Page 53 of Once Smitten, Twice Shy

I feel a pinch of regret. She said she feels rusty, and I probably just made her feel rustier, responding that way. “Sorry,” I mutter.

“No, that’s on me,” she says softly. “I didn’t lead with what I meant to.” She pauses, then says, her fingers tracing up my arm now, “Ilovethese freckles. I love how many there are.”

My eyes snap open and narrow on her. “You’re joking.”

Her eyes narrow, too. She leans in. “I’mpracticing.Do you mind?”

I’m skeptical, but I keep quiet.

Juliet peers at my arm, watching her fingers trace a meandering line from freckle to freckle. “I could spend an entire day doing this, tracing your freckles, finding constellations, hidden stories.” Her eyes meet mine. “Connecting the dots.”

A rough swallow works down my throat. “An entire day?”

“At least,” she says quietly, heat in her gaze.

“As you noticed, I have a lot of freckles. Might take longer than that.”

A loud belly laugh jumps out of her. “Will, you are the funniest person I know.”

“Come on,” I tell her flatly.

She slugs my thigh with her fist. “Dammit, Orsino! Stop it!”

“Stop what?” I frown, rubbing at my thigh.

“Stop crushing my compliments. Stop fighting my flirting.” She sets both hands on my knees and leans in, pressing our faces so close, she’s almost a blur. “I promised you I’d be honest, remember? I’mnotjoking or bullshitting you. I’m not flattering you. I’m flirting with you.” Her gaze dips down to my mouth. “I’m complimenting you. And I damn well mean what I say.”

My racing heart is tight and aching, like my sides are when I push myself on a run to the point that I can barely breathe, when I’m reaching for a new depth of speed, endurance, capability.Maybe my heart feels like this because it’s doing that same thing—digging deeper, stretching toward a capacity it hasn’t had before.

“I know I haven’t known you very long,” she says quietly, “but you really are the funniest person I know.” Her eyes dart up to mine again. “Because when you share your humor, it’s always unexpected, and I love the element of surprise; because I can tell you’re being genuine and what you say is never at someone else’s expense, when most people’s humor comes with that cost.”

I stare down at her. My throat feels thick. “Thank you.”

She beams up at me. “You’re welcome.” After a beat, she says, “So…how did I do? I mean, I know I had my false start there, but once I got going?”

I cock an eyebrow. “Let’s just say, if this is you being rusty, I don’t know if I can take what you’re capable of with the romantic equivalent of WD-40.”

“I bet you could take it just fine,” she says, leaning close. “Lubedoesserve that purpose.”

I turn bright red. “I walked right into that, didn’t I?”

Juliet’s cheeks are pink, her eyes bright. “You did, and I appreciate the opportunity to practice a bit of innuendo myself.” A soft laugh leaves her as she smiles up at me. “That blush.” Her hands come to my face as she holds my eyes. “Is a dazzling, dangerous thing.”

Oh hell. I’m going to kiss her again.

Ican’tkiss her again.

I swallow roughly as I stare down at her. And I let myself hover on that glorious, torturous edge of desire and acting on it. I won’t cross that line again, I’ve promised myself. But I will toe that line and savor every minute of it.

I bring my hands gently to hers and draw them down from my face, my thumbs sweeping over her skin. All I want is to keeptouching her, for her to keep touching me, but if we keep this up, I’m not going to be able to toe that line well at all.

I don’t want the night to end just because it’s hard for me to resist her, to not act on this wildly intense attraction. I want to give Juliet what she needs, in practicing romance—time to get comfortable with it again, a safe space to flirt and compliment and find her footing.

Nodding toward the dartboard in the corner of the pub, I ask her, “What do you say I kick your ass at darts?”

Her gaze follows mine and she laughs, loud and long, music to my ears. “Oh, Will. Challenge accepted.”

•Fifteen•

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