Page 10 of Deal Breaker
“Who was your childhood crush, and if you saw them again now, do you think you’d still like them?” She leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “And will he be at the wedding tomorrow?”
Max. Oh my God, yes. And yes!
If I had actually voiced the answers out loud, she would probably never speak to me again, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.
I sipped my tequila—who even does that? —and pretended to think for a minute. “I’ll take a dare.”
“I knew it!” crowed Jodie. “There’s someone here you like!”
“Come on, Soph, you can tell us…” Autumn fluttered her eyelashes. “We won’t tell.”
“Uh uh, no way. I called dare, so…” I shrugged.
The two of them bent their heads together, whispering to each other as they came up with a suitable dare. Would it involve skinny dipping in the lake? I shuddered at the thought. It was still freezing out there.
Autumn leaned back in her chair, an evil glint to her expression. “We dare you to kiss the next person to come to the door.”
For a second, my blood froze. Max was in the resort somewhere, and he’d be coming back to the cabin at some point. Had Autumn second-guessed the true answer to my question?
Her phone pinged with a message, and she turned it over, squinting at the screen. “Pizza will be here soon.” She grinned at me. “Then you can find out how hot he really is!”
I let out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding in. “Oh, the guy from the bar.” Relief flooded through me. He had to be the next person who’d come to the cabin.
Her eyebrows knotted together. “Who did you think I meant?”
The door to the cabin rattled. I grinned and stood up. Although Autumn and I had differing taste in men, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the prospect of the guy at the door. If he was good looking, I’d certainly be spending a lot of time at the bar tomorrow.
When I wrenched the door open, my jaw dropped.
No, no, no!
Max, his gorgeous blue-green eyes glassy, leaned against the doorjamb. “Who locked the door?”
I looked at him, then looked back at Autumn and Jodie.
“Do it, do it, do it!” they chanted in unison.
It was only a stupid dare. I could back out, and they’d tease me. But they’d tease me all weekend, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that. Even worse, Autumn would probably grill me as to why Ihadn’tkissed him. Deep down, I also wanted the first time I ever kissed Max Coady to be more romantic than a stupid dare. I swallowed hard, weighing up my options.
“Can I come in?” Max gave me a sheepish smile, his dark hair tousled.
Oh, what the hell.
I leaned forward and kissed him full on the lips, lingering a little longer than was slightly necessary for a dare. He tasted of whisky, and I instantly knew he’d drunk as much, if not more, than me. As I went to deepen the kiss, he burped suddenly, pulled away, and put a hand over his mouth.
“Sorry, Soph, I think I’m going to be sick.” Max barged past me and rushed to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Through the thin wooden frame, we could clearly hear the sound of him vomiting.
With my back to the other two, I closed my eyes, not wanting them to see the tears which slid down my flaming cheeks.My first ever intimate moment with Max Coady, and he threw up.
“Hey, Autumn?” A male voice said from in front of me.
My eyes fluttered open, falling on the bartender. He certainly lived up to Autumn’s description. Blond hair with long bangs, which he swept to one side, and chocolate brown eyes which were currently fixed on me. He was bundled up in a navy puffer jacket, with the Holiday Springs branding on one side of his chest, holding out three large pizza boxes.
Why the hell hadn’t he arrived five minutes sooner?
Autumn appeared at my shoulder, taking the boxes from him. “Thanks, Jonty, really appreciate you doing this for us. Are you gonna be at the wedding tomorrow?”
“I am. Working the bar all afternoon, although I might be able to slip away later in the evening.” He gave Autumn a suggestive wink.
