Page 71 of Moonshine Kiss
Jonah winced. “Too creepy.”
“Yeah, definitely creepy.”
“How about‘For sweet dreams on winter nights.’?”
“Much better,” I agreed.
Jonah looked up at the flash of headlights through the back window. “Looks like the object of your affections is home.”
I hit the Order button and hustled out onto the back porch.
“Evenin’, Cass,” I called to her as she stalked up the porch steps.
“I’m not talking to you,” she told me with a fierce frown.
“That’s all right. I’ll just talk to you. You look real pretty tonight.” She was still in her uniform, her hair pulled back in that tight bun that always made me want to loosen it and let it spill down into my hands.
She reached for her door and then paused, rounding on me. We were separated by that slim strip of railing that I was going to take down one of these days. No more barriers. Nothing keeping us apart.
“I don’t appreciate you insinuating yourself and playing Courtin’ Fairy all over my job.” She stabbed a finger into my chest, and I relished the physical contact.
I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips.
“Honey, I’m gonna be insinuating myself all over your life,” I promised.
“I have never wanted to slap someone so hard in my entire life,” she hissed. There was fire under the iciness in her eyes. That’s what I loved about her. You always knew where you stood with Cassidy Tucker. She didn’t play games, didn’t hide behind the silent treatment, didn’t go out of her way to throw a temper tantrum. She told you exactly what she felt.
“Try it,” I teased her. “I’d have to defend myself by wrestling you to the ground and kissing you until you can’t breathe.”
Her breath hitched, and I saw that spark of desire fire to life in her eyes. “You’re lucky I have plans tonight or I’d be seriously thinkin’ about kickin’ your ass,” she told me.
“Plans?” If she had a date, I would ruin it. I’d stood on the sidelines long enough. I would answer her front door buck naked if it meant chasing off a man who mistakenly thought he belonged in my spot next to her.
“Girls night out so I can complain about how much I. Do. Not. Like. You,” Cassidy snipped.
“You could have told me it was a date. Tortured me with it.”
“I’ve dated with your knowledge before,” she pointed out, eyes narrowed.
I reached out, knowing that I was pressing my not-getting-slapped luck, and pulled her a step closer. “That was before I made my intentions crystal clear.”
“Your intentions?”
“You’re it for me, Cass. You can waste time being mad, but that doesn’t change the fact that I have every intention of living happily ever after with you.”
“You can’t just suddenly decide to get married because my dad says it’s okay! You should have fought for me.”
“I should have,” I agreed. “And I’m willing to spend the next eight years wearing you down to make up for the time we lost.”
35
Cassidy
“Men are stupid stupid faces!” I slurred, raising my glass.
“The stupidest,” Scarlett obliged. “No offense, babe.” Devlin was our designated driver.
“None taken,” he promised, elegant and gorgeous in navy slacks and a cashmere sweater with tiny threads loose around the cuffs. Kitten Jedediah, named for Scarlett’s moonshine-making bootlegging great-grandad, was hellbent on destroying everything the happy couple owned.
