He managed to tear his lips away from hers. “Tara.”

She whimpered and fidgeted on his lap. He was beyond tempted to shut his brain down, so he could take her right there. And get them arrested. He placed a lingering kiss on the line of her jaw, then behind her ear, then finally on her forehead.

“If you keep kissing me like that, I’m going to take you in the middle of a park,” he murmured against her skin, not quite ready to stop touching her.

“Holy shit.” Tara practically jumped off his lap, her cheeks stained deep red, and scrambled away on her hands and feet. As aroused as he was, he couldn’t ignore her resemblance to a crab. He held on to that image, trying to put the brakes on the launch sequence.

“I know.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “It seems we’re dabbling in some dangerous magic.”

“Right? Caution: No kissing in public. Might rip each other’s clothes off.” She laughed shyly as she fanned her face with her hands.

“You’re killing me. You know that?” he choked out, vividly imagining ripping her clothes off.

“No. You’re not there, yet. You’ll know when I’m trying to kill you,” she promised, biting her bottom lip. He was doing it. He was going to jump her in the park. Then a slow smile spread across her face. “Softly. With my words.”

“God. That’s horrible,” Seth said, laughing so hard he had to clutch his side to breathe. “You’re supremely talented at telling dad jokes for someone who isn’t a dad.”

“See. You’re fine now.” She flicked a glance at his jeans. “If you’re decent, we should pack up and get going. I think our Save the Prince game ate up our riverside-walk time. I need to get home.”

“Home?” He didn’t want to part with her already.

What happened to his plan to have her all to himself? Well, he chose to share her with a bunch of adorable kiddos. How could he have said no to that? But in hindsight, he regretted his decision just a little. He wasn’t ready to let Tara go.

“Yeah. I told my brother I was going out to run errands. I can’t believe I didn’t have a better excuse. Sorry.” Her shoulders drooped. “There are only so many errands I could hypothetically run.”

“Let’s get you home then.” At least, she wanted to stay longer with him, too.

He grabbed the nearest container and began cleaning up the remains of the picnic. As he’d predicted, they’d eaten up pretty much everything he’d packed. Tara joined in right away. Every accidental touch of her hand and a bump of her elbow sent electricity striking down his spine. From the way her eyes shot to meet his, she felt the same spark.

They worked silently and efficiently and loaded everything back into his car within minutes. The air in the car was charged as he drove her back home. He snuck a peek at her, but looked away blushing when their eyes met. Christ. He was acting like a love-sick kid.