The Christmas Pact(17)

“Oh. What happened?”

“It’s a long story. But it worked out for the best. She’s getting married soon.”

Oh. Wow. That was a lot of information in just a few sentences. And I wasn’t ready to let him off the hook so easily this time. “The dishes can wait, if you’d like to talk about it.”

He looked down at where I was literally wrapped around his finger. He seemed to be contemplating telling me more when my mom burst into the kitchen. Kennedy straightened then, but continued toying with my hair.

“Kennedy, you’re so tall—do you think you can reach a few things for me on the top shelf of the pantry?”

Kennedy tugged on the strand of my hair again and leaned in to kiss my forehead. “Another time. My future mother-in-law needs me and then I really should be getting on the road.”

I let out a long sigh as I watched him walk into the pantry with Mom. The two of them laughed as he dug out some of mom’s Spode Christmas dishes.

Kennedy Riley was definitely an enigma. He had a hard shell, no doubt about it. But the more layers I peeled back, the more I realized that maybe, just maybe, that hard exterior had to be that way because it was protecting such a soft heart.





“Be careful driving.”

Later that morning, Kennedy slammed the rear hatch to the rental car shut, sending snow cascading to the ground at his feet. He wiped his hands on his jeans, then jammed his hands into his coat pockets. The snow had stopped falling sometime during the night, but had continued long enough to leave at least eight inches of the white stuff on the ground. Not enough to bring life to a standstill, but enough to make driving a real headache.

“I will. I should be fine. They’ve already plowed these side roads, so I’m sure the highway is clear by now.”

I’d thrown on a thick cardigan to walk him out to the car, and I pulled it tighter around me. It was freezing out. I should have grabbed my heavy coat. The snow might’ve stopped, but the temperature continued to plummet.

“You should get in the house. It’s too cold out here with no coat on.”

I nodded. But then awkwardness set in. How was I supposed to say goodbye to this man? We’d been acting like a loving couple for the last day and a half, and he’d slept in my bed, so it felt odd to just wave goodbye and not at least give him a hug or something. “Alright. Well, I’ll see you next weekend.” I lunged forward and gave him an incredibly awkward, clumsy hug that made the situation even more uncomfortable. When I pulled back, Kennedy stared down at me in silence. He probably thought I was the biggest dork.

“Alright,” I said again. “Well…have a good week.”

I turned and took two hasty steps toward the house.

“Riley, wait.” Suddenly Kennedy grabbed my arm and tugged me back against him. “Your mom is watching at the window.”

I looked back over my shoulder, scanning the front windows. “I don’t see anyone.”

“She was just there. And we wouldn’t want her to get suspicious. So I’m afraid you’re going to have to give me a better goodbye than that.”

“But…”

Before I could finish, Kennedy cupped my face in his hands and sealed his mouth over mine. At first I was shocked and frozen, but then a surge of the desire that never seemed to be far away whenever he was around, took hold. His lips were so soft, yet his actions were borderline rough. One of his big hands snaked around to the back of my neck, and he squeezed and tilted my head how he wanted it. It felt so good, I sighed into his mouth, and he used the opportunity to find my tongue and deepen the kiss. I don’t know what came over me, but I had the strongest urge to suck on his tongue.

All hell seemed to break loose after that. Kennedy groaned, then drew my bottom lip into his mouth and bit down.

I vaguely registered being lifted. One minute I was facing the rental car, and the next my back was pushed up against it, Kennedy pressing his hard body against mine. A loud moan passed between our joined lips. I wasn’t even sure which one of us it belonged to. God, he felt so good. I dug my hands into his thick hair, yanking at the silky soft strands, desperate to bring him even closer.

I had no idea how long we stood out there, making out in my mother’s driveway like teenagers. But when we finally came up for air, I was panting and Kennedy’s cheeks were flushed as his heavy-lidded gaze lingered on my lips.

I blinked a few times and reached up to cover my swollen lips with my fingers. “Wow.”

Kennedy’s mouth curved into that slow, sexy smile that I was becoming far too attached to. “You can say that again.”

“I mean, that was…”

“Yeah. It was.”

A gust of frigid air blew, and I shivered. I’d forgotten all about the cold.

“You better go inside.”

“Yeah. Ummm. Okay. I’ll see you Friday.”

I walked up the driveway in a complete daze. When I reached the front door, I couldn’t resist looking back. Kennedy hadn’t moved from where I had left him, and his eyes were still on me. I waved, and he finally opened the car door and got in.

It didn’t matter that it was freezing outside. I was still on fire from our impromptu make-out session and needed a moment to cool off before going into the house. So I stood at the door and watched as Kennedy’s car pulled away and drove down the block.