Page 19 of Bittersweet

“Yougood?”

“Bad, I’m a bad girl,” she mumbles, her eyes glazed andwanting.

I can’t help it. I chuckle. “Okay, bad girl. You think you can stand on yourown?”

“Huh. There goes my mouth, running away before my mind catches up.” She laughs, but her cheeks turn an even brighter shade of red. Oh yeah, I could invent a new shade of crimson on this woman’s bare skin.Fuck.And now I’m hard. “I meant . . . I’m a bad girl at walking, adulting, and you know . . . just generallyexisting.”

“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit, Romy. I watch you walk out of here every day,” I whisper in a low, gravelly tone, thick with longing. “I don’t think you’re a bad girl at all. I think you’resweet.”

“Sweet?”

“So fucking sweet.” I lick my lips, unable to take my eyes off the pouty swell of her cupid’s bow. I want to taste her and see just how true that statement is. I want to lay her back on the couch and pin her beneath me, kissing every inch of her fucking stunning body, but Ican’t.

Instead, I release her and walk back to the counter. She’s still standing there a beat later, looking lost, but she gathers her things and pushes through the door, the bell ringing out a final cry as the door sighs closed and my guttwists.

Nico and Bianca’s eyes are on me, and then I’m whacked in the bicep by an angry gnat. “What the hell,Elio?”

“Ow. What was thatfor?”

“When a woman wants you to kiss her, you kiss her,dumbass.”

“Yeah, what the fuck, dude? She was practically begging you to tongue fuckher.”

“Don’t start,” I mutter, turning away from them both and heading toward thekitchen.

“I don’t get it. Why didn’t he just kissher?”

“Because he’s anidiot.”

“Hey,” I say, turning to face them. “I’m righthere.”

“Good, then there’s no chance you won’t hear me when I spell it out for you.” B places her hands on her hips and leans forward. “ROMY. LIKES. YOU. DUMBASS. KISS.HER.”

I rake a hand through my hair in frustration. “B, it’scomplicated.”

“It’s reallynot.”

“How is it complicated? She’s hot and she wants you to fuckher.”

Bianca turns to Nico. “He thinks it’s complicated because he has a kid. I know you dropped out of high school, but could you try to keepup?”

“I didn’t flunk out of high school, justcollege.”

“Whatever,” she says, waving him away with a wild hand gesture before turning her ire back on me. “Ask her out, Elio. You’re never going to know how she’ll react until you tellher.”

“I said leaveit.”

“You’re so fucking stubborn. She’s not going to be single forever, youknow?”

She’s right. It’s a damn miracle Romy is single at all, but even though my little sister is right, there’s no way in hell I will ever tell herthat.

“You don’t have to keep punishing yourself because that bitch-who-shall-not-be-named left you high and dry. It would never have worked out withher.”

“I’m not punishingmyself.”

“Then what are youdoing?”

“I’m protecting my daughter,” I snap, and clear my throat when several customers jerk their heads around to see what the commotionis.

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