Stacking the Deck (A Betting on Romance Novel Book 2)(59)
“Liz.”
She swallowed and continued to stare at his mouth. “Mmm?”
“Liz.”
Taking a shallow breath, she dared to tilt her chin up to meet his eyes. “Yes?”
He didn’t reply. Instead, he held her gaze, leaned closer and brushed his lips against hers. Soft. Warm.
Heavenly.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she clamped down on the impulse to drag him toward her and grind her mouth against his the way her body craved, fearing what might happen if she took even one tentative step down that slippery slope.
Instead, she let herself glory in the moment. Finally! Here! Today was the day Carter McIntyre kissed her again! Had she imagined it like this? His lips so incredibly warm? His breath melding with hers as his mouth parted ever so slightly? Journey playing ‘Open Arms’ in the background?
Okay, maybe there wasn’t a rock ballad playing on cue, but she made up for it by humming a soft moan of pleasure somewhere in the back of her throat as she let herself sink into the pleasure of this one, perfect kiss.
Just like the first time.
After a few heady moments, Carter pulled back, an easy, sensual smile lingering on his lips. “I guess you can cross ‘Counted Carter’s Fillings” off that ‘Liz Never’ list,” he said. “Anything else I can help you with today?”
Liz gasped. Here she was, winded, overwhelmed, needy in ways she’d not remembered feeling for a long time—if ever—and he was making light of it? “Is this just a joke to you?”
“Come on, Liz. Have a sense of humor.”
She squiggled out of his arms. “Pardon me if I don’t have the sense of humor of a thirteen year-old.” She brushed the hair from her temple with a shaky hand. How could he make light of something that felt so monumental? She’d spent the better part of her youth mooning after this guy and dreaming about one stupid kiss shared in a dark closet and when she finally gets the nerve to relive that moment after ten, long years, he makes a crack like that?
“It was just a joke,” he said.
“It wasn’t funny.”
Carter sighed and shrugged and stepped away. “You need to lighten up, Beacon.”
“You need to think before you speak.”
His eyes flashed, but he didn’t say anything else except. “I’ll see you Monday.”
She nodded curtly, not trusting herself to be polite in return and wordlessly walked him to the door. She closed it softly behind him.
Carter McIntyre wasn’t worth a slam.
CHAPTER THIRTY
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BAILEY WAS BACK at Liz’s door, knocking, within ten seconds of Carter leaving.
Liz opened the door. “What?”
Bailey raised an eyebrow. “Somebody’s in a pissy mood.”
“Yes, somebody is. I also have no sense of humor, so watch out.”
Bailey walked in without being invited. “I forgot my bag. Got halfway to my job and realized I don’t have keys to get in.”
“Sorry, go ahead. I’m sure it’s around somewhere.”
Bailey started walking toward the kitchen. “I was afraid I might have to sit in my car for a while. Didn’t want to disturb you two if Carter was still apologizing.”
“Yes, well you’re lucky he quickly made an ass of himself.”
“It’s only been ten minutes.”
“He works fast.”
“What happened?”
“Remember that kiss back in high school?”
“The one you wrote sonnets about?”
“Mmm. Well, we kissed and you know what he says? He makes some crack about my counting his fillings. Can you believe it?”
“Did you?”
“Of course not! It was a beautiful… moment.”
“Until he didn’t recognize the magnitude of the occasion.”
Liz refilled her coffee. “When you put it like that…”
“It makes it sound like he was getting that scary chick vibe and wanted to redirect away from all the heavy emotional stuff?”
Liz looked at Bailey over the rim of her mug. “You think I’m a scary chick?”
“Serious. Just serious. You need to lighten up sometimes, that’s all.” Liz closed her eyes. “Unless he already told you to lighten up… in which case you need to kick his unfeeling ass right on out of here! Ah, here’s my bag!”
Liz sighed and flumped into a chair. “You’re right. I blew it. I finally get the courage to kiss the guy after all this time and it’s—honest to God—as incredible as I remember, and I go and spaz out on him. Lovely.”
“The good news is this isn’t Fatal Attraction spazzing. You can recover from this.”
“How?”
“Getting naked usually helps.” Bailey fished in her bag without looking up.
“It was hard enough kissing him. I don’t think getting naked is in the cards.”
Bailey popped a peanut butter cup into her mouth. “My experience is, where there’s unfinished business, getting naked is always in the cards.
“By the way, I think you should look outside.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
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