Falling for Owen by Jennifer Ryan

suggested.
    “Have you been thinking about kissing me?”
    She didn’t know what to say. Unable to look away, she stared up at him, mesmerized by his sky-blue eyes and the way he studied her.
    “I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he admitted, his voice soft and husky. “You make it impossible to concentrate on anything when I’m worried about your safety.”
    “So that’s all you thought about? My safety. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
    “Yes, you are, except for your aching feet, your hip that makes you favor that leg, and the throbbing headache that makes you squint in the bright light up front.”
    “Observant.”
    “Yes. I am. While I thought of your safety often today, I also couldn’t help thinking about your beautiful green eyes and the arch of your upper lip and the fullness of the bottom one. I wondered if your eyes would fall closed when I kissed you and if your lips would fit to mine. I wondered how you’d taste and if after one kiss I’d be able to stop from sharing another.” He took a step to her. “And another.” One more step. “And another.”
    He closed the distance, standing so close his jacket brushed against her blouse, but their bodies remained a mere inch apart, her head tilted back to look at him. He never took his hands out of his pockets.
    “We need to find out,” he whispered, his head descending toward hers, his gaze dipped to her mouth.
    She held her breath and their mouths met in a soft sweep of his lips to hers. Her eyes closed and she sighed. In that moment, his mouth settled over hers. She stood on tiptoe, meeting him with the same passion and tenderness.
    Desperate to regain her balance and stop her spinning head, she ended the kiss, falling back onto her flat feet.
    “I need to work on my imagination. That was far better than I thought,” he said, smiling down at her.
    “We should go to dinner.”
    “Okay.”
    “You’re not moving,” she said, still standing close to him.
    “You’re still holding on to me.”
    She let her gaze fall from his broad chest to her hands fisted in his shirt at his sides. She’d pulled most of the material out of his waistband.
    “You’re hands are still in your pockets,” she said, wondering why it bothered her, besides the fact she wanted him to want her as desperately as she wanted him.
    “That’s because if I grab hold of you, the only place we’re going is to the floor.”
    Her gaze flew up to meet his and she read the truth in his eyes. He did want her. Badly. It only took a second to realize as much as she’d like to give in to her desires, she’d done that with her ex and not seen who he really was. With Owen, she wanted to know the whole man, everything about him. The kiss proved they were compatible in one area, but she wanted more from him. She’d had a couple casual affairs in college based on nothing but lust and hot sex. While enjoyable—and she and Owen could certainly burn up the sheets—she wanted something real this time with a man who took the time to not only notice her, but the store she’d built and the heart and soul she’d put into it.
    She spun on her heel, winced when she hurt one of the deeper-stitched cuts, and walked away from him to the front of the store. He chuckled behind her, but didn’t protest her exit.
    She grabbed a light-blue-and-green crystal-and-gold necklace from one of the displays on a shelf, another gold circle necklace draped around the lamp shade near the front windows, and pulled the tags off both. She put them over her head and arranged her hair, the necklaces dressing up her otherwise business-casual outfit.
    “Those are really pretty.”
    “Thanks. Since you’re in your suit, I thought I needed a little something extra for dinner.”
    “You don’t need anything. You’re beautiful just the way you are.”
    She stopped in the process of grabbing her purse and looked up at him. He smiled and waited for her to say something, but she couldn’t. He meant