I tried to think back. “You know what? I do remember that. You said something about being able to give in to a woman, and then the next second, you were gone. But I kept thinking and thinking about what you’d said—I couldn’t get you off my mind.”

“The feeling was definitely mutual.”

“I heard you had a visitor earlier today.”

He nodded, giving me a crooked grin. “I did. Surprised the hell out of me.”

“When she told me where she’d been, I nearly fell over.”

“She’s a good kid, she and her brother both. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better.”

I looked up at him, searching for certainty in his eyes and finding it there. “This is real, isn’t it? The way we feel? Even though it happened so quickly and unexpectedly?”

“It’s real, Sylvia. Trust me.” Then he smiled. “Trust you.”

That night, I invited Henry over to have dinner and watch a movie with the kids and me. He stopped on the way and picked up cupcakes for the kids, and he brought me a bottle of wine.

“Thank you,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek and pulling the corkscrew from a drawer. “Want to open it? I’m just finishing up the sauce for the tenderloin. Then I’ll give you a tour of the house.”

“Perfect. It’s a beautiful house. I can see why you fell in love with it so fast.”

“Thank you. There’s work to be done, but I’m in no rush.”

“So are you coming back to work soon?” He opened the bottle and poured two glasses. “I’m not sure if Chloe has mentioned it or not, but she’s interviewing two people this week for tasting room help.”

“I definitely want to come back,” I told him, stirring the mushroom glaze. “I’ve missed it. I’ll talk to Chloe tomorrow.”

I gave Henry a tour of the new house, and the kids proudly showed off their rooms. While they dragged him outside in the dark to see the yard, the barn, and the other dilapidated outbuildings I’d have to deal with in the spring, I sliced the tenderloin and made sure the mashed potatoes were still warm.

They trooped inside again, and Henry asked if I was planning a vegetable garden. “You’ve got a great spot in the yard that would get plenty of sun,” he said, removing his jacket.

“Can we, Mom?” Whitney asked.

“Sure,” I said. “I used to love working in the garden with my mom when I was young. But I don’t know much about putting one in.”

“I can help,” Henry said.

I imagined it all—a summer day full of sunshine, a garden full of vegetables, a yard full of kids and animals, boisterous shouts and good-natured teasing, a home full of laughter and life . . . Henry and I, together.

I saw it so clearly, there was no doubt in my mind it would happen.

Twenty-Five

Henry

One week after Valentine’s Day, I went to pick Sylvia up for our first official date night. It was snowing pretty hard and the roads were bad, so I was running a little late, but she’d said that was okay because it had taken her a little longer than planned to get back from dropping the kids off at her parents’ for the night.

Which I was pretty excited about.

It would be the first time we’d been alone since New Year’s Eve, and every time I thought about it, I immediately got hard.

But I willed myself to have patience. This date was important to me—we’d always remember it. I figured we’d have dinner in town, maybe catch a movie or just stroll up and down Main Street. It wouldn’t even matter what we did—I just wanted to be the one that got to take her somewhere, open the door for her, sit in a cozy booth and hold her hand across the table.

Then I’d bring her home and fuck her senseless.

But when she answered my knock, I suddenly wanted to reverse the order of my plans.

“Hi,” she said, giving me a mischievous, cherry-lipped grin.

My jaw dropped.

She wore a red and white cheerleader costume, complete with short—and I mean short—pleated skirt, tight crop top that said CHEER across the front, white ankle socks and sneakers. Her hair was pulled off her face in a high ponytail tied with a big red bow, and she carried red and white pom poms in her hands.

I think I tried to say hi, but all I got out was a word that sounded like “hot.”

“Would you like to come in?”

Nodding, I stepped into the house, unable to take my eyes off her or close my mouth. My dick was already standing at attention yelling GO! FIGHT! WIN! as I shut the door behind me.

“I know we’re supposed to go out for dinner, but with the snowstorm and everything, I thought maybe you’d like to stay in,” she said seductively, walking backward. “So I planned a little evening for us here.”

As if in a trance, I followed her to the family room at the back of the house, where all the shades were pulled and the only light came from candles set on the coffee table—right next to a box of Krispy Kreme donuts and an oversized Restoration Hardware catalog.

I looked at her in surprise. “What’s this?”

“It’s your favorite things,” she said with a grin. “I know one cheerleader isn’t the same as teams of them competing on ESPN, but I thought you’d like the outfit just the same.”

I had to laugh. “I do.”

“Good. Want to take off your coat?”

I shrugged my jacket off and threw it aside, anxious to get my hands on her.

She had other ideas. “Okay, now you sit down and eat a Krispy Kreme.”

“You want me to sit down and eat right now?” I put my arms around her. “What if I’d rather do something else?”

“Hey. I’m in charge here.” She tapped her pom poms against my chest.

“I love when you try to get bossy.” I buried my face in her neck and inhaled. “But I’m not hungry, Sylvia. Not for donuts, anyway.”

She laughed when I tickled her throat with my tongue. “Hey, I’m just trying to make our first official date memorable here.”

“Goal achieved,” I said, backing up toward the couch and bringing her with me. “Seriously. V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. Now let’s see your straddle.”

Giggling, she let me pull her onto my lap, her knees on either side of my thighs, and tossed her pom poms over my shoulders. “So impatient.”

“I can’t help it,” I said, kissing her lips as my hands slid beneath that skirt. “You know how I get when you wear a short—” I stopped. “You’re naked underneath this outfit?”

Her eyelids lowered half-way as I stroked her. “Uh huh.”

The bulge in my pants was almost unbearable as I caressed her tongue with mine and mirrored the slow, sensual motion with my fingers between her legs. She rocked her hips over my hand, growing aroused and restless.

“Now who’s impatient?” I teased as she reached for my belt.

“S-Y-L-V-I-A.” She quickly unbuttoned and unzipped, reaching inside to free my cock, which sprang up eagerly. Wrapping her hand around it, she gave it several tight, hard strokes, making me groan with agonizing pleasure at her touch. I wasn’t sure how long I could maintain control, so I was glad when she lowered her body onto mine inside a minute.