Free Merry Kisses (Riverbend Romance 5) by Valerie Comer Page A

“This smells amazing.”
    Sonya smiled. “Dig in.”
    Now he had one more reason to keep this woman in his life. How long had it been since he’d tasted homemade soup? His mom rarely did more than open a can. The velvety texture and subtle flavor tantalized his mouth and satisfied his stomach. A few minutes later he’d polished off a second bowl.
    “You really plowed snow for seven hours, mostly before dawn?”
    “All in a day’s work.” He reached for a warm biscuit and slathered butter on it. Then he paused with it halfway to his mouth. “Oh, man. I crashed on your sofa without an invitation and now I’m eating you out of house and home. I’m sorry.” And her without a job. Could he be any more of a heel?
    “Heath.”
    He set the biscuit down. “Yes?”
    A little smile toyed with the edges of her mouth. “It’s okay. Really. I don’t get to cook for anyone other than myself very often. It was fun to wonder what you might enjoy that I had the ingredients for.”
    “I can’t remember when I enjoyed a meal this much.”
    Sonya’s eyes slipped downward. “It’s not anything special.”
    He reached across the corner of the table and lifted her chin. “Everything you touch is special. Because you are.”
    She sucked in her lips, not meeting his gaze.
    “Don’t you believe me?” he asked softly. “You’re amazing, Sonya. Absolutely amazing.”
    Sonya glanced at him then away.
    If it was a ploy to make him keep talking, she was pretty good at it. But he didn’t think so. What had happened in her life to make her so unsure of herself?  
    Heath slipped from his chair and knelt beside hers, sliding an arm around the back of it and reaching for the fingers clenched in her lap with his other hand. “Sonya.”
    She didn’t respond, but that might have been a tear at the corner of her eye.
    “Sonya, look at me. You are a beautiful woman with a love for kids and a generous heart. You’re an amazing cook. You’ve created a real home in this apartment, unlike the bachelor pad I live in.”  
    Tangle twined around his ankles, little motor headed from zero to sixty. Heath grinned. “Your cat adores you, and she should. I’m well over halfway in love with you myself.”
    She snuck him a glance, and his stomach clenched. Too much, too soon? He hadn’t intended to say those words yet, not because he hadn’t been thinking them morning, noon, and night for several days, but because he didn’t want to rush her. Scare her. But maybe they were better out in the open.
    He tightened his fingers around hers and held her close as he buried his face against the crook of her neck amidst her luscious hair. “Thank you for letting me into your life. I won’t hurt you, ever. I promise.”
    Sonya trembled then turned slightly to wrap her arms around his shoulders.
    Heath gathered her up, lifting her off the chair and over to the sofa where he sat with her in his arms. He brushed his fingers through her soft, thick hair and cupped the back of her head as his lips searched for hers. They were easy to find.
    Her mouth moved against his with as much passion as he felt building up in him, teasing him yet making promises at the same time.
    Heath’s hands roved her back as he reveled in the sensations coursing through him. He’d kissed a woman or two before in his day, but never before had it threatened to topple him. He pulled back with a groan, desiring anything but.
    Sonya wasn’t ready to stop. She held his face between both her hands and nuzzled his forehead, his eyes, his cheeks — unshaven — before settling back against his mouth.
    He drowned again, and when he came up for air, he knew he had to stop. Now, while he could.

    * * *

    Heath was good with the kids. He held even the smallest babies up to his white whiskers and smiled for the camera. Sure, there was always a toddler or two that took one look at him and freaked out, but he even managed to soothe many of them into cooperating.
    The battle continued in