and walked in to see
him holding out a coat for her to wear. She saw him and laughed. "Eric,
you're wearing purple and I'm wearing green. We match each other's eyes."
    He looked down at the deep purple, almost
eggplant-colored sweater he was wearing and laughed. "You're right. Here,
get this coat on. It's freezing out there."
    They were soon on the way, gliding into the night
in the Lincoln. Eric's hand found hers, and she discovered the different
sensation of holding hands when they were both wearing gloves. There was something
so satisfying about the strength of his fingers entwined with hers. She sighed
in contentment.
    "What?" he asked.
    "I'm happy."
    "Oh. That's good then."
    "Yes, very."
    They said nothing else for the rest of the ride.
    Cody opened the door to motion them inside when
they arrived. "Hurry, hurry, it's too cold out there."
    They went into the house and took off coats and
gloves. Eric was looking around a large foyer that faced a staircase. A living
room was situated to the left and the dining room was to the right, with a hall
that led behind the staircase to the back of the large house. To Maggie, it was
just Julia and Cody's house, but she could see that Eric was impressed by it.
Julia's sense of taste and elegance could be seen throughout the place.
    "You've got a lovely home," Eric said.
    "I have to give all the credit to Julia for
that. When we built the house we learned pretty quickly that decorating was not
really my forte. To keep the peace, we agreed that she would be the master
decorator and I would be the slave." He laughed.
    They walked into the living room just as Julia
came down the stairs. "Finally!"