Make It Last (12 page)

             
She brought her hands to his hips, digging her fingers in as the kiss melted every bone in her body.
As he deepened the kiss, she moaned in his mouth, which caused his head to
feel light and his pants to grow too
tight.

             
He took a few more minutes to torture himself, but stopped when he still had it in him to do so.

             
“Call me when you get back from your mother
’
s?” h
e asked her, leaning his forehead against hers so he could catch his breath.

             
“I will.” She reached up for one last kiss before she opened th
e door and closed it on him leaving him with
a sexy smile.

             
Colin stood there for a moment, staring at the place her beautiful face had just been, and realized
that
he may be in over his head this time.

Chapter Twelve

             
Briana rose
early the next morning and got ready to drive out to her mother’s.
As she was getting dressed, she couldn’t help but think back to her date with Colin.

             
She felt herself softening towards him. When they were together it felt just like it used to, comfortable and right, with a hint of sexual tension.

             
She worried about letting him get close to her again. She’d been hurt so badly whe
n he’d broken up with her
, but she had to admit that she was starting to like him for the man he was now, not just the boy he’d been. He’d been through a lot over the past few years, and he’d had to grow up and realiz
e that the dream he’d always pursued
would never come true now.

             
She was really enjoying spending time with him, and she had to admit, kissing him now was hotter than it had ever been when they were in high school.
She just hoped she wasn’t making a mistake by trusting him again.

             
She called goodbye to Kara as she walked out the door, and smiled at the grunt that answered her.
It only took thirty
minutes
until she
turn
ed
down the long
,
dirt road that led to her mother’s farm.

             
When she got out
and shut her car door, she
smell
ed cooking
bacon coming from inside the house.

             
She loved breakfast at her mother’s.
When she walked through the door, she was overcome by the feelings of safety and security that she
remembered from her youth
.

             
The décor was a mix o
f items from Briana’s childhood
and the new furniture that her mom and Ray had purchased together. The house was full of warmth and charm
,
and screamed of comfort and happiness. It was one of Briana’s favorite places.

             
She walked in
to
the kitchen, tiptoed across the floor, and wrapped her arms around her mother, squeezing her tight.

             
“Oh, Briana,” her mother said breathlessly. “You startled me.”

             
Her
mother turned and threw her arms around her, hugging her close and kissing her cheek.

             
“It’s good to
see you, Baby Girl,” she
said with a big grin.

             
Briana thought her mother was
gorgeous, with her grey hair styled in a sleek bob, and her face a map of years of laughter and happiness.
Other than
during
the
period of
time after her fa
ther
passed away, her mother had always been the happiest, most optimistic p
erson that Briana knew
.

             
She loved her to pieces.

             
“It’s good to see you too, Mama.”

             
“Come on over and have a seat. I’ll call Ray and we can all sit down and enjoy our breakfast.”

             
Briana sat down at the table and poured herself some coffee, puttin
g a little cream and sugar in it
.

             
When Ray walked in
to
the room he went right over to kiss the top of Briana’s head, before sitting in his seat.

             
“Hello, Bree,” h
e said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again. Your mama’s been missing you.”

             
“Now, Ray, I know Briana is a busy girl with a life of her own,” her mother countered. “But I always welcome her visits.”

             
“I’m sorry it’s been so long, Mama. I’ve just been so caught up in work,” Briana explained, feeling a tug of guilt at her mother’s words. “I almost have my application finished for culinary school.”

             
“That’s wonderful,
dear
,” her
mother said, patting her hand. “And don’t worry about c
oming to see me all of the time. Y
ou need to live your life, and I need to get used to you being far away again. When you get accepted to
that
school and move to Austin, I won’t get to see you as much.”

             
“I’ll come home whenever I can.
”

             
“I
’m sure you will. Now, tell me…
what’s this I hear about Colin being back in town?”

             
Briana blushed
though she should have known that her mother’s friends fr
om town would be keeping her up-to-
date on all of the latest gossip.

