Thankfully, Akoni settled in without a fuss. Having a bedtime routine made all the difference for him. He liked to sleep on his tummy with his little bum in the air. It was the cutest darn thing. Cedar rubbed his back and hummed nonsense, her mind in the back yard where that amazing kiss had taken place.

In the second before their lips came together, her good sense told her to back away and create distance, but her heart ruled the day, and she’d melted into Teo’s kiss like a piece of chocolate next to a warm marshmallow.

An odd sense of accomplishment, one that had nothing to do with an A on a term paper or a word of praise from a professor, filled her as she kissed Akoni goodnight. His contentment and feeling of safety were partly because of her. She couldn’t take all the credit, but knowing that she was an influence for good for this precious little being wrapped her in love and contentment. She’d made a difference in his world, and that felt pretty remarkable.

Other amazing things had happened today. Like meeting Elijah. Not only had he valued what she’d said; he treated her like an equal, asked her advice, and had even offered her a consulting position. He wanted to pay her for her thoughts. That was huge.

But the most amazing thing that had happened, the thing that had her heating up from the inside out and wiping her damp hands down her pant legs was Teo’s kiss. Cedar could sort all the first kisses she’d experienced with boyfriends into four categories.

First, the nervous kiss. With this one, the guy grabbed her shoulders too quickly and clumsily and almost missed her lips. A nervous kiss could be forgiven, but if it happened again, she had to break it off. Who wanted to spend their life kissing a guy who couldn’t find the target?

Second, there was the I’m-going-for-it-all kiss where the man would take things as far as she would let him and then push for more. He seemed to grow three more arms and think his tongue was a sword.

Third, the Cookie Monster kiss. When this happened, the guy would attack as if he were trying to devour her whole face. Yuck! A Cookie Monster kiss would mean the end of the relationship. There was no coming back from slobber.

Finally, there was the sweet and sultry kiss. The kind where she and he were on the same wavelength. They both wanted the kiss and were equally matched in enthusiasm. This kiss meant there was going to be a second date and probably a third. Men who kissed that good were hard to say goodbye to when the relationship went south.

But after tonight, Cedar would have to add a fifth category to her kissing history. A category she was going to have to call Teo’s Kiss. His kiss had been as perfect as any first kiss could be: soft and achingly slow, tender yet firm, strong—because that was him. Teo was tough. He was a man in all the best ways. And yet she sensed that he had been wounded deeply by Amy’s rejection. And who wouldn’t be? To have the one person you pledged your life to change their mind would be awful.

Amy had died a little over six months ago, if Cedar remembered the online articles correctly. While she didn’t doubt the sincerity of his kiss, she wondered if he was ready to start another relationship. If the wounds Amy inflicted—whether intentionally or unintentionally—had healed. Perhaps it would be better if Cedar backed off a bit—gave Teo some space to sort through things.

Then again, it wasn’t like she’d pushed him into kissing her. They’d both moved closer.

She shook her head. There was no denying they were attracted to one another, and she did want another kiss—maybe ten. The thought made her insides quiver with anticipation as she made her way to the back yard.

Pausing at the doorway, she took in Teo. He was in a lounge chair, his bare feet propped up on the edge of the fire pit. The firelight danced across his chiseled features, revealing the warrior inside who earned a starting position on the Titans’ offensive line. He was fierce and beautiful and he took her breath away.

Lightheaded, she stumbled out the door and to the beach. The sand was warm around her ankles, but not hot. Her cheeks, on the other hand, burned.

Teo’s feet dropped, and he reached his long arm out to bring her chair right next to his. “I’ve been saving this seat for you.”

“Thanks. It’s hard to find a chair around here,” she joked. There were four other chairs within spitting distance. She sat down, forcing herself to appear relaxed, because every molecule in her body was stretched tight.

Teo took her hand in his, unleashing butterflies in her stomach. “You’re the first person who’s been back here since my family flew home. The sand was my dad’s idea. He said I needed a reminder of where I came from and that there were people there who loved me.” He traced circles around the back of her hand.

Cedar’s mind raced. Surely he wasn’t going to say that he’d fallen in love with her. That was crazy. She cared for him, liked him, but wasn’t to the love stage of anything yet. “Your dad sounds wonderful,” she hedged.

“The best.” Teo grew quiet, and Cedar grew anxious.

When she couldn’t stand the silence anymore, she said, “Teo?”

His dark, captivating eyes were full of firelight and desire. The combination knocked the breath right out of her.

“Are you—I mean—is this fast?” She squeezed his hand. “Too fast for you?”

Teo released her hand and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m not worried about what people will say, if that’s what you mean.”

Cedar hadn’t even given that a thought. But she could see how he would—how he had to. They’d been spotted in public today, photographed with Akoni. Rumors were bound to fly. “I’m not worried about that either. I’m worried about you. Worried that you need more time to mourn.” There was no better way to spoil a romantic mood than to bring up a man’s first wife, but Cedar needed to know what she was up against. As much as she liked Teo, and she did like him an awful lot, she didn’t want to fall into anything that Teo would find overwhelming and jump out of when it got too real.

He traced her jaw with his fingers, sending a shiver down her spine. “I mourned my marriage long before Amy died. While I always maintained hope that she would change, I’d given up on what I thought we could have together. I believe I have forgiven what needs to be forgiven, but there’s some letting go that still needs to take place.”

Cedar’s insides hardened. She slowly got to her feet. “I understand.” She cleared the emotion from her throat. Apparently, she liked Teo more than she thought she did. She hurried over to where her shoes rested. “I’ll be here tomorrow at my regular time.”

“Cedar.” Teo was behind her in a flash. For a big guy he sure moved quickly. Of course he moved quickly—that was what he did for a living. He stood behind her and placed his warm hands on her shoulders. Her thoughts and feelings jumbled around inside of her. “I didn’t mean time without you. What I feel for you is separate from what happened with Amy. You’re not her, and I know that. I’d really like to see where this is going.” His voice dropped. “I like you, Cedar.”

She turned to face him, his arms enveloping her, and tipped her chin up so she could get lost in his delicious eyes. “Where is this going?” Her hands went to his arms, needing to steady herself—he was quickly overwhelming every part of her with soft and slow caresses up and down her back.

The next time his hands went up, they continued until his fingers dug into her hair, and Teo brought his forehead down to touch hers. “I think we’re headed towards good things.”

Cedar’s eyelids fluttered shut as their lips came together. She drank in his touch, skimming her hands across all the muscles in his arms and shoulders and up into the prickly, tickly short hair on the back of his head.

A soft moan escaped as he effortlessly lifted her against his large frame. As Cedar lost herself in the moment, she decided she was pretty happy with his answer.