Page 28 of Strawberry Kisses

Patrick’s face flamed. I giggled and pressed another kiss to his mouth, letting my tongue brush against his lips for the merest hint of a second. If we were allowed to kiss now, I might have to take a teeny tiny bit of advantage of it as long as Patrick didn’t mind. This might be the only opportunity I’d ever have to kiss him, and I was going to make the most of it.

“You two are adorable,” Mary said. “And a little gross.”

“You’re nearly forty!” Patrick grumbled, but he was smiling.

“Still doesn’t make it less sickening. You two are so adorable it hurts.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Well, what do you expect? Your brother is the handsomest man in the world.”

Patrick made a tiny squeaking sound, but he didn’t say anything. I grasped his hand under the table.

Slowly, things began to return to normal and dinner continued.

Except, deep down, I knew nothing would ever be normal again.

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