Page 27 of Valentine's in Bayberry

She sighed as she rolled her eyes. “Why doesn’t that count?”

“Because it was in a movie theatre.”

“But it was still a movie. So, I win. Let’s watch a…”

“Rom-com,” he finished her sentence for her. “Some things never change.”

When she reached for the television remote, Jackson lunged for it. With his long arms, he reached it first. With a victorious grin, he lifted it above his head.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” She leaned toward him, reaching out for the remote.

As they wrestled for the remote, a smile tugged at her lips. This moment brought back so many memories. Oh, how she missed him.

She wiggled around on the couch until she was sitting on her knees. With both of her hands, she tugged on his arm. He lowered his arm, but he didn’t release his hold on the remote.

When he yanked on his arm, as though to position the remote to turn on the television, Carrie’s hold on his arm was so tight it pulled her over to him. When she lifted her head, she found her face only an inch or two from his.

Her heart pitter-pattered. She stared into his brown eyes. Had she ever noticed the gold flecks in his irises? Or the way when he looked at her so intently that she had a hard time breathing?

She should move. Yes, that definitely sounded like a good idea. And yet, her body refused to budge, not even so much as an inch.

It felt like by staring into his eyes, he’d once more cast a spell over her. And then she noticed how his gaze dipped to her lips. Her heart skipped a beat. Was he thinking about kissing her?

She didn’t have time to answer that question before Jackson leaned toward her. And then his lips were pressed to hers. Her thoughts short-circuited as his mouth moved gently over hers.

The remote clattered to the floor as he reached out to her. His hands cupped her face. His thumb gently stroked her cheek.

This shouldn’t be happening. And yet she didn’t want it to end. His lips moved gently over hers. All the while, her heart was beating so loud that it echoed in her ears.

It was the best kiss she’d ever experienced. She never wanted it to end. It was like it was just the two of them, and the rest of the world had faded away.

When Jackson pulled back, she wanted to draw him back to her. She wanted to press her lips to his once more. Nothing had ever felt so right…and wrong at the same time. As the conflicting emotions grew within her, she resisted the temptation of kissing him again.

Jackson gazed deeply into her eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do that?”

She had a pretty good idea—ever since the prom. She wondered if it was as good as he’d hoped. Before she could vocalize her thoughts, she pressed her lips together. She mustered up all of her strength to pull herself together and pretend that he hadn’t just rocked her world.

His hand was gently gripping her forearm. When had that happened? His thumb stroked her skin, causing a delicious sensation to pulse up her arm and settle in her chest.

She couldn’t think straight when he was looking at her or touching her. Their physical contact caused her pulse to race and her breath came out in short, quick gasps. And her thoughts were all over the place.

She couldn’t let this continue. She pulled her arm away. As soon as she broke the connection, she regretted it. But whatever was going on between them couldn’t continue to happen.

She jumped to her feet. “What just happened?”

Jackson wore a lazy smile as he leaned back on the couch. “If you have to ask me that, I must be out of practice.”

He was most definitely not out of practice, but she wasn’t about to admit it to him. She forced her thoughts away from the memory of the kiss and the way her lips still tingled. She gave herself a mental shake.

He was acting out because he was worried about his mother. He was looking for a distraction from his problems. That was all this was. She had to be the reasonable party.

She looked at the smile on his handsome face. “Stop looking at me that way.” She turned her back to him and moved across the room. She needed some distance to clear her mind. “You shouldn’t have kissed me.”

She lifted her hand, but before she could run her fingertips over her lips, she stopped herself. It was a kiss. Nothing more. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been kissed before.

“Why shouldn’t I kiss you? As I recall, you kissed me back.”

“Stop.” When she spun around, she was shocked to find him standing behind her. “I, uh...” She struggled to string her thoughts together. “We’re friends.”

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