Page 83 of Hoax and Kisses
“I do.”
Her mouth is back on mine, and I forget what I was arguing about, losing myself in the abandoned way she clings to me.
But rational thought wins out after a moment.
“Wait.” I pull myself away with the last shred of willpower I have left. “No more kissing until we get someplace warm and dry.”
She pouts, her sigh almost impossible to hear over the rain still beating down. “F-f-fine.”
I curse under my breath. If she wasn’t trembling like a leaf, the blueish color of her lips would be a dead giveaway that she’s freezing. “You’re unbelievable. You’re gonna die from pneumonia if you stay in these wet clothes in the fucking cold for one more second, and you’re really pouting at me right now?”
She shrugs, her teeth clattering. “Wo-o-orth i-it.”
My heart drums impatiently in my chest. We need to get warm, and fast. “Come on.” I lace my fingers with hers. “Ready to run again?”
“C-can’t we k-k-kiss inst-tead?”
I shake my head, unable to keep from smiling. I’m fucking soaked and cold. The wind bites at my skin, and my wet hair snaps at my cheeks like frozen whips. But I couldn’t care less. The thought of Zoey wanting nothing more than to kiss me warms me more than any fire ever could.
Thumb brushing over her cold hand, I lean in. “Once you’re dry and comfortable, we’ll do whatever you want.”
She gives me that look, the one that says she’s not going to make this easy. So I tug her toward me, grazing my lips against hers quickly, just enough to make my pulse throb. “There,” I say. “Now, let’s go.”
This time, I drag her into the rain before she has a chance to negotiate.
Chapter Nineteen
ZOEY
“You and Matt gave us quite the show,” Rosie muses as she froths milk. “Even through the rain, everybody could see you two eating each other’s faces.”
“Gross.” I tighten the blanket she gave me around my shoulders. My clothes are still wet, but at least my teeth stopped chattering. “What are you doing here?” I ask as she moves behind the counter of the Brookhaven café where Matt and I took refuge.
It’s the first real conversation we’ve had since the town hall, and… fuck, I can’t believe she’s actually talking to me. No awkwardness, no deadly glare. Just Rosie being her welcoming self.
“I own this place too,” she says with a hint of pride in her voice. “I’m here every Wednesday to help my crew with the market rush.”
My brows rise. “I didn’t know you had more than one coffee shop. That’s impressive.” I envy her for having found somethingshe’s so deeply passionate about. “What is it that you like so much? Why coffee?”
“Hmm.” She wipes down the frother with a rag. “It’s less about coffee and more about helping people with their day, you know what I mean? I like that I’m the one they come to in order to feel better.” She laughs, her cheeks flushing. “Wow, that makes it sound like I’m handing out blowjobs.”
I raise my hands. “Hey, no judgment here.”
“What I meant,” she says, batting at stray hairs that have fallen into her face, “is that I make it my mission to ensure that the people who come in here, whether they’re strangers or locals, leave happier than when they arrived.” She frowns. “That still doesn’t sound better.”
“I get it.” I chuckle. “You’re very lucky to have found a career that pulls you out of bed every morning.”
Her smile dims. “Haven’t you?”
“It’s… complicated.” I glance over at Matt.
“Ah.” Rosie scrutinizes me, sighing with a heaviness that screams understanding. “Does ‘complicated’ have another name?”
I fight a grin. “Maybe?”
“He came at you a bit hard at the town hall meeting last week. I was disappointed too, by the way. That you lied to me.”
“Technically, I didn’tlie,” I say, though my heart sinks. “More like omitted the truth?”
