Under the Magnolia Read Online Free PDF

waste of my teenage years. You know, I don't think he ever
actually noticed that I was a girl. I suppose I should be glad.
Anyone that impressed with himself was bound to be a terrible
boyfriend." And even
worse in bed.
    Wes snorted. "You were quite a
fan of his back then."
    "Oh, let's not go judging
people based on who they liked in high school." She shifted over
on the couch, clearing a space for him in what she hoped was subtle
invitation to move to sit next to her. "Or do you want to talk
about the head cheerleader and the prom queen?"
    She could tell she'd made her point
when the tips of his ears turned red. "Fine. What about since
then?" He rose from the chair and moved to sit next to her,
stretching his long legs out in front of him again.
    "What? Men?" Addie
snorted. "You know how dating in this town is. Between the
matchmakers and the gossip, I might've hid from the men even if I didn't have an unfortunate habit of talking about the future in my sleep.
Besides, I've been pretty focused on teaching and my thesis, which
I'd like to finish before I'm sixty."
    "Not men, Addie," he said
softly, his eyes boring into hers. " Me ."
    Oh. My. God. She had to try twice to stammer out her reply. "Career Day,"
she finally managed. "It—when you came to Career Day.
Afterwards, when you were helping me clean up that mess that Bradley
and John made..." He'd frightened the troublemakers to within an
inch of their young lives then stayed to clean up broken beakers with
her, flirting the whole time.
    It was hardly the first time he'd
flirted with her, but before it had always seemed like casual teasing
between friends instead of anything sexual. But her grandmother had
sent her to school with a pecan praline pie that morning—Wes’
favorite—and they'd stayed in her office well into the evening,
laughing and talking over pie and coffee. By the time he'd walked her
to her car, the world had been alive with possibilities she'd never
considered before.
    He laughed and rested his arm on the
back of the couch, his hand barely brushing her shoulder. "That
was some damn good pie. And some damn good company." His breath
feathered against her cheek. "But that was months ago."
    Heat shot through her, and her voice
sounded low and hoarse even to her own ears. "Maybe I was a
chicken, too."
    "Maybe," he agreed as his
thumb brushed her cheek. "Do you mind if I kiss you again,
Addie?"
    Just a kiss. Just one little
kiss... It was a bad
idea, but that didn't stop her from wrapping her arm around his neck
and dragging him into the most deliciously erotic kiss of her life.
    Wes had kissed his fair share of
women, and probably a few others besides, but something about the way
Addie's lips parted under his was unbearably arousing. Her kiss was
bold and assertive, yet still soft and sweet. It was a maddening
dichotomy he had associated with Addie for the last fifteen years.
    He shifted, trying to get close
enough to press her tightly to his chest, to feel her curled up
against him, but the pillows and blankets between them got in his
way. He pulled his mouth from hers long enough to toss the bedding to
the floor, and his arms flexed as he picked her up and drew her into
his lap.
    She squirmed a little, shifting
until her knees dug into the couch on either side of his hips. Addie
didn't wait for him to kiss her again but claimed his mouth, making
soft noises against his lips.
    Wes’ hand landed on her leg,
left bare by the parting of her robe, and the intimacy of their
situation hit him full in the face. If he didn't stop, they'd be
making her vision come true sooner than he'd planned...and in the
middle of one hell of a crisis, too. He broke the kiss and looked up
into her dazed brown eyes. "Addie—"
    A loud crash of broken glass and
whistling wind interrupted his words. It sounded close, and the
large, barely secured picture windows of the lobby sprung to mind.
"Dammit," he ground out, already lifting her off his lap.
    She climbed to her feet