Page 72 of Holiday Romance
I frown at him, confused. “That’s our first real flight.”
“I guess.”
“That was seven years ago.”
“I—”
“You’ve wanted to kiss me for seven—”
“I wanted to kiss youthen,” he stresses. “But you wouldn’t shut up about your boyfriend, would you? So I left it alone.”
He left it alone.
“What about you?” he asks while I freak out. “Have you ever wanted to kiss me before?”
“No.”
He waits a beat for me to continue, huffing when I don’t. “Alright, thanks, Molly.”
“I didn’t!” It’s the truth. “Not until the other day.” When it became the only thing I ever wanted. Like someone had turned a spotlight on and aimed it straight at him. “I liked it when we kissed,” I say because it feels like something that needs to be made clear to him. “But then you started joking around—”
“You said you didn’t want to do it again.”
“I was obviouslylying!” I exclaim. “And you said it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Because you were acting weird!”
“Because itisweird!Thisis weird. I’ve never felt like this before with you.”
“Like what?”
“Well, right now, like I want to push you over,” I snap. “And otherwise…” Otherwise, like my entire life was leading up to that very moment. “I liked it when we kissed,” I repeat, folding my arms under my chest.
“So why did you freak out?”
“Because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. I like our friendship. It’s important to me and I didn’t want to lose it.”
“You’re not going to.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t. And for all I knew, you felt nothing more than friendship for me, which means I would be making things majorly awkward for both of us and if youdidfeel more…” I fumble with the words, flustered now we were getting to the heart of things. “If you did and we tried something, there’s no saying if it would last or not, and then that’s it. Ten years gone. You can’t go back on something like that. Some things can’t be unsaid.”
“So, you’re scared of liking me because you’re scared of losing me?”
The urge to hide is strong. “Well, when you say it like that it makes me sound pathetic, so no.”
“Moll…” His voice is filled with tenderness as he takes a step toward me. “Look at me, I’m not going anywhere.”
“I know.”
“You don’t. And that’s the problem. Everything you just said? I worry about it too. And I’m not going to let go of something like that, someone likeyou, that easy.” He pauses, frowning slightly. “I shouldn’t have tricked you into kissing me back in Argentina. It was selfish. And you’re right. I wantedto kiss you. When I realized that you wanted me as well…” He shakes his head, his gaze intense as he stares down at me. “I snapped.”
Snapped.
No one’s ever snapped for me before.
I don’t know why that turns me on so much.
“I guess everyone gets a little crazy during the holidays,” I whisper, and I honest to God blush at the look in his eyes.
