Size Matters by Stephanie Haefner Page A

blankets and pillows. There was a big bowl of popcorn in the middle, and all eyes were on the screen.
    “We can finally finish our wine. Wanna sit in the living room?” she asked.
    “Sure.” Some alone time with Bryn? He wanted to answer with a “Hell yeah,” but kept his cool.
    They sat on the couch, her on one side, a bent leg tucked under her, and him on the other. He didn’t want to seem pushy by sitting too close. He sipped his wine. Bryn sipped hers. He sipped again. This was awkward.
    “So . . . any big plans for the rest of summer?” she asked.
    “Not really. I’d like to take the kids to visit my parents in Florida, but I haven’t run it past Kristen yet. You?”
    “I don’t know. I’d like to do something, but with the fashion show in a few weeks and how busy the shop has been, I can’t take off for even a couple days, let alone a week. And besides, I don’t think I can swing it moneywise. I’m still recovering from all those months of small paychecks while the shop wasn’t doing so well.”
    “Well, if you can break away from the shop, you’re more than welcome to come to Florida with us. I was going to drive, so that’s cheap, and my parents have a huge house down there. Plenty of room for everyone. And it’s close to the ocean.”
    She looked kind of like a deer in headlights. “I don’t know.”
    Shit. He needed to stop scaring her off. “No pressure. Just think about it.”
    “Okay.” She gulped some wine.
    New topic of conversation. Fast. “Today was fun. The kids had a blast, and I did, too.”
    “Yeah. They’re all gonna sleep like rocks tonight.”
    “I’d really like to do it again.”
    She looked at him for a moment, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah, me, too.”
    He took that as an invitation to move a little closer. Sliding over a whole couch cushion, his body turned to hers. “I’d like to see you alone again, too. Can I take you out to dinner soon?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe.” Her words were unsure, but the smile and the eyes told him she was just playing coy.
    This was his chance to move in. He might regret it, but he had to try. He put his free hand on her bent leg, rubbing her just above her knee. The smooth skin he’d been staring at all day. She didn’t flinch. This was good.
    “I know a great Italian place. They have the best tiramisu.”
    “I love tiramisu.”
    He moved his hand a little higher. “They have some little romantic booths, too. Quiet and private.”
    “Sounds nice.”
    This was going so much better than he’d imagined, especially after the cold shoulder earlier that day. Should he quit while he was ahead? Aw, fuck. Just go for it.
    He leaned into her, gaze locked on hers, and stopped just before he got to her lips. “You look amazingly beautiful right now.”
    She didn’t utter a word, but the widening of her smile said everything. Bryn closed the gap between them, bringing her lips the last few inches to his. Thank you, mother of everything holy! He loved kissing her. Those soft, plump lips, the way she slid her tongue in and out of his mouth. Playful, yet gentle and ladylike. But he’d definitely like to take her somewhere they could get a little less formal and a lot more wild.
    “Wanna go somewhere more private?” he asked between nibbles of her luscious lips.
    “I don’t know.” She pulled away from him. “The kids and all . . .”
    Was that really it, or was it something more? “Parents have sex all the time. Well, I didn’t in my marriage, but most parents manage to have sex on a routine basis with kids in the house.” He ran his fingers through her wind-tousled hair and rested at the nape of her neck, planting another kiss.
    “We probably shouldn’t even be doing this.” She pulled away again and downed the rest of her wine, setting the empty glass on the coffee table.
    Eli set his down, too, then took her hand in his. “Is this about the kids, or something else?”
    “Um . . . the kids.”
    He