A repetitive vibration in my pocket makes me slow the kiss even though it’s the last thing in the world I want to do. With our foreheads resting together, she looks me in the eyes, and I feel alive.

“Hello?” I answer my phone, not breaking eye contact or pulling away.

“Where are you?” my mother’s question makes me pull away and look down at my watch.

“We’re about to leave, it’s only five, Ma.”

“Yes, and we talked about eating early this week, remember?”

Obviously, I hadn’t remembered, not that I’m going to tell her that. “Yup, I remember.”

“Great, now hurry up. I can’t wait to meet this girl.”

“Bye, Ma.” I still have one arm around Hope when I hang up and place my phone back into my pocket. I can’t help but kiss her again. This time, it’s a gentle peck, which she returns.

And before I can say anything, she asks, “Do we have to go?”

Fuck! She has no idea how badly I wanna skip dinner and keep doing what we’re doing.

“We do. But this—” I kiss her harder, smashing my lips against hers in a brief but demanding movement—“isn’t finished,” I say as I pull away.

She doesn’t respond, and I take her hand, leading her to my house where my ’69 Porsche is already waiting for us with the top down in the driveway.

I give Ray, the front desk clerk, a wave goodbye as we pass in front of the inn on the way to my place.

“Who is that?” Hope asks as I open the passenger door. My cock grows as her dress rides up when she sits down.

Jesus, her legs are fucking amazing.

“That’s Ray. He runs the front desk at the inn,” I tell her and then walk around the car, shifting my cock, which is still rock hard, before getting behind the wheel.

“Why were you here the other night when I came, then?”

“It was his night off, so I was covering.”

I turn the key in the ignition, bringing the engine roaring to life. The sound makes her squirm in her seat, which makes me want to do a whole lot of bad things to her.

Pulling away from my house, we head toward my parents’ house. The wind whips through her hair, and I have a hard time keeping my eyes on the road.

“You good?” I ask when we come to a stop sign.

She nods, and I proceed up the road, the setting sun turning the sky an orange-yellow color. Her skin glows in the light, and I can’t stop myself from sliding my arm around her shoulders.

“So besides the inn, what do you do?” she asks.

“I help my parents with the vineyard.” I launch into a brief explanation of what I do, and she nods along.

“I can’t wait to see it.”

“You’re gonna love it.”

And she will, especially this time of year. I know we just met, but there’s something about Hope that makes me feel so comfortable. As if I’ve known her all my life.

Glancing over, she has her eyes closed, her face tilted to the warm late-day sun coming through the windshield.

God, she’s fuckin’ perfect.

Then she opens them and looks at me, smiling, and I . . . I’m lost for words. She’s stripped every word from my vocabulary.

Pulling up my parents’ driveway, I find my brother’s car already there, and Cab, our old dog, is sitting waiting for me. He’s always been my boy, but my dad loves him just as much, so I never asked to take him when I moved out.

“You like dogs?” I ask Hope, putting the car in park.

“I love them.”

“Good, that is Cab.” I point to the chocolate lab standing in front of my parents’ house. “Don’t worry, he’s too old to jump anymore, but he’ll lick you to death.”

I get out of the car and then help her out. The second I grab her hand, that feeling of excitement runs through my veins. She stands next to me and looks all around, taking in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view. Cab limps over to us, and I feel torn between paying attention to him or her. But Hope makes it easy. She bends to pet the top of his head, and he licks her arm. As I watch them together, the front door opens a second before my brother walks out. He looks to Hope and then places both his hands in front of his chest as if he’s holding big tits, mimicking hers, and I flip him off. Coolly, he walks over to us, but I know what’s going on in his head, and I could punch him in his teeth.

“He likes you,” Colt says, and Hope straightens. My eyes fighting with myself to stay on her face and not on her tits thanks to my brother.

“Hey, Colt,” she says, and they hug, but it’s swift. Regardless, I still don’t like my brother’s grimy hands on her. “He’s so sweet.”

Hope’s words have me looking down at Cab as the old boy lies down on the grass.

“We better get inside,” Colt says. “Dad’s already uncorked the wine.”

Bravely, I wrap my hand around Hope’s. She smiles at me, and together, we follow my brother inside. The house smells the way it always does, like wine and a good, home-cooked meal.

“What’s your—” Hope begins, but before she can finish, my mom and dad are standing right in front of us.

“Mom, Dad, this is Hope.” I let go of her hand as a barrage of hugs and introductions take over.

Colt whispers in my ear, “You hit that yet?”

“Not yet.” My response this time seems to make him happy, and he doesn’t say another word or give me any more of a hard time.