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“We can just pretend none of this happened if you want,” she said as we pulled back into the long drive in front of her house. “Just a fun day to remember. Nothing else.”
I hated that idea and it caused a visceral reaction, my stomach turning my muscles tensing. I frowned, wishing I could see her eyes behind the shades. “Is that what you want?”
She laughed, but it held no joy at all. “What I want? I just want to go back to my regular life where I know what’s going on and movie stars don’t pop in, kiss me, and then make wild proposals about moving to Maryland.”
“What if we went back to before I made a wild proposal, and just stayed at the kissing part?” A man could hope. Maybe if we took things more slowly, Tess would come around. I knew—because I’d been the one kissing her—that there was more here than she was willing to admit. If I could give her some time, I suspected she might be more willing to admit it.
She parked and turned off the engine, turning to look at me and finally pulling the shades from her eyes. “My sister might be good at pretending,” she said. “But I live in the real world. I like you, Ryan. I mean—I was kind of helpless in all this. I’ve been kind of in love with some image of you forever, so how could I not want to kiss the real thing?”
A thrill went through me at the thought of Tess being in love with any version of me. I was about to speak, my mouth eager to fill the void, to apologize some more for being rash, to convince her that I could back off. But she lifted a finger and I snapped my mouth shut.
“We could maybe go back to the kissing part,” she said. “But you can’t say things about moving, about staying. It’s too much, way too soon, and even though I know you’re insane and it would never really happen, I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from believing just a tiny bit that you might do it. And then, when you left …”
“I get it.” Her explanation was perfect, and it rekindled the hopeful desire that had been growing inside me. Her eyes were sad as she spoke, those full lips nearly pouting as she said the words, and I just wanted to pull her into my arms again. God help me, I wanted to bury myself in her and never come up for air.
“Okay, good.” She turned and got out of the car, and I realized my heart was racing. I took a deep breath and stepped out too, catching her hand before she could climb the steps to the house.
She turned and looked up at me, her eyes cloudy and dark. I traced my thumb over her full bottom lip, and she exhaled, her warm breath dancing over my skin. I leaned in slightly, careful and slow, not sure exactly where we stood now. But Tess didn’t back away, and as my lips brushed hers, all hesitation slid away. Whatever else we lacked—geographical convenience, similar lifestyles—we made up for in chemistry.
Our lips met and Tess’s tongue found mine, pieces of a puzzle that had been apart too long. She nipped at my bottom lip, pulling a groan from somewhere deep inside me, and then somehow she was in my arms, and our bodies reached for one another. My mind was flying, my body warming and tightening, and I wondered if her intention was to have her way with me here in the driveway, because she was suddenly so driven. Her hands were pulling at my clothes and the most incredible little moans were coming from her mouth. I wanted to throw her down and take her right there on the ground.
As images of Tess in every compromising position I could imagine flew through my mind and my body began to take over, a sound came from the front porch, causing us both to freeze.
We turned our heads to find Granny standing just outside the front door, grinning, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of some kind of warlock or something that said “Max DPS” above it. The fire inside me was doused. Caught.
And Gran still thought I was dating Juliet.
“Oh God,” Tess moaned, stepping away from me. “Gran,” she said, as she stood up.
“Hello, kiddies,” Gran said, her voice full of glee. “Mr. McDonnell, you sure do get around. Tess, I thought this was Juliet’s boyfriend.” She turned the grin on me.
Shit, shit, shit. I was already failing both Manchester sisters. This would make things very difficult between Tess and Juliet, not to mention with Gran. And between Juliet and me. I looked at Tess, not sure how much to say.
“It’s kind of complicated, Gran,” she said. “I’m sorry we’re so late. Ready for dinner?”
Gran didn’t seem interested in moving inside quite yet. “Young man, I thought I warned you earlier … You don’t get to mess around with both my granddaughters.”
“No ma’am,” I said, “I would definitely never do that.” I was suddenly terrified of this tiny fierce woman, and could only imaging how scary she must have been as a school principal.
“Tell me this then. Since you’re Juliet’s boyfriend, am I wrong in assuming it was you I heard Juliet with in her room last night, then?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me. “All that husky moaning?”
Tess turned her head and gave me a look to match Gran’s. Dark, angry, suspicious.
I had no idea what the old woman was talking about, but a frenzied worry began to build in me. “No,” I said, hoping my confusion made me sound innocent. “Definitely not me.”
“Hmm.” Gran didn’t say anything else as she turned and went back inside the house, but Tess was watching me warily. I hadn’t slept with Juliet. Not last night, not ever. I thought back to the moans I’d heard myself coming from her room—I’d thought maybe she was sleeping, but they had possessed a slightly sexual tone, now that I was thinking about it. What was going on?
“I swear,” I said, turning to Tess. “I told you the truth. If Juliet’s got someone in her room …” I’d just gotten Tess to a place where she was willing to explore this thing between us. If she believed I was playing her, she’d never trust me. My heart pounded and felt like it might actually explode.
“Ryan,” she said, her voice low. “You’re the only guy here.”
“We’re sleeping in separate rooms,” I said.
“Doesn’t sound like Gran is talking about sleeping,” Tess said.
“You know,” I said, scrambling to follow Tess up the steps. “There is the security team.”
She turned then and shot me a disbelieving look. “Juliet is not getting together with a bodyguard.” Her voice dismissed the possibility of continuing the conversation, and I swallowed the rest of my protest. Whoever had been in Juliet’s room, it wasn’t me. I just needed to make sure Tess believed me.
