Page 15 of The Billionaire's Secret Kiss

I pointed a finger at Holden and said, “Bingo."

"What?" Jo asked from the living room where she was raiding the makeshift liquor cabinet to get me a drink. She came back carrying two bottles, one a lemon-flavored vodka and the other a cinnamon schnapps with gold flakes swirling lazily in the clear liquid. I knew from experience that I'd hate myself tomorrow if I drank the cinnamon schnapps, but there was no way I was touching lemon-flavored anything.

After kissing Noah and remembering the way he always tasted of lemon and mint, lemons were out.

“You have a terrible liquor selection,” she complained to Tate. He laughed and gave a shrug.

“We own a nightclub. If we want to drink liquor, we go to Mana. I didn’t even know I had that stuff.”

I pointed at the bottle of schnapps and said, “That one."

"Have you seen him? Did you talk to him?" Jo asked, finding a juice glass and pouring a healthy measure of the cinnamon schnapps inside. She handed it to me, watching with concern as I threw it back. The sweet fire burned my throat. I coughed twice and swallowed hard before I answered.

"I interrupted their meeting yesterday," I said. "I had no idea he was coming, and I've never said anything about him to Vance or Maggie, so they had no reason to think they should mention it to me. I just walked in, and there he was."

"What did he do when he saw you?" Emily asked. She extracted herself from Tate's hold to slide the bruschetta in the oven.

In answer, I held out my juice glass. Jo refilled it for me, but not without giving me the side–eye. "I'm not going to stop you, but watch out. You don't drink that much, and you haven’t eaten yet. You’ll make yourself sick."

I emptied the glass, sputtering a little. Already, warmth had spread through my chest, dulling the ache from seeing Noah. I wasn't going to drink much more. Emily was right. I’d regret it later.

"So? What did he say when he saw you?" Holden asked.

"How did you know he was here?" Jo broke in.

"Vance asked me a few weeks ago if I knew anything about Endicott Tech, aside from the obvious. It’s harder to do research when that lawsuit dominates their press. It’s not really our area, but I remembered the name, and I made a few calls. I had no idea he had an appointment with Vance yesterday, or I would have said something.”

I set the juice glass on the counter beside me. "It's okay. He knew I would be there. At least he knew I worked for them. He says he didn't just come here for business. He says he came back for me."

"What do you think?" Tate asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what I think. I thought I hated him. I thought I was over him. And then he kissed me and—"

“What?" Emily shouted, interrupting me. "When did he kiss you? Tell me he didn't kiss you in the middle of the meeting."

I shook my head. "No. I ran out like the great big baby I am, and he followed me into the kitchen while I was trying to find my keys. We started fighting, and then he kissed me."

"Was it good?" Jo asked in a low voice.

I nodded.

"Really good?" She asked.

I nodded again.

Thinking about it, I said, “You know how sometimes you and Holden start kissing and then the next thing you know, the rest of us have to leave the room because we think you two are about to start going at it right in front of us?"

Emily and Tate busted out laughing. They knew what I was talking about. Anyone who'd been in the same room with Holden and Jo for longer than twenty minutes knew what I was talking about. Those two weren’t capable of keeping their hands off each other, and once they got going . . .

Shooting a heated look at Jo, Holden said, “That good, huh?"

"Hey, I've been doing just fine on my own," I protested. "I really thought I was completely over him. Then one kiss, and I would've let him strip me naked in the middle of the kitchen. My bosses’ kitchen! I have to stay away from him."

"What if you don't?" Emily asked quietly. We all stared at her as if she'd suddenly grown horns on her forehead. "I'm just saying. You haven't dated anyone seriously since you broke up with Noah. Have you even slept with anyone?"

"Emily!" This was embarrassing, especially in the company of two happy couples who I was sure had sex multiple times a day. Emily's eyes narrowed on mine. Emily was one of the most thoughtful, sweet, and considerate people I knew. She was also very conscious of respecting other people's comfort zones. Considering she'd been dealing with a severe anxiety disorder for most of her life, she was usually the last person to push anyone where they didn't want to go. If she was pushing me, she must think she had a good reason.

"Hey," she said, "the four of us are your best friends. If you can't talk about sex with us . . . so be honest. Have you even hooked up with anyone since Noah?"