Page 6 of Spring Forward
Derek still wore the same cologne. The two years they’d been apart disappeared at a single whiff of that scent.
The flood of memories brought an unexpected smile to her face. “I know you’re addicted to Chang’s spring rolls,” she said. He probably single-handedly kept Chang’s in business.
“And you can’t live without diet soda.”
She laughed. “And you prefer w—”
She turned as she spoke and his nearness cut the words short. He was so close. They were almost touching. She could see every speck of color in his eyes.
“You prefer water.” She could hardly breathe, let alone come up with a more coherent thing to say.
“Water and spring rolls and—” His next breath sounded strained. His eyes didn’t leave hers.
He touched her face. Her heart jumped from her feet to her throat. Every thought fled.
Derek leaned closer. She could feel his breath on her lips. She remembered with perfectly clarity how it felt to kiss Derek McGee. No one kissed like he did. No one. The comparison had ended more than a couple potential relationships. One kiss, andshe would be lost again. She would be under that spell he wove, forgetting as she melted that this wasn’t what she wanted.
I can’t do this again.
She took in a deep breath, finding her center again. “Everyone is waiting inside.” Including maybe his girlfriend.
What is wrong with me?
She grabbed the door handle and scrambled out. Why had she let Mom talk her into wearing these wedges? She could have slipped out with more grace in a pair of flats.
Derek’s longer legs caught up with her before she’d even reached the restaurant door. “Wait, Maddi. Come on. Don’t run off.”
“I’m not running. I’m going in for dinner.”
He stepped in front of her. “Don’t go in mad.”
“I’m not mad.”
That crooked smile came back in a flash. “Neither am I.”
“Why would you be mad? Guilty is what you should be.”
His brows pulled together. “Guilty?”
“I don’t think your girlfriend would appreciate knowing you were a breath away from making out with another woman in a parked car.” It sounded even worse out loud.
“First of all.” Derek stepped right up next to her, even closer than he’d been in the car. “If I’d been ‘a breath away’ from making out with you, we’d still be in the car.”
She refused to look at him. He’d see in her eyes just how much the idea of being kissed by him still appealed to her even after their years apart.
“What’s the second of all?” she muttered.
“Second of all, Idon’thave a girlfriend.” With that, he walked into the restaurant, leaving her there to try to find her equilibrium.
Chapter Four
“You want me to plot against my own daughter?”
“Absolutely.” Derek looked between Mrs. Collins and his uncle, hoping they would be the willing accomplices he’d pegged them as. “Maybe I’m a complete idiot, and maybe I’ll regret this later, but there was still something there between us last night. I just want to see whether—”
“No need to convince me, hon.” Mrs. Collins waved off his argument. “Madison was never happier than when the two of you were together. You plot away and give me an assignment.”
He grinned. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
