Page 70 of Kissing for Keeps
My heart is attempting to burst through my rib cage. But if I break character, I’d be doing a disservice to the reputation of stubborn toddlers everywhere. I have to hold my ground. “And a few days ago?” I say it like it’s the clincher in my case against him. The jury is prepared to return a unanimous verdict of guilty.
Instead of acknowledging the expertness of my question, he looks at me like he’s questioning my intelligence levels. “I kissed you a few days ago because for the last seven years, I’d been thinking about doing it again.” He holds my gaze, all traces of humor gone. “And just so we’re perfectly clear, not wanting to hurt my sister is the only reason I’m not doing it right now.”
Wanted: functioning pair of lungs.That’s the sign I’ll be putting up around the chateau grounds tomorrow, assuming I’m still alive. Even if not breathing doesn’t kill me, the smolder in Jack’s eyes will.
I want to kiss him. Now. No, five minutes ago. No, I never wanted tostopkissing him, and the way he’s looking at me tells me he’s seriously considering the idea of going for it, just like I am.
We’ve already kissed twice. What could it hurt to do it a third time? Just toreallybe sure it was as good as I remember it.
He drops my hand and squeezes his eyes shut. “But we can’t. We can’t do it to Madi.”
“I know,” I say, both relieved and disappointed.
He’s completely right. We flew all the way to France to make Madi’s wedding as perfect as it can possibly be, and while I wasn’t there for the times Jack dated her best friends, I’ve heard about it enough to know how it affected Madi. It can’t feel good to know that the people you thought valued you as friends ditched you the moment your brother was no longer in the picture.
Even though I really don’t think a breakup between Jack and me would mean the end of my friendship with Madi—she’s more like a sister than a friend—I can’t quite kick the fear that just knowing Jack and I wanted to trywould make her never want to talk to either of us again. Especially during her wedding week.
I’ve had a couple of fun weeks and a couple of decent kisses with Jack. Okay, way more than decent. But who knows whether anything real would come of it, even if we tried, which I’m not even sure Jack wants to do.
Either way, I can’t possibly jeopardize what I have with Madi—all seven years of it—for such a massive question mark.
Part of me wonders if Jack’s glad to have the excuse of his sister to end things before they even begin, but I’m proud of him for choosing her this time. I wish I wasn’t the one being passed over.
He’s watching me closely, like he’s trying to read my thoughts.
I stretch my mouth into a smile. “It’ll be fine.” I channel all my confidence and nonchalance. “We managed to be friends last time. We can do it again. For Madi.”
He nods. “Does this mean you’re going to be rude to me again?”
“Did I ever stop?”
He laughs softly. “No, not really. But I always knew it was a cover.” His lip pulls up in a mischievous half-smile, and our gazes hold for a minute, our smiles slowly dwindling as we realize what questions we’re agreeing to leave unanswered.
“Well,” Jack says with a deep breath. “I guess this is goodnight?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
There’s a pause, and half of me wants to press my lips against his in a parting kiss. But the smart half of my brain—okay, the smart quarter of my brain—tells me that won’t end the way it should. Or won’t end at all.
“Goodnight, Jack.”
25
JACK
Hi,my name is Jack Allred, and I’m a serial dater.
That would have been an accurate way to introduce myself until now. My general rule has been a two-date maximum. Enough to enjoy someone’s company, but never enough to fall for her or for her to fall for me. It hasn’t been perfect, of course—there are some persistent women out there—but my track record is pretty dang good.
Or itwasuntil Siena.
The irony of this isn’t lost on me. For one, we’ve never even gone on a date. Second, the first time I desperately want to take a girl out, I can’t.
In the past, if I felt like a girl was creeping into my thoughts a little too much, I’d handle it by going out with someone new. Here at Chateau Vidal, unless I intend to stalk the tourists in the breakfast parlor, that’s not really an option.
But even if it was, the thought isn’t appealing, and that is a new and terrifying thing for me.
So, I’ve taken the only route available to me over the past four days: thrown myself into helping with the wedding. Staying in the same cottage together, Siena and I haven’t been able to avoid each other, but she’s been in and out constantly. And when she’s in, she’s almost always in her room. Just like she is right now.
