Page 111 of Beyond the Stroke

Summer nods.

“You’re not going to miss me too much, are you?”

I chuckle softly. “I’ll try to survive without you.”

“Hmm.”

I expect her to stand and walk off, but she sits there staring at me.

No, staring at my lips.

I slide my hand along her jaw and dip down to place a kiss on her lips. She tastes like chocolate and marshmallow and contentment. Before I pull her into my lap and kiss her the way I really want to, I release her.

“What was that for?” she whispers, dazed.

“Something to think about while you’re gone.”

twenty-eight

. . .

SUMMER

After leaving Rory’s, we walk to The Fat Pelican where Winnie heads straight for the bar and orders tequila shots.

“I was going to get this round,” Darcy pouts.

Winnie wraps her arm around Darcy’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. There will be more.”

And there are more.

At least two. Then a beer is pushed into my hand by Cora and we hit the dance floor.

I’m not normally a big drinker, but I use the buzzy, tingly feeling to let the tension-filled moments of the day melt away.

The awkward conversation with Rory about sex in the doctor’s office earlier.

Rory’s arm wrapped possessively around me on the beach. And how much I liked it.

Oh, and that kiss he planted on me before we left the house? Running on a loop in my brain since it happened.

I try to shake it off, close my eyes, and focus on the beat of the music. The thumping bass trying to drown out everythingelse. But no matter how hard I try, the feel of Rory’s lips on mine keeps sneaking back into my thoughts.

It wasn’t the kiss itself. Okay, maybe it was.

I recall the way his lips had been tender, yet firm, like he wanted to make sure I remembered it. The way I’d been desperate to lean into it for just a second longer. And how obnoxiously handsome he’d looked doing it. That stupid, smirky, too-perfect grin he wore afterward only made it worse.

I need to focus on that.

Rory’s too good looking. Too patient. Too understanding.

I’ve married a walking green flag of a man. A charming, irresistible nightmare if there ever was one.

And I’m undeniably attracted to him.

The thought has me going stiff in the middle of the crowded dance floor.

“You okay?” Darcy yells over the music, a worried look on her face. “Are you going to be sick?”

---