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I analyzed his face; there was no crinkle.
    He brought over two cups of coffee and placed them on the scratched wooden table before sitting beside me. “But it’s good to know you would at least be a little jealous.” One finger ran under my jaw, raising my head toward his.
    I couldn’t move as my breathing escalated. “I wasn’t jealous,” I whispered.
    “No?” He edged closer, drawing me toward him.
    “No. I was … I was just curious.”
    God, he was so near to me. His warm breath fanned my mouth, heating my lips. “Well, let me set the record straight.”
    His lips were on mine, softly teasing me, coaxing me closer as he pulled back slightly and I followed, not wanting to break the connection after so many years of missing him. I sighed into his parted lips, and he groaned back as one hand slid up my thigh, the other into my hair.
    How I had missed the taste of him, the feel of him. His hand fisted my hair as his kiss became more forceful and I couldn’t help grabbing at his tee, wanting to touch him the way I used to. The ripples of his abdomen beneath my fingertips coaxed me to go under his shirt to feel the warmth of his soft, smooth skin, and I leisurely traced the definition of every muscle in his torso.
    “Can you stay? Please?” he said huskily, his lips brushing mine as he spoke. “We don’t have to do anything. I’ve just missed holding you.”
    Oh man, it was so tempting. I checked my watch, where had the last hour gone. “I can’t. I’ll barely make it back home before midnight as it is.”
    He sat back. “You have a curfew?”
    “I know, it’s crazy.” Standing, I straightened my clothing before taking a big swig of cold coffee. “I’m boarding with a friend’s elderly aunt and uncle. They expect me home at a reasonable hour so I guess in a way, I do have a curfew.”
    Baxter laughed as he stood to join me. “Just like living in the dorms all those years ago. Only difference is you’re an adult now—you can make your own rules.”
    I took his hand as we made our way to the door. “Well, when I find somewhere of my own to live, I won’t have to go home at all.” Heat flushed my cheeks as I realized what I’d just said.
    “I guess I can wait for that to happen.” Baxter stopped in front of me as we reached the bottom of the narrow staircase. He tilted my head with his finger under my chin. “Just seeing you again, Jaz, after so long …” His fingers brushed against my cheek. “It feels like a lifetime ago, and yet it’s like it was only yesterday when we were together and happy.” His thumb ran along my bottom lip. “We were happy, weren’t we?”
    I nodded. “I’ve never been happier.” I kissed his thumb as it made a second pass along my lip. “Being with you. Dancing with you. It was the happiest time of my life.”
    “Mine too.” He leaned in, resting his forehead against mine. “I feel like we’ve been given a second chance. In a city the size of New York, what are the chances of two people bumping into each other?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe it is fate.”
    We walked the nine blocks to my little duplex in silence, both of us huddled close against the cold, lost in thought, yet totally comfortable in each other’s company. The porch was in darkness as we ascended the five steps from the street, and I welcomed the fact that Baxter couldn’t see that once again my cheeks had turned crimson as he drew me into his arms.
    His hands ran up my sides slowly, taking in the curves of my body, until they made their way into my hair. Slowly, he leaned in until our lips were a hair’s breadth apart and then he stopped. “Do you think we can pick up where we left off, Jaz?”
    My breath caught in my throat.
    “Can we pretend the last six years never happened and you’ve come to meet me in New York like you promised?”
    “Yes,” I replied breathlessly.
    As soft, full lips came down onto mine, I ran my hands up Baxter’s back to his shoulders,