Surrender to Love by Raine English Read Free Book Online Page A

to keep his word.

     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    During the ride home, it was quite apparent they were both trying to keep the conversation light and away from what had just happened between them at Candle Ridge. Tara could still feel the tingle of Easton’s kisses. She hadn’t planned on even letting him hold her, let alone kiss her, but when he gathered her into his arms, it would’ve been impossible to wrench herself away, the magnetism building between them was just that intense. And then when his mouth covered hers, hungrily claiming her lips, shivers of ecstasy shot through her. She most certainly hadn’t been expecting that either. It seemed she’d lost her mind. Getting involved with Easton would be a mistake. No doubt about it.
    She pulled her sweatshirt closed over her shirt. Evening had set in, and with it the cool night air. She’d been gone a lot longer than she’d expected. Hopefully, her grandmother wouldn’t be angry.
    Tara was glad when Easton pulled into his driveway. All she wanted was to say a quick good night and go home. But before they’d even gotten out of the car, Bennett came out of the house and was headed toward them.
    Easton lowered his window, doing nothing to hide his annoyance. “What’s up?”
    “Your father wants to see you. He’s in the study.” Although he spoke to Easton, his eyes were fixed on her.
    “Tell him I’ll be right in,” he said coolly, then turned to Tara. “I don’t think you’ve met my cousin yet. Tara, this is Bennett. Bennett, this is Tara.”
    Bennett reached across Easton to shake her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”
    “Likewise.” Although now that she’d seen him up close and shaken his hand, she wasn’t sure whether that was true. There was something about him that seemed off. Maybe it was just that she was picking up on the tension between cousins, but her intuition warned her to be wary of him, and in this instance, she planned on heeding it.
    After Bennett went back inside the house, she said to Easton, “Thank you. I had a really nice time.”
    “I did too.” He leaned in toward her, and she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.
    She was glad for the semidarkness so he couldn’t see the range of emotions displayed on her face. She wanted to kiss him. Badly. But common sense won out. What happened earlier couldn’t happen again. “I should go. Good night.”
    She didn’t wait for his reply. She practically leapt out of the car, ran across the lawn and up her grandmother’s walkway. She didn’t look back until she was inside the house and the door was firmly shut behind her. Only then did she peer out the window to see Easton head around the side of the house toward the backyard. She may have hurt his feelings, but better she hurt him a little now than he hurt her a lot later on.
    She heard the tap of her grandmother’s cane against the hardwood floor and turned around to see her at the end of the hallway, heading toward her. “Grandmother, I’m sorry I was gone so long. I’ll get you something to eat right away.”
    “Don’t worry, dear. I won’t die of starvation.” She stood beside Tara now. “Did you have a good time?”
    She hoped her grandmother wouldn’t notice the flush to her cheeks when she thought of Easton’s kiss and how she felt when he’d held her. “I had a tour of the brewery.”
    “You did? What did you think?”
    “I’m amazed at what Grandfather and Frank have done.”
    Her grandmother leaned against her cane. “Of course, they didn’t always have all that fancy equipment, but the end result has always been the same.”
    “A handcrafted premium-quality beer.”
    “You’re a fast learner.” Her grandmother smiled. “You couldn’t have spent all this time at the brewery, though. What else did you do?”
    “We went to Candle Ridge.” Tara spit out the words quickly, then turned away before her grandmother could see her embarrassment. She hurried toward the stairs. “I’ll be down