Page 52 of Forbidden Kisses
Chapter 13
“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?”
Jack pulled away from Grace, anoh-shitsplintering through his mind.
Grace jumped back. Another foot or so and she’d have fallen overboard.
“Hey, Dad,” Jack said dryly, not wanting to face his old man. He always did those things he didn’t want to do, though. Just to prove that he could.
His father looked between him and Grace. This was an expression he’d never seen on his father’s face. It wasn’t anger or disappointment. More bewilderment, like maybe Jack had grown two heads.
“It’s not what you think,” Grace said.
Both Jack and his father looked at her. Did that line ever work anywhere but in a movie? There was no other reason for her lips to be on Jack’s unless they were kissing.
“Vertical mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?” his father asked.
Jack was surprised his dad was using humor in a moment like this.
“I, uh, I—” Grace looked horrified.
“We were kissing,” Jack confessed, not that he needed to. His dad was the smartest man he knew. “We’ve been together for a couple weeks.”
His dad clamped his mouth shut. “I see,” he finally said. “And you’re keeping it from just me, or the others, too?”
“Everyone,” Jack said. He felt like a teenage boy again being caught doing something he shouldn’t.
“Why?”
Jack looked at Grace. Her skin was pale, her chest and neck flushed. He could almost see her pounding heart beneath the low-cut tank top she’d borrowed. “Grace thinks that we should wait until after the tournament. Noah had a hard time accepting her back into the family. We all did. It’s a little…”
“Gross?” his father supplied.
Jack lifted a hand and covered his face briefly. “It’s not gross.”
“Strange?”
Jack sighed. “Maybe a little.”
“And I suppose now I’m supposed to keep this secret of yours, too?” His dad shook his head. “You know I hate secrets. No good ever comes from them.”
“Just until after next weekend,” Jack said.
“Noah will take it even harder if he finds out you’ve been sneaking behind his back. You know how he is…Got to say, I’m a little hurt that you hid this from me.”
“Sorry, Dad. We just needed time on our own to figure this out.”
He nodded again. “Did you two, uh, have time on your own when you both lived under my roof?”
Jack’s mouth fell open. From the corner of his eye, he saw Grace’s skin go from pale to translucent.
His father waved a hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. I’ll pretend I didn’t see any of this just now.” He started to walk away. “But take my advice, secrets are no good,” he said over his shoulder.
“Oh my God,” Grace whispered when he was gone. “Oh my God, that was so embarrassing. I might roll up and die right now.”
Jack laughed under his breath. His old man had caught him doing a lot worse back in the day. “He won’t tell anyone. He can be trusted.”
“But he knows!” Grace covered her face with her hands.
