The Groom Wanted Seconds: A Novella by Shirley Jump Page B

brain. “It’s me,” she said.
    “I’m glad.”
    “Thank you for the pen.” Yeah, that’s why she was calling. Not because she wanted to hear his voice. “It was sweet. Unexpected.”
    “That’s what I wanted.”
    “Well, thanks.” Then she paused, her throat thick. The connection hissed with tension. “Anyway, I was just sitting here on the bench at the Spotted Cow, and having a coconut ice cream…” Oh, what was she doing? She shouldn’t have called him. But every time she looked at the dish of slowly melting ice cream, this choked up feeling overtook her and her eyes burned. “And it just made me think of you and I and…”
    “Are you still there? At the Spotted Cow?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Give me ten minutes. I’ll be there before the ice cream melts.”
    She hesitated. “Jeremy, I shouldn’t have called, I—”
    “Wait for me, Rebecca.” Then he was gone, the call disconnected before she could respond.
    Seven minutes went by, with Rebecca hemming and hawing, berating herself for calling him, then looking at the uneaten ice cream and knowing why she had pressed the button. Her stomach knotted, and she had just gotten up to throw the ice cream away when Jeremy swung his car into an empty parking space with a screech of tires and a jerk of brakes. He hopped out, slammed the door, and crossed the lot in fast strides. She stood there by the trash, like an idiot, watching him approach.
    He was wearing jeans that hugged his thighs and a pale blue button down shirt that glided over the hard chest and strong arms she remembered well. The sight of him made her warm, deep, deep inside. His hair was getting a little long, and one dark lock kept dropping over his brow. He looked…amazing.
    When he reached her, he grinned that lopsided grin that still melted her heart. “I was afraid you’d leave.”
    “I was about to.”
    “What, and waste this?” He stepped forward, putting his hand under hers and raising the dish between them. “Such a delicious treat. It would be a shame to let it go without at least one taste.”
    Temptation rolled across the deep syllables in his voice. She raised her gaze to his, and for a second, she forgot to breathe. Her insides melted, and heat unfurled in her womb. The faces and chatter of the other customers disappeared, and the world closed in to just the two of them. “You’re right,” she said, the words almost a whisper. “It would be a shame to waste that.”
    The grin lit his blue eyes. “Oh, and look. Only one spoon.”
    “I, uh, can get another one.”
    He shook his head. Slow, sure. A more confident, sexy Jeremy than she had ever known before. It thrilled her and scared her and intrigued her, all at once. “This one will be perfect.” He scooped up a bite of ice cream and raised the treat to her lips. Cool, sweet, tempting. “You first.”
    Rebecca inhaled, her gaze locked on his. Then she parted her lips, tasted the ice cream, and swallowed the bite. “Mmm…”
    He watched her lips, desire darkening the blue of his eyes. “You missed a little bit right…here.” Then he leaned in and kissed her.
    No, not quite kissed her. More like he tasted her. A whisper of his lips against hers, then along the corner of her mouth. He drew back, then slowly, very slowly, took the ice cream from her, placed it on the fence post behind them. He reached up with both his hands, cupping her jaw, then just as slowly, he leaned in, his blue eyes locked on hers, until the very last second when their lips met again. It was a tender, sweet kiss, with undertones of heat, like a spicy chocolate cake, that surprised her and captivated her.
    She leaned into him, craving, needing, wanting. She wasn’t thinking about ice cream or cookies or choices, she was thinking only of him, of the sweet agony of being with a man who knew her body so well, who could send her hormones into a frenzy with a kiss, a touch. He knew her, and oh, that was a delicious thing.
    “More?” he said.
    Her