If I Could Be With You Read Free Page B

obviously wanted some alone time?” He winked.
    “Oh…oh!” She giggled in a way she only did after one too many drinks. When she heard herself she knew there was no going back. She was drunk.
    “I take it you’re enjoying the passion fruit?” he asked as his hand brushed her knee, definitely on purpose.
    “I am,” she reached across the table and took his other hand, brave from the drinks and the fact that they were alone again. “I’m also enjoying the fact that Melanie seems to have heard about me before. Why did you talk about me in college so much?”
    He let go of her hand to pay the bill, then immediately reclaimed it.
    “I’ve already confessed my school boy crush, Hannah.” He smiled a devastatingly handsome smile. “I’ve compared every woman in my life with the image of you.”
    She sat in stunned silence. That was as close to as an actual confession of desire as he’d ever come with her. She knew in that instance that married or not, he was hers for the taking if she wanted him. But did she really want him?
    She let her eyes roam his hard jaw and the muscles of his neck that flowed into his broad shoulders. His honey skin caught the glow of the candle on the table as his dark wavy hair blended in with the night sky. His lips were slightly parted and he stared at her with such intensity that she suddenly realized she’d stopped breathing.
    “I’m a confident man, Hannah, but I’m not used to being left hanging after a confession of that magnitude.”
    She shook her head to clear it.
    “Restroom?” she asked as she stood, holding onto the table for balance.
    “Through the double doors on the left.”
    He looked disappointed. She shouldn’t have had that last drink. Her head wasn’t clear and her hormones were going crazy. She didn’t want to do anything she would regret tomorrow. 
    Inside the restroom she splashed cold water on her face and readjusted her make-up. She would return to the table and act as if nothing had happened. She’d suggest they head home since they had a long sightseeing day planned in the morning. If she gave into temptation now the trip would be ruined. Her guilt over sleeping with him would never let her stay the remainder.
    He was waiting for her when she came out.
    “Are you alright?” He took her hand and led her into the streets of Greenwich Village. “I should have warned you about those margaritas. They sneak up on you.”
    “Kind of like you?” she said without thinking.
    He stopped and looked at her, head cocked questioningly to the side.
    “I guess so. How did I sneak up on you Hannah?” He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, leaving his finger to linger at her jaw. The way he looked at her made her body ache with need. She wanted him to kiss her.
    “When I made my plans to come here I never thought I would be this attracted to you.” She was shocked at her own alcohol-induced honesty. She searched his eyes for a response. They darkened with desire.
    “I’ve waited my whole life to hear you tell me you want me, Hannah.  I just wish you didn’t have to be drunk to say it.”
    “I am drunk. I am, but I want you and I’ve wanted you since the night of the party. When you’re close to me, my body goes haywire. I’m on fire and I can barely catch my breath.”
    His thumb caressed her bottom lip and she tilted her head.
    “Will you still want me when you’re sober?” he asked.  
    Why, oh why wouldn’t he just kiss her?
    “I will still want you forever,” she whispered. “But when I’m sober, I’ll be painfully aware of how very married you are.”
    He laughed at that. She found it odd that he could place so little value on his marriage. Could she actually be attracted to a man that could cheat on his wife? She felt his hand fall from her face and he put his arm around her to guide her towards the subway.
    “Come with me, Hannah. We’ll put you to bed – alone – and then we’ll have a chat in the morning. If your head