Better Deeds Than Words (Words#2) Read Free Page B

childhood, embarrassing him numerous times with her anecdotes. She also talked a great deal about Bradley and Jeremy, the very picture of a doting grandmother.
    We sat at the table for close to an hour and a half. At last she finished her third glass of wine and said, “Goodness, my lips are a little numb.”
    “I’m not surprised. Maybe you should come and sit over here,” Daniel said, helping her up and leading her to an armchair. “Besides, 60 Minutes is on soon.” Daniel flipped on the TV. “You relax. Aubrey and I will clean up, okay?”
    “All right.” Patty squeezed his hand.
    While we cleared the table and filled the dishwasher, I was lost in my thoughts, but I could see Daniel watching me with interest. As I brought the last few dishes from the dining room and piled them on the counter, he stopped me and took my hands in his.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “Yes, I’m just surprised. I didn’t see that coming at all,” I whispered.
    “I respect my grandmother’s privacy. That wasn’t my story to tell. But now you know why I felt comfortable bringing you here. Of all people, Patty would be the last one to judge our relationship. That’s why I wasn’t alarmed when we bumped into her on Friday.” He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry for holding out on you.”
    “I guess I’m starting to get used to the Grant family fence posts.” I reached up to give him a quick kiss. “Let’s finish this.”
    I piled up the saucepans and filled the sink with hot, sudsy water, watching Daniel push his sleeves up.
    “Now, what’s that smile about?” Daniel asked, standing behind me and wrapping his arms around me.
    “I was just thinking about how much I love your forearms.”
    “You do?”
    “Uh-huh. They’re very furry.”
    He chuckled. “No one’s ever told me that before. Why am I picturing cavemen?”
    I smiled and turned around. He leaned against me, pushing my lower back into the counter.
    “I happen to find it very masculine,” I assured him, swirling my fingers in the hairs peeping out of the top of his T-shirt. “I like this too, though,” I murmured, dropping soft kisses along the expanse of smooth skin between the stubble on his throat and his chest hairs.
    “So do I,” he said, claiming my lips and kissing me deeply, his tongue working its magic as it moved against mine, turning me into a puddle of goo.
    I tried to talk between kisses. “We probably shouldn’t do this right now—”
    “Aubrey, Patty’s snoring. It’s nice not to be outside or in my car, don’t you think? Throw me a bone.” He kissed me again, moaning quietly against my lips.
    “I’ll give you a bone, all right,” I teased.
    “Too late. I think you already did,” he said, smirking as he took in my superior smile.
    “Not exactly a newsflash.”
    “What, and you’re completely unaffected?”
    “Did I say that?”
    He cocked an eyebrow. “Typical country weather down south?”
    I moved in close to his ear. “Typical English country weather.”
    He groaned, trying to adjust himself. “These jeans are killing me. Do you think having blue balls really is fatal?”
    “Don’t tell me you’re not taking care of business when you get home.” I laughed. “That was quite the confession at the table earlier. Very enlightening.”
    He smacked my ass playfully. “You’re getting a little too cocky for your own good, you know that?”
    “I know nothing of the sort. Now, would you get out of the way so I can finish the dishes?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” he said, picking up Patty’s plate and scraping it into the garbage can.
    While he was bent over, I took the opportunity to thoroughly check out his ass. His jeans were killing me, too. I watched the snowflakes landing on the hedge outside the window and smiled dreamily, overwhelmed with how easy this felt.
    “I should wake Patty or she won’t sleep tonight,” Daniel said.
    I wiped the counter down while he roused his grandmother. “I wasn’t asleep. Just resting