Chapter Twenty

 

 

Emma knew he was going to kiss her again. And that was exactly what she wanted. Mostly she just needed held. Apparently he understood that. He kissed her, then had her gasping for breath when he lifted her and carried her into the living room.

He lowered her to the couch in a perfectly romantic, surprising-for-J.T. style move. It had her struggling to catch even a bit of breath.

She ran her fingers through his hair, the strands a warm golden blond that stuck up all over his head with only a little encouragement from her hands. He was absolutely perfect.

“I think…given half the chance, I could fall completely in love with you.” Too soon, definitely. But Emma had never believed in beating around the bush. He needed to know how she felt, and the only way to make things clear to him was to tell him. “I don’t want that to scare you, but it’s how I feel. I’ve cared about you for almost as long as I’ve been in St. Louis.”

His expression was one of sincerity. “And I’ve had a thing for you almost from the moment you stepped on your dad’s porch. I was just too stupid and too scared to do anything about it. And then I convinced myself there was no chance, and that we were better off keeping it as friends. I’m glad you made me see the error of my ways. So…we’ll keep this going, see what happens?”

“I’m all for that…if you are.”

“I most definitely are.” He grinned at her. She reached up and straightened the glasses on his nose.

The window shattered around them.

Emma screamed.

J.T. yanked her off the couch and down between the couch and the coffee table. He covered her with his own body. “Stay down!”