Page 64 of Kiss the Girl
“Kiss the girl,” the pastor’s wife cried, and that won several cheers. “A good one!”
I hadn’t stepped away, my hand still resting against her neck. She reached up and clasped a fistful of shirt with a sudden tug that caught me off guard and brought my head down to hers again. She leaned up and pressed a kiss against my lips, warm and soft, and her free hand slid around my neck, holding me like I was holding her.
I didn’t know where to focus because I felt all of her at once, her arm pressed between us as she held onto my shirt, her mouth, the heat of her hand on my neck.
I wanted more. I slid my other arm around and drew her closer, her lips parting in surprise, and it was all I needed as an invitation, slipping inside the warmth of her mouth, pressing her even closer as she tightened her hold like she wanted more too.
I didn’t know how far that kiss would have gone if a laughing “Whoa!” from Ian hadn’t penetrated the thick haze we were in. I drew away and blinked into her stunned eyes, running my finger across her bottom lip while I tried to process what had just happened.
“Ew, Unc,” Evie said.
“I think we all believe you now,” Miss Lily said.
She looked pleased, the reverend looked amused, Mr. Winters looked slightly grumpy, and Brooke looked like the cat who ate all the cream.
I rested my forehead against Grace’s. “What the—”
“I don’t know,” she said, softly. “I don’t know.”
Chapter Nineteen
Grace
What even was that?!
The question played over and over again in my mind as I woke up and went into the store early to meet Paige and get ready for the Black Friday madness. I wished I was working with my dad, but only because he wouldn’t pry about Noah and that kiss, and I had no idea if Paige would bring it up or not.
Worse, I had no idea what to say if she did, because I didn’t know what to think about it.
Except that it had been the freaking hottest kiss I’d ever experienced.
Which was a problem.
A big one.
Because you know what you don’t want to do right on the cusp of leaving a town behind forever minus Christmas visits?
Find a guy in it who twists your insides into lustful knots.
“You suck, universe.” I paused as I got out of my car behind the store and stared at the sky like it was going to answer. It didn’t, but when I turned to go into the back entrance, I tripped over a piece of loose asphalt and ended up bonking into the door instead of opening it.
“I don’t take it back,” I informed the sky.
An acorn flew out of nowhere and thumped my window.
Fine. I would stop taunting the universe, but I wasn’t happy about the situation.
I vented my frustration by using the pricing gun with unnecessary violence for a half hour before Paige arrived, slapping price reductions on jugs of antifreeze like they’d insulted my honor.
When Paige came in, she got right to work. Morning would be craziest as people came in for the Black Friday sales we’d advertised. That included leaf blowers, grills, and smokers, which Paige had suggested adorning with big red bows since people often bought them as Christmas presents. She’d made a window display themed around “What to Buy a Handy Dad,” which was brilliant for the wordplay on the store name and because it had already generated presales.
Luckily, she had no comment on Noah and me kissing. She did spend a minute with me reliving the glory of the food, but that was it before she wandered off to make sure we had enough extension cords stocked for everyone coming in to get started on their Christmas light displays today.
The morning flew by. Gary joined us shortly before noon and Dad came in so Paige could leave and get time with Evie before her dinner shift at the diner and so I could take my lunch.
When I came out after scarfing down the leftovers Brooke had sent me home with, I joined my dad back out on the floor.
“It looks great in here, honey. I ran a sales report, and we’re already outperforming last year.”
