Kissed Blind (Hot Pursuit #2)(67)

“That’s just mean.” Vance frowned.

She oohed. “Or I could find the one of you with that Cabbage Patch doll you loved. Di, you would have died. He never went anywhere without that baby girl. What was her name again?”

“Annabelle Lee. Her name was Annabelle Lee.” Bitterness lingered in his tone.

“You had a Cabbage Patch doll named Annabelle Lee?” I asked.

“Hey, you try being the youngest boy in a household full of girls and see what your favorite toys are. I was doomed from birth.”

“Aw, it’s kind of sweet picturing you loving a doll.”

“And I was destroyed when she lost it.” He jabbed a finger at Jina.

“I did not lose your doll.” She shook her head and looked at me. “It’s been the topic of controversy for years. I don’t remember him handing it to me in that restaurant. Christina doesn’t remember taking it, but Vance swears he gave it to one of us.”

“I know I handed it to you,” Vance protested.

“Well, anyway, Ma went back and looked for it, but no one ever turned it in. Sweet Annabelle Lee has been lost ever since.”

“I cried for a week.”

“Aw.” I covered my heart with my hand. “That’s so sad.”

“I’m still not taking the blame. He lost it and I’m sticking with that. Now, here’s your phone back.” Jina grinned at me. “We girls have to stick together.”

Vance stood to shove his phone in his pocket.

I placed my hand on his and stifled a laugh. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”

“Keep it up and you will be sorry.”

I whipped my head around and intentionally hit him in the face with one of my many ponytails. He pretended to spit hair out of his mouth.

I spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories with Vance’s aunts, uncles, brothers-in-law, and sisters. I had a great time, and we shared lots of laughs. When my head started to ache from my hairdo, I asked Arianna if it was okay if I took it down. When she agreed, I set my locks loose and left the accessories on the table. I caught Vance smiling at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Hopeless. You’re still pretty.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled.

The day wore on and night fell. It was time to call it an evening. Vance’s mother gave me a few containers of food to go, and Vance escorted me to my car.

“You don’t have to walk me to my car. I think I can handle this.” I set the containers of food in my back seat and shut the door.

He leaned against the driver’s door and grinned. “Having you join the party breathes a new life into it. I appreciate you being here. You should come more often with or without your sidepiece.”

I smiled while my heart sank. “Thanks.” I nudged my head toward the car. “So, you going to let me leave, or is this some lame attempt to try to make out with me again.”

I couldn’t believe the words left my mouth, but they had, and they floated around us like a cloud heavy with rain. The pressure of them silently built, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if lightning struck me dead; I would have welcomed it. He shifted his stance and rested his full weight flat against my car, biting his lower lip and grinning.

I blinked and shook my head rapidly. “I… I don’t know why I said that.”

“I do.” He grabbed my hips and pulled me into his body. I caught the smell of his cologne mixed with his mother’s cooking.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and turned my head. “Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop pretending. I know this is some game you love to play with me.” I braved staring back at him. He furrowed his brow slightly and shook his head. “Oh, please. Don’t act all innocent. I feel like… like—”

“Like what?” His gaze held.

My heart thundered inside my chest, but I refused to fall for it again. I gripped his hands and pulled them off. “You like making a joke out of me.”

He straightened his back. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do. You get really close to me all the time and act like you’re going to cross some invisible line that you’re never going to cross.”

“Hmm…” He shrugged. “Or, maybe I’ve crossed it already?”

I narrowed my eyes into thin slits. “Vance DeLuca, what the hell does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” He smiled.

It could have only meant one thing. “Damn it, you remember, don’t you?”

“Remember what?”

I groaned. “You’re absolutely exhausting. You know exactly what. Admit it.”

He waited a second to draw out my misery. “Yes, I remember kissing you.”

And just like that, I couldn’t breathe, and my heart threatened to stop. “But, you never said anything. Why wouldn’t you say anything and let me…” I trailed off.

“I was having a dream—a fantastic dream—when it happened. But when I came to, I was actually kissing you. Only an idiot would have stopped.” He smiled crookedly. “But I came to my senses, and my stomach started to hurt, and, well, I think you remember the rest. Still not one of my finest moments. I figured it would be easier on both of us if I pretended it never happened.”