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I liked it so flipping much that if he’d been anyone else, I might have invited him up when he dropped me off. Even now, I’ve been replaying the memory a thousand times over. God, I never imagined a man this cold could feel so hot.
I never thought anyone could makemefeel so good, just aching to burst into flames and walk through the fire.
I stuff my face for a few bites, looking for a distraction.
That kiss is the absolute last thing I want to be thinking about right now, especially when he’s right beside me, his knee close enough to brush mine.
“Guess you didn’t get my messages,” he says.
Oof. I should’ve known he’d bring that up pretty fast.
“No, I got them. I answered the texts, didn’t I? The rest, I’ve just been… busy. It’s a sugar pusher thing you wouldn’t understand. The cupcake game doesn’t sleep in this city.” I force a smile that feels as flimsy as my pride right now.
Honestly, I’ve just been busy trying not to think about the kiss and failing. I’ve been busy ignoring my own feelings, where I can’t begin to sort up from down and right from oh-so-wrong.
The kiss that must be forgotten short-circuited my brain.
“Sure. I wanted to come over and apologize in person, anyway. You deserve that much after the shit I pulled over dinner.” He scratches Catness’ head as my feline betrayer crawls on his knee and purrs.
I wonder if he can hear my heart trying to beat its way out of my chest. I’m afraid I already know what he’s going to say.
It’s what I want him to say, but having him actually say it hits different, somehow.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you, Junie,” he says, looking everywhere but me. Guess he’s all kinds of tangled up, too. I should be glad we’re embarrassed together. “It was unprofessional and wrong. One big damn mistake after the last one dragging you into this. We were both stressed about the situation and we screwed ourselves over—and I admit I did most of the screwing.”
One big damn mistake.
He couldn’t have just left it atmistakeperiod?
Did I just get too into it because, unlike him, I drank four glasses of wine over dinner?
And here I am with more wine…
“Yeah. We were swept up in the moment,” I say slowly.
“It was intense,” he says. “Still, I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you. I’m sorry.”
Taken advantage of me?
Oh, hell, no.
I pivot around to face him, tucking my legs under me.
“Okay, hold up. First of all, I might have had a few drinks too many, but I was just as present as you were.” I jab my spoon at him. “You suggested it as a way of persuading Gran and it worked. She’s a believer. She’s thrilled for us. We accomplished our mission and there’s no shame in that.”
“You make a good case.” He frowns slightly.
“Right. So…” I take another mouthful of chili before I say anything to embarrass myself more, like admitting how much I liked it when heclearlydidn’t.
“Sorry I interrupted your evening.” He glances at the laptop on the floor. “You were trying to work, weren’t you?”
How is he able to read me so easy? Is it some weird superpower?
“It’s fine, Dex. Wrapping up orders and expenses feels like a stretch now. I don’t have a head for numbers past eight.” Or anytime, really, but Nana hinted at how bad I was at business over dinner. No need to make it worse. “Since you’re here, do you want a drink or anything?”
“A glass of wine wouldn’t hurt.”
“For sure. It’s not your fancy stuff,” I warn. “In fact, it’s kinda cheap. Nasty drunk-girl-after-bar-hopping stuff. You’ll probably prefer cough syrup.”
