Snowbound - Harlequin.com

150 SNOWBOUND
“Do you mean,” she asked carefully, “did I want you
to kiss me?”
He dipped his head.
Fiona took a deep breath. They were being so civil,
two near-strangers compelled to discuss the uncomfortable.
She hated it.
Lifting her chin, she said, “Yes. Yes, I wanted you to
kiss me. So you don’t have to feel guilty or…I don’t
know, whatever you were feeling.”
He stared at her, face very still. When he spoke, his
voice was hoarse. “Not guilty. Just…afraid I’d misread
you. I’ve wanted to kiss you from the minute you
walked in the door. But I didn’t mean to do it that way,
when I’d been a jackass and was upset.”
“It really is all right.” Suddenly it was. “I’ve wanted
you to kiss me since then, too.”
“Ah.”
“I was afraid I’d leave and you’d still be so stiff and
polite and I wouldn’t know—” She broke off. “Well,
what it was like.”
His eyebrows rose in that way he had. “You were
curious?”
“No, I was in suspense.”
His mouth twitched. “And now?”
“I’m hoping you plan to kiss me again,” she admitted
frankly.
He gave a short, startled bark of laughter. “Yeah,
I’m planning.” His chair scraped on the floor as he
stood.
Fiona pushed hers back, too, and rose to meet him
when he circled the table.