Home for Love (An Adult Contemporary Romance) by Aneesa Price Page A

music had allowed a number of intimate memories to creep
in. Not cool and not what she needed right now.
    “You’re looking far too serious for a
night out,” Todd’s voice interrupted her thoughts. He’d come up behind her and
she could feel the heat coming off of him. Again, not cool. In fact, it was far
too hot in the room.
    Resisting the urge to fan her, she
looked up into the chocolate warmth of his eyes and swallowed as discreetly as
she could manage. “Oh, I’m just tired,” Bree replied, shrugging her shoulders
in nonchalance. “I haven’t been out to a party in a while.”
    “Well, let’s make it worth it then,” the
smile Todd threw as he held out his hand, lit the room.
    “Okay,” Bree squeaked, inwardly cursing.
    The dance was the same torturous
exercise in masochism as the previous ones. Their bodies moved in sync,
touching teasingly when a dance move from either allowed a bump, a caress. The
sudden cheers of, “Happy New Year,” broke the spell woven by the dance and
startled her, bringing her closer to him. And just like that, he leaned down,
kissed her and it was as though seven years had not even passed.
    The kiss was tender, sweet, filled with
fondness, and banked heat. It was a mouth she was familiar with, a mouth she’d
been craving without knowing. The touch of his hands as they slipped around her
waist and drew her closer felt right as did her arms snaking around his
shoulders to lightly tug him down, his hair was like silk between her fingers.
    All too soon, the kiss ended and Bree
looked up into eyes that had turned the brown of good, dark chocolate;
kiss-swollen lips that had her wanting to close in for another nibble.
    Taking a breath, she said, as steady as
she could, “Happy New Year, Todd. I’m just going to freshen up before we
leave,” and she fled to the bathroom.
    The drive back to the farm was awkwardly
silent. When they arrived, Bree noticed that the only lights on in the house
were on the porch and in the hallway. Thank goodness, she didn’t need to fake a
‘fun time had’ to her grandparents.
    Todd cleared his throat and turned to
her with an expression that was hard to read. “I had a great time tonight.
Thanks Bree.”
    Bree swallowed. It was easier to ignore
the attraction in the quiet discomfort of the drive there. Face to face bedding
down the internal sparks was a monumental task. “Pleasure…uh… thanks too,” Bree
squeaked. She took a moment, “I mean thanks. I had a great time too.” Go figure
that she’d act like a high school kid around her high school sweetheart. And oh
yes, we was swooping in for the end of date kiss. Knowing his moves, Bree
preempted it and scooted out the door before he could paste his delectable lips
on hers.
    Rubbing her arms to ward off the tingles
of the cold and not in exaggeration, she blurted out, “Yikes, it’s cold. I
better get going before I catch my death. I actually forgot how cold it’s here.
See you tomorrow, Todd.”
    Later that night, Bree finally gave up
on the succumbing to the dreamless sleep she so eagerly wished for and got up.
Because she was alone in the privacy of her old room, she took down a box from
the top of her closet. At the very top of the contents was a photo of her and
Todd at the high school prom, a heart around their faces glowing with the love
of hope, the love of teenagers, and in it was written “Todd and Bree
forever." Sighing, she closed the lid and got back into bed, the heat she
felt on the dance floor gone and her heart filled with aching loneliness and
longing.
     

Chapter
5
     
    Bree hurried into the farmhouse. It was
hard to believe but the Alaskan cold had actually gotten colder. Not that the
cold mattered much to Amber.
    The previous day, she’d stood alongside
her gran watching disapprovingly as her granddad and Amber had spent their time
frolicking in the snow. Snowmen were built in as many varieties as they could
be, snowball fights were held with her traitorous gran