Page 42 of A Poisonous Plot

“I can manage both of those.” She popped the top off a bottle of lager and set it in front of Lily. “What’s up?” she asked, then leaned on the bar when Lily beckoned her closer.

“Flynn kissed me,” she whispered, then watched in amusement as Seren’s eyebrows shot up.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. We were on the beach and he kissed me and now I’m freaking out.”

“He just kissed you? Out of the blue?”

Lily bobbed her head ambiguously. “Kind of.”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised. The chemistry between you two is insane, but you were adamant you were just friends.” Her gaze pierced Lily’s. “Anyway, tell me all the details. What happened? Was it really romantic?”

“Not entirely. We’d been snooping around Arthur Penrose’s place and we ended up hiding in the sand dunes. I was worried we were going to get caught out so I told Flynn to kiss me…”

Seren’s brow wrinkled. “That was a lot of information,” she said. “But youtold himto kiss you?”

“Yes.”

“So it wasn’tcompletelyout of the blue?” Her words were laced with mocking as she eyed Lily with exasperation.

“I didn’t think he’d do it,” Lily said forcefully. “At least not without me explaining why I wanted him to kiss me.”

“And why did you want him to kiss you?”

“Because Arthur was on the beach and I didn’t want him to see me so close to his house, so we hid in the dunes. But that looks weird, doesn’t it – two people randomly lying in the sand dunes when the weather is miserable.”

“Ah,” Seren said knowingly. “So if Arthur glanced over, he’d just see a couple having a bit of fun and not think anything of it?”

“Exactly. It also meant our faces would be a bit more hidden. But Flynn didn’t let me explain any of this. I asked him to kiss me and he kissed me.”

Seren nodded her head slowly. “I knew he fancied you. It’s been weeks since I saw him chatting up random women in the pub.”

“Has it?” Lily asked, then chastised herself for sounding so desperate. What did she care about his romantic exploits?

“I actually never see him in here alone any more. If he comes in, it’s with you.”

“Okay,” Lily mused. “That only means he’s being discreet.” She couldn’t let herself imagine it had anything to do with her.

Seren’s eyes twinkled as she smiled. “How was the kiss?”

“Um…” Lily blew out a breath, trying to find the right words. “It was…”

Grinning, Seren pressed the back of her hand against Lily’s cheek. “That good, was it? You’ve gone bright red.”

Lily pushed her hand away. “It was good,” she admitted.

“What happens now?” Seren asked.

“Nothing,” Lily replied and felt like her entire body was deflating. “It was only for show.”

“Are you sure?”

Lily swallowed hard. “Afterwards he just carried on as normal.” She felt her jaw tighten. “It was such an amazing kiss. I didn’t want it to stop and I really had the impression that he was enjoying it, too.” She paused and sighed. To her, it really had felt special. But she also hadn’t had a lot of physical contact with anyone recently, so maybe she was just deprived.

“What happened right after you kissed?” Seren asked eagerly.

Lily shrugged. “He glanced up to check the coast was clear, then hopped up as though nothing had happened. I felt as though my insides had liquidised and my brain had forgottenhow to string a sentence together, but he was all calm and cool, as though it was an everyday occurrence.”

---