Thad couldn’t look away from her, his chest buzzing with warmth and compassion for this brave, beautiful woman who’d stepped in when no one else could.

First for her sister, then with him. They were close now, so close her warm breath fanned his face. He heard her breath catch and saw her pink lips part, and his long-dead heart jumped with excitement, swelling bigger in his constricted chest until he thought he might die from sheer anticipation. He closed his eyes, whether to sear this memory into his brain or because it felt like too much, too soon, he wasn’t sure. He whispered her name like a prayer, “Emma.”

Then suddenly they were kissing. He wasn’t sure who leaned into whom, but Thad couldn’t get enough. He cupped her cheeks, her skin silky and hot beneath his fingertips. Emma stilled at first, then clutched his shirt in her fist, right over his heart, keeping him right where he was. Time slowed and the world narrowed to only them, only now, only this kiss.