Page 67 of Kiss Me Forever

I froze, my hands nearly shaking. As I looked up at Reece, his eyes were just as wide as mine felt, and I swallowed hard.

“This seems like a thing for family,” I said slowly. Reece wasn’t saying a damn thing, and I ignored the odd whine of my heart in that moment. It would be silly to want anything more than that.

“But you’re one of my best friends. And you know me and Reece. I don’t know. I just want you to come. But you don’t have to.”

“Come,” Reece ordered, his voice a deep growl. He reached out and pushed my hair back from my face. I loved the gesture usually, but in that moment it just confused me.

“I don’t want to make things confusing.”

“You won’t. Come. We’ll do dinner, and from what Bella says, it’ll probably be something boiled and disgusting, so we’ll get ice cream after.”

“I can do ice cream.” I let out a deep breath, unsure if I was making a mistake. I looked down at the billowing linen slacks and soft top I wore and cringed. “Is this okay for dinner?”

“You look beautiful. I always love your style.”

“You’re about my height you know. You can borrow a few things.”

“But I don’t have your boobs.”

“Please don’t say boobs in my presence,” Reece said with a dramatic sigh. “At least until you’re thirteen. It’s on my list to have those discussions when you’re older.”

Bella met my gaze, and the both of us burst out laughing. That poor man and his lists. They were going to blow up in his face, but he wouldn’t be alone in that.

“Okay, if you think I look good enough for dinner, I can come.”

“That’s great. Let me go get my sketchbook, then we can go.” Bella hugged me, whispered, “thank you,” and ran to her room.

“You do look good enough for dinner.”

I ignored the innuendo in his tone and pressed my fingers against his lips as he leaned forward to kiss me.

“How are you going to introduce me to Bella’s grandparents?” I asked slowly. “I’m not asking for a relationship, I just don’t… God, no. More like what we’re going to do for Bella.”

He had stiffened as soon as I asked the first question, and my backtracking probably hadn’t helped.

“How about our friend. And somebody that we care about?” I let my hands drop and swallowed hard.

“Good answer.”

Bella cleared her throat. “If you two are done making moon eyes over each other, let’s go. They hate when we’re late.”

Reece sighed. “We won’t be late. But let’s go.”

“And now when we give them the bread that you made as a thank you gift, they’ll know that you made it, and we didn’t just pick it up at a store,” Bella said as she got into the back of the SUV.

I slid into the passenger seat, when Reece closed both doors for us, and sighed.

“I really hope we’re not making a mistake,” I told Bella before he got into the car.

“We aren’t. But I think Reece is going to need you.”

I turned, frowning. “What are you not telling me?”

“Nothing you don’t already know.” She shrugged, and went to her sketchbook, as Reece got into the driver’s seat. He raised a brow in question, and I shook my head, not even sure what I could say in that moment.

I was going to a ridiculous family event and hadn’t planned on it. That seemed to be the case day by day for the two of us these days. And I didn’t like it.

What were they going to think of me? They’d already met me of course, but I was Reece’s coworker then.