Passion's Instinct

Eight

Natalie

"I love the car. Love it."

Hayden and I toured the new Sequoia.

"Yeah, I like it," Hayden said.

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"The leather seats. They're going to be hot and sticky all of the time."

"The Ferrari had leather seats!"

He shrugged.

"Hayden-"

"I'm just not that into leather seats anymore!"

I laughed. "Okay."

"Can a man change his mind?"

I skimmed my hand over the seats. "They're not too bad. That new car smell is great."

We had gotten the Sequoia a week after the Audi, and we loved both cars. They both ran smoothly, and overall worked out for both of us. I loved actually having a car again.

I stepped out, and Hayden shut the driver's door, locking it. We walked back inside together, Kota greeting us at the door.

"What, Kota? What? We were only gone for five minutes," I said, scratching her head.

Oddly enough, the doorbell rang even though we had just walked inside. I opened it, and Florence, the man who took our engagement pictures, was standing there with a small box. He handed it to me and smiled. "Here are the photos."

"Thank you! Come in," I beckoned.

He stepped over the threshold, and Kota scared him so to make him jump back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, taking Kota by the collar and trying to get her to stop barking. She was pulling out of my grasp. "Hayden, baby!"

Hayden walked towards me and took the dog's collar for me.

"Thank you," I breathed, blowing a stray hair from my face. "Florence, right in here." I lead him to the couch and invited him to sit.

"Yes, so. Your photos turned out great," he started. I waved Hayden over and continued to listen. "They are absolutely gorgeous. Some better than others, but all gorgeous." He opened the box as Hayden sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

I gasped right away. "Aww, Hayden, look!" The first one on top of the pile was a picture where Hayden leaned over me, smiling, where my back was pressed against a stone wall.

He nodded and smiled. "Look at the next one."

I pulled the next one out of the pile. In this one, Hayden was in the grass, and I was on top of him, looking into his eyes and laughing. Not only had we taken ones in the field and by the stone building, we had taken ones on the beach, in the sunlight and the sunset. The ones in the sunset were all silhouettes.

One of the silhouettes was Hayden and I linking hands and looking out at the sunset. I smiled at it. When we were done browsing, I put them back in the box and closed the lid gingerly.

"Thank you again. The pictures are beautiful," I said to Florence. He nodded and walked to the door. He waved and left, driving away in his car.

I turned to Hayden. "I love the pictures! I can't decide which one we should use for the wedding invitations!"

"Me neither. I'm glad we had those done. Maybe we can order some in picture frame size to hang on the walls."

"Perfect idea!" I set the box down on the counter. "We will be doing that."

Hayden slid his arm around my stomach and kissed my temple. "I love you."

"I love you too." I turned around to kiss him, but he had already turned his head to look at Kota, who was whining behind him.

"What is it, Kota?" he asked. "Do you have a problem with me loving Natalie?"

She cocked her head to the side and whined more.

"What do you want, dog?" I asked her. "Come here," I said. She came over to me and I kissed the tip of her nose. "Are you a good girl? Yes, you're a good girl!"

Hayden shook his head.

"What?" I asked him, standing up to look up at him. I was only five foot three inches tall while he was a lean six feet and two inches.

"Nothing." He looked down at me. "How am I going to kiss you at our wedding?"

"You manage to kiss me every other time."

"But at weddings, the groom and the bride are standing directly across from each other. So I'll have to lean down."

I laughed and stood on the tips of my toes, kissing his cheek. "You'll have to lean down. Ugh, to kiss me. How terrible!" I threw my head back, throwing my arm across my forehead to make it more dramatic.

Hayden took me in his arms and kissed me slowly. He held my face in his hands, and his lips were soft against mine. He let go, his lips centimeters away from mine. "Was that so terrible?" he asked quietly.

I sucked in a breath as his lips touched mine again, and a rush went through my body. Shivers traveled down my spine. I jumped and buried my face in his shoulder when Kota barked. Too bad everything good can't last, I thought.