Page 44 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“Sure.” Without hesitation, he laced his fingers through mine. “Maybe you could also gaze adoringly into my eyes.”

I turned my scoff into a cough, then forced out a bright smile to avoid looking suspicious to our audience. “Why should I be the one to gaze adoringly at you? It’s an equal opportunity world, soyoucan gaze into my eyes.”

Alec suddenly came to a complete stop and turned me aroundto face him. He cupped my face with both hands and stared deeply into my eyes.

“Is that better? Is my gaze adoring enough?”

I struggled to contain my giggle.Giggle? I don’t do giggles. Be professional, Ellie.

So I returned his stare, gazing back into his eyes, only that was a mistake, because standing this close, I could see every single brown fleck in them, and could count each and every strand of those long eyelashes.

“Your hands are hanging by the sides of your body.” His voice was low, husky.

“Of course they are. Where else are they supposed to be?”

“We look awkward. Not like two human beings who are passionately in love.” Alec took a step forward, closing the small distance between our bodies, his hands still holding my face, his eyes fixed on mine. “Put your arms around me.”

I wanted to protest, but his thumbs began to stroke my cheeks, and my hands moved on their own volition, circling around his waist. We were now standing toe-to-toe, staring into each other’s eyes, with squawking seagulls soaring above and the glistening ocean as the backdrop, as if we were the main characters in a romantic movie scene.

“There. Happy? Now what?”

Instead of answering, his eyes dropped to my mouth, lingering there for a while, then back up to my eyes. The longing in them was so intense, I might have forgotten to take a breath.

Okay, this was clearly getting out of hand, but luckily, what little was left of my brain cells decided to take over.Let’s not embarrass ourselves again here. Remember yesterday? And what he said in the car, about being interested in someone else? Well, news flash, girl: he’s intensely longing forher,not you.

“Are they still watching?” Alec asked.

I stole a stealthy glance at Jacqui and Phil, and the two of themwere craning their necks, practically trampling over each other trying to get a better view of us. “Yes.”

He sighed. “What should we do now? Will it look suspicious if we break apart?”

“How should I know? You’re the one who got us into this position.”

There was a flash of hesitation in his eyes, but it solidified into steely resolve the next second. “Then we better give them something to talk about.”

“Are you… wait, what are you going to do?”

“I think I might have to kiss you. But I promise, it will be quick and painless. Just a one-second peck on your lips. You won’t even feel a thing. We’re both professionals, and this is strictly business. Is that okay?”

I nodded. Strictly business. One-second peck. Got it.

The next thing I knew, he brushed his lips over mine, and not that I was counting, but it was certainly more than one second, and Idefinitelyfelt something. A lot of things, in fact, and none of them were even remotely close to the words “business” and “professional.” My knees buckled, and my heart thumped so loudly I wondered why it hadn’t burst out already, then it whooped and cheered, because someone sighed (me), and someone else deepened the kiss with a soft groan (him). Nothing else in the world mattered but those perfectly warm lips devouring mine. I didn’t know how anyone could taste this intoxicating, and I wanted to stop time, right here, right now. Obviously I had no dignity and self-respect, and I should rethink all my life choices, because my immediate thought was,I want more.

No.This wasn’t real, and nothing positive could come out of this.

But there was nothing wrong with enjoying the moment while it lasted, right?

Someone passed us and let out a wolf whistle. “Get a room, guys.”

That snapped me out of… whatever the hell this was. It took all my willpower to pull away, and when we finally broke apart, I was dazed and breathless, and my remaining brain cells had packed up for early retirement.

Alec was staring down at me with glazed eyes, as if the kiss had affected him as well. A flash of guilt crossed his face, but it was gone the next second.

“Thanks for playing along.” He was the first one to speak.

I only nodded, not trusting myself to say anything.

Alec let go of my face and took a step back, and I curbed the irrational urge to grab his hands again. Placing one hand instead at the small of my back, he gently prodded me to start walking, because my feet were cemented to the ground. “You ready?”

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