Page 15 of As Long As You Kiss Me

“We were slammed. I could hardly catch my breath all day. We had a bunch of people wanting ice cream cakes, too, so that took up a lot of my time.”

“At least business is booming,” Aubrey said.

“Do you ladies want to get a table with us?” Bryant asked.

“Sure.” Sully tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear.

She looked good with her jet-black hair down. She usually had it up in a messy bun. It was silky looking, and he longed to run his fingers through it.

They moved to another table and settled down. He worried Sully might sit next to Bryant, but then she ended up sitting by him instead. Maybe she really wasn’t interested in him. But the thought was meaningless. It didn’t matter what Sully wanted. It didn’t mean that she was interested in him just because she wanted to sit there. He needed to get it out of his head that he would or could ever be with her. He wasn’t going to be with her when he had a big secret he was keeping from her. She deserved better.

Sully and Aubrey ordered cocktails and some nachos. They sat and chatted for a few minutes, talking about work and how school was going for Jackson. He filled them in on his adventures with fixing up his house, and Bryant offered to come over and help him out that weekend.

Sully’s face turned pale. “Oh, no.”

“What is it?” Jackson asked.

“He’s here again,” she whispered.

He followed her gaze to see Mason at the entrance of the tavern.

“I can’t look. Maybe if I don’t make eye contact, he won’t see me here.”

“Maybe we can put you in a disguise,” Aubrey suggested.

“Yeah, good thinking,” Jackson agreed. “Here, take my hat.” He pulled the cap off his head and offered it to her.

She put it on and pulled it down over her eyes. “This hat smells like you.”

“That’s probably because I wear it all the time. Sorry, I hope that’s not a bad thing.” Jackson couldn’t help the flush that must have been creeping across his cheeks.

“It’s not.” A small smile toyed at the corners of her lips.

Bryant wasn’t smiling though.

“Guys, don’t look now, but Mason is coming this way. I don’t think our disguise is working at all.”

“That’s because we didn’t disguise any of us. He knows we’re all friends with you,” Bryant said.

Sure enough, Mason was approaching their table. “Sully?”

She kept the hat pulled low and wouldn’t look at him.

He wasn’t amused. “I know that’s you. You can’t hide under that hat.”

She took the hat off in defeat. “What do you want, Mason?”

He put his hands out in front of him like he was some kind of nice guy. Yeah, right. “I just want to talk to you. Is that okay?”

She kept a hard edge to her voice. “There’s nothing you need to say to me. We’re over.”

His tone was soothing as he spoke. “Just give me five minutes of your time. Alone.”

“I don’t think so.” Sully’s eyes flashed at him.

“Anything you want to say to her, you’ll have to say in front of us,” Jackson growled.

“Have it your way. Can we just put the past behind us?” Mason asked. “I know I messed up, but I’m a different guy now. I was under a lot of pressure to perform at work, and it came out badly.”

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