Page 48 of The Pinkie Pact

Sky

The look in his eyes was... intense. I swallowed hard at the swell of nerves in my stomach.

Wait, why the hell wasInervous? I hadn't even done anything. Right? I think. God, the way he was looking at me made me forget everything.

"Um, our turn?" I finally managed to get out.

He nodded, that serious look on his face making my heart stutter. "Well, more like my turn."

"Your turn?" Could I sound like any more of an idiot? What was it about Kieran that made me lose all coherent thoughts in my head? I'd never ever had this issue before, but now it was all the freaking time when I was around him.

"My turn to apologize." His eyes went soft as he searched my face.

"For what exactly?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

He glanced down at his hands for a moment before capturing my eyes with his again. "For... for everything. For leaving so abruptly. For..."

I held my breath, hoping he'd continue, dying to know what he was having so much trouble saying.

"Sorry. I'm not myself lately. I'm having a really hard time getting the words out because, well, I haven't slept since..." He ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up, somehow making him look even sexier. "Since two nights ago with you," he said so quietly I almost didn't hear him.

Oh. Wow. I released a sharp breath at that confession, stunned by the emotion in his voice.

"I just..." he continued. "I just felt really guilty about what we did, like I had cheated, and Idespisecheating."

Ah, I was beginning to understand.

"And that's how I knew it was time to do something about it," he confessed. "It was time to break up with Christina."

He was seriously shocking me, my own emotions crashing through me with such intensity that I was completely tongue-tied.

"I know I'm all over the place right now," he said. "But you make me nervous as hell."

"I do?" So I wasn't the only one?

"Yes, you do. And you know what? I've introduced my mom at rallies in front of thousands of people. I've met presidents, rock stars, and queens. I've been grilled repeatedly by my professors in law school, and I've handled it all fine." He paused, clasping his hands tighter. "But you..."

I couldn't help but smile at his confession. Something about it made me feel amazing that I had that power over him, and even though I felt the same way, I wasn't going to admit it to him.

The smile that met mine took my breath away. We sat there staring at each other for a long moment, something passing between us, something I could almost reach out and touch.

A loud noise from the bathroom broke the magic. "Ouch!" Kara yelled. "I'm okay!"

We both laughed, and I stood up because there was something about all these feelings rising up in me that made me uncomfortable. I needed some time to think. Together, we started to clear off the mess from the coffee table and the counter.

As I put the leftover food into the fridge, Kieran said, "So do you forgive me?"

I paused to look at him, glancing upwards, forgetting how tall he was. "Of course."

"Good." His shoulders relaxed as he exhaled. "So... what about you? Have you been okay? Did you—did you tell your boyfriend about it all?"

Excuse me, who? "My boyfriend?"

"Yeah, Bear."

I almost laughed because I hadn't even thought of that. But of course, he would think Bear was my boyfriend. "Bear's not my boyfriend."

His eyebrows shot upwards. "He's not?"

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