Page 63 of Kiss the Girl
Ian pretended to slick his hair back in a sleazeball cool guy move. “Still got favored grandchild status.”
“How about if we continue clockwise?” Miss Lily said, managing the room like the veteran English teacher she was.
“This was one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving with my family too,” I said to Grace in a low voice.
“Same.” She pressed her knees against my leg as if to underscore the shared feeling.
Most people gave simple answers like gratitude for family or their jobs, but when Mrs. Winters gave thanks for her husband’s health and he gave thanks for Grace, Grace sniffled a tiny bit. And Evie had everyone smothering laughs when she gave thanks for getting a loose tooth before “mean Kylie B because Kylie thinks she’s the best one but she’s not the best one at getting a loose tooth.”
When it got to me, I gave my answer almost on reflex. “I’m thankful for good friends and family,” I said.
Mr. Boone made a “yikes” face, and Miss Lily’s eyebrows shot up. I realized my mistake immediately.
“Oops,” Brooke said.
“And Grace,” I added.
Landon gave a smothered laugh. “Bro.”
“I can’t believe I’m an afterthought,” Grace said.
I gave her shoulder a slight squeeze. I hoped she understood it to mean, “I cannot believe you threw me under the bus but watch out because payback sucks.”
It was possible she wasn’t going to get all that from a single shoulder squeeze. But the tiny twitch at the corner of her mouth said she was getting at least some of the message.
“I’m sorry, babe,” I said. “You’re never an afterthought.”
“It’ll take quite a bit more convincing than that,” Miss Lily said. “Good thing Landon got the mistletoe up. We don’t usually count Christmas as starting until after we’ve eaten all the dessert, but we’ll make an exception.”
Some people might have said that her eyes twinkled at that moment, as if she were a little white-haired elf bent on mischief. But it looked a whole lot more like a glint to me. A wicked, scheming glint.
“You can apologize properly and initiate it for the season,” she continued, gesturing toward a sprig I hadn’t noticed in the doorway.
“Oh, it’s all right,” Grace said, tensing ever-so-slightly against my side. “I know where we stand.”
Looked like payback was coming even sooner than I hoped. “No, she’s right, Grace.” I rose from the sofa and tugged lightly on her hand. If I thought for two seconds that she didn’t want to do this, I would let her go, but my gut said she would see it as a dare she couldn’t refuse.
“Mistletoe, mistletoe,” Evie chanted. Landon took it up too, but when Brooke and Ian joined in, Grace shot them a look that said she would have killed them dead on the spot if she could have, I was pretty sure. It only made Ian look more like he was trying not to laugh.
She followed me to the doorway to the sound of cheers, and I pretended to take great care to position us under the sprig, settling her into place, then backing up, holding up my hands to view her through a square, repositioning her, and checking the sprig again.
Our audience loved it, and Landon let out a wolf whistle.
“Don’t make her wait, dude,” Paige called. Troublemaker.
Grace was still the whole time, but it felt like a watchful stillness, not a stressed one. She had to know she could trust me by now, didn’t she?
I joined her beneath the mistletoe and slid my hands beneath her hair, pressing lightly on the back of her head to draw her toward me, but slowly, so she had all the time in the world to escape. Besides, I wanted to draw this out and sell it to Dr. Boone. I lowered my head slowly, keeping my eyes steady on hers in what was turning out to be the sexiest game of “chicken” I’d ever played.
Paige did a catcall which made Ian laugh, but it barely registered as I watched the tiny changes in Grace’s eyes, trying to fathom what she was thinking. I thought I’d seen flashes of desire in them before, but they’d gone as fast as they appeared, like she’d clamped down on any pull she felt for me. But now they grew unfocused, her eyelids growing heavy, and I could feel her want wrapping around me like a second skin.
Our lips were so close that her eyes drifted shut, but at the last possible second, when I could feel her breath against my skin, I pressed a soft kiss against the corner of her mouth and straightened. Her eyes fluttered open to reveal confusion.
“Grace isn’t big into excessive PDA,” I said to everyone as Paige gave a good-natured groan. “I won’t put her on the spot like that.”
“I don’t know.” Miss Lily’s tone was full of doubt. “I don’t think that’s nearly enough to get you off the hook, but I guess Grace should have the final say on that. What do you think, Grace? Was that good enough to get Noah off the hook?”
Grace’s eyes cleared as she realized I’d set her up, and then they narrowed. “Not even close yet.”