             
“He’s back,” Briana admitted. “He got injured and won’t be able to play football anymore, so he came home. He’s helpi
ng his daddy at the store now. B
ut you know him, Mama. Running the store isn’t what he wants
to do for the rest of his life. He’
s thinking about trying to coach.”

             
Briana’s mother looked at Ray with a smile and then back at her daughter.
“Sounds li
ke you sure know a lot about it,
”
she said
with a wink.

             
Briana shoveled a piece of French toast into her mouth, trying to buy herself some time to compose herself. She couldn’t
prevent her embarrassed flush
.

             
“That’s okay
.
I can wait,” her mother said with a smirk.

             
Ray just chuckled and helped himself to some more bacon.

             
Briana swallowed and took a swig of her coffee, trying to dampen her suddenly dry mouth.
“
Um, yeah, I’ve seen him,” she
stuttered.

             
“Really?” he
r mother asked gleefully. She’d always loved Colin and had
expressed the hope
that Briana would get back together with him someday. “That’s wonderful, Bree. Are you two getting along?”

             
“Yes, Mama. W
e’ve talked a bit and
I’m
giving him the benefit of the doubt.”
             
“I’m so happy
,
dear. The two of you were always such a good match.”

             
Satisfied that her mother was going to leave the conver
sation after having said her piece
, Briana enjoyed breakfast and then joined her mother for a walk around the farm.
They spent a nice day together, catching up and talking about Briana’s plans for her culinary school application.
As t
hey sat at her mother’s favorite bench overlooking the pond, she brought up Colin again.

             
“So, when you said you’ve talk
ed a bit, what does that mean?” her mother asked. She nudged Briana’s
arm and smiled.

             
“We went on a date.
”

             
“Really?” She drew
the word out. “That’s interesting. How’d that go?”

             
“It was really nice, Mama.
I’m
comfortable with him. When we talk, it feels just like it always did, like we haven’t been apart all of these years.”

             
“You said he’s had to deal with a lot of changes,” her mother prompted.

             
Briana held onto her mother’s hand and looked out over the water.
“Yeah. He’s had to let go of his dream and find a new one. He’s really changed, Mama. He was always sweet, but even I can admit that he was pretty self-involved in high school. He knew what he wanted and was willing to do whatever he needed to do to make it happen. Now he seems to be putting his parents
’ needs ahead of his own. He’s
grown and realized the consequences of his actions.
I’m
really enjoyi
ng getting to know the man he’
s become.”

             
Briana’s mom just made a hmmming sound and they sat
there in silence for a while, e
njoying each other’s company.
When she walked Briana to the car, her mother engulfed her in one last hug before pulling back to look at her, brushing the hair off of Briana’s forehead.

             
“Give Coli
n a second chance, Baby Girl,” h
er mother said softly. “Y
our
father and I always liked him. You complimented each other
so well
.”

             
Briana just smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek, before getting i
n her car to drive back home.

             
She spent the next thirty minutes thinking about what her mother had said, and trying to decide how she felt about it.

Chapter Thirteen

             
When Briana got home on Saturday night, Kara told her that Rich h
ad put together an impromptu barbecue
at his parents’ house for the next afternoon. They were out of town for a few weeks, so he thought it would be the perfect time to get everyone together.

             
Briana got up and went to the grocery store to pick up a few items that
she could contribute to the party
.
She decided to make a spinach and raspberry salad and trifle for desert.
Just as Briana wrapped up the dishes,
Kara came out in a blue-green summer dress with strappy sandals.

             
“Ready?” Kara
asked
as she coated her lips with a shimmery gloss.

             
“Yup
.
I just need to grab my bag. You have your clothes for work?”

             
Kara patted the small backpack that she carr
ied, frowning as she said, “Yes.
It stinks that we have to work ton
ight. We’
re going to have to leave just when the party gets goin’.”