Page 76 of The Good Girl's Guide to Being Bad

“—and it was awesome. Betty has great tastes. But I mean, seriously, do you know how many of the best kiss scenes happen in the rain?”

Colton sat back, crossed his arms and said, “Enlighten me.”

So, I did.

“Of course, the best and most memorable cinematic rain kiss has to be fromThe Notebook.” I sighed. “Noah and Allie finally coming together after years apart? Her thinking he moved on and forgot about her, him thinking she ignored the 365 love letters he sent her from the war? All that pent-up passion and desire…”

I looked to Colton—which was a mistake. He wore a grin that made me realize just how silly I must’ve sounded, rhapsodizing over a kiss in the rain, asking him here to kissmein the rain. Ugh.

“Anyway, it’s a great scene,” I said quietly, blushing like mad.

“Sounds like it,” he said. “Stupid movie, though. They both die in the end. Are there any more?”

“Well…there’s that kiss fromSpider-Manwhere he was upside down.”

Colton shook his head. “Too complicated. I heard water got in his nose, and the guy could hardly breathe.”

“I heard that, too.” I laughed. “Who wants to die just for a kiss right?”

“It depends on the kiss, I guess,” he said.

My jaw dropped. Who was this guy and what had he done with the real Colton Bishop? Seeming amused by my look of wonder, Colton stood and held out a hand.

“Looks like it’s about to start coming down,” he said—just as lightning struck and a steady rain started to fall. “We better get ready.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, letting him pull me to my feet.

“You’re not going to freak out again. Right?”

“I didn’t—” At Colton’s look, I stopped, took a deep breath, decided to start again.Thiswas the Colton I knew. He wasn’t romantic, just freaking annoying. “No, Colton, I won’t. I thought about it and decided there’s nothing to get freaked out over.”

His eyes narrowed. “Care to explain that last bit?”

“Well,” I said, “it’s true. I enjoy kissing you. I can’t deny that—but maybe that’s just because I haven’t kissed anyone else. Maybe, I just really enjoy the act of kissing.”

“You—” Colton tried to interrupt, but I kept going.

“I mean, I figure it’s either that or maybe it’s how you look so much like Kyle.”

The glare he gave me then would’ve melted the face off a lesser person.

“Come on, Colton. It’s no secret—at least not to you,” I said, warming to the topic. I really had thought a lot about this, and there was only one explanation that made the most sense. “We’ve never gotten along, and I’m in love with Kyle. I have been forever. You look just like him, being his twin and all. So, because of that, of course I would enjoy kissing you.”

Colton stepped closer, and my mouth shut instantly. The look in his eyes, the tension in his body said he was done listening. His voice when he spoke was almost too low to hear over the rain now pouring down on us.

“Are you trying to tell me,” he said, “that when we kiss…you’re thinking of my brother?”

I blinked. “More like your face reminds me of him, and that’s what makes it enjoyable. But yeah, in a roundabout way, I guess you could say that.”

Colton sounded like he was gritting his teeth. “Good to know.”

“Listen, I didn’t mean any offense,” I said.

“Oh no, why would I be offended?” he said, but it wasn’t really a question. “Like you said, Sadie, we’ve never gotten along. We can’t go two second without arguing. You annoy the hell out of me.”

I sighed with relief. “Exactly, I—”

“And you’re not my type,” he added. “An uptight, prissy librarian look-a-like, a little miss perfect good girl who’s afraid to take risks.”

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