Page 21 of Merlot Marriage

Without thinking, I lean forward and kiss her.

Not just a peck either. I crush my lips against hers, using my grip on her chin to pull hers apart so I can capture them with mine. For a second, she’s frozen, and then Ophie kisses me back with the tiniest little sigh escaping her. One of her hands rests against my thigh as she leans in, and I tense beneath her touch.

In one smooth movement, she pulls back and slides out of the booth. By the time I’ve gathered my two remaining brain cells together, she’s halfway across the restaurant, headed toward the door.

Well, fuck me.

I think I might be in love with my best friend.

Ophie

The years, months, weeks,days, hours, and minutes that Philip has wormed his way into being the most important person in my life shift by an infinitesimally life-altering breath as he kisses me.

I’ve never thought about what his lips would feel like, but as soon as their softness registers in my mind, it’s as if that’s exactly what I expected them to be. Same with the way he lightly sucks my bottom lip, his fingers firm on my chin. I never anticipated knowing what it feels like to truly kiss Philip, but now that I have, it feels inevitable.

I bolt from the restaurant as soon as I come up for air, because if I don’t, I might do it again.

My heart races as I pace outside the restaurant. I know Philip. He couldn’t have meant anything by it. I’m overreacting. Right? Yes. Yeah. Definitely. The buzzing in my fingers is just fromsurprise. The look in his eyes before he kissed me—determined and sure—wasn’t life-changing.

Nope. Definitely not.

“Ophie?”

Philip is out of breath as he steps outside. The sun catches on his hair, highlighting the curls that he never bothers to tame. His sunglasses are already on, hiding his eyes, but not the worried wrinkle on his forehead. He pauses, glancing back over his shoulder before giving a small shake of his head and closing the space between us.

Throwing his arm over my shoulder, he squeezes me into his side as if nothing unusual had just happened. “I’m sorry.”

Confusion replaces the tingling in my spine, and I crane my head to look up at him, but he keeps staring straight ahead as we walk back to where we parked. “Sorry?”

“I took it too far.” He shrugs as we pause by the side of his car. I slip out from under his arm and turn to face my friend. His cheeks are the slightest bit pink, and he still won’t look at me as he pulls his keys out of his pocket and clicks the button to unlock the doors. “That pipsqueak kept trying to look down your shirt.”

Halfway to reaching for the door, I straighten and turn around to face him. “The server?”

Oh.

My confusion settles down as I realize that Philip was doing exactly what I’d done—what we’ve done dozens of times for each other when on the receiving end of unwanted attention from the opposite sex.

“Well, I figured since you already loudly claimed me as your husband, I could return the favor.” He finally looks at me over the top of his sunglasses as he finishes his sentence. His eyes are clear, the playful glint I’m used to back in place.

Why does it irk me that he seems so unaffected?

That he’s acting like everything is back to normal. I should be relieved.

With a sharp nod, I turn away and slide into the passenger seat. Like the gentleman he is, he closes the door for me, and I take the few seconds I’m alone to tuck my feelings away. I’ll deal with them later.

If my fingers would just stop buzzing.

“You know your phone is ringing?” Philip jerks his chin at my hand as he buckles his seat belt.

“What?” I look down. Sure enough, the reason my fingers have been buzzing nonstop since I left the restaurant is not because my best friend just kissed the pants off me, but because my sister is calling. A swipe to look at my recent calls shows that not only has Maggie been calling me every few minutes, but so has Sydney.

“Shit.” I accept the call, nearly dropping my phone in my hurry. “Maggie? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

“Finally!” Maggie’s breathless voice greets me. “Are you working this afternoon?”

“Um. Hi. And yes. Philip and I are just heading home now so I can get ready. Why?”

“Oh! Is Philip there? Can you put me on speakerphone?”

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