Page 39 of Christmas on Ice
“Just one thing about it.” I turned to find her looking up at me. Again, I felt that we were talking with our eyes.
“What’s that?” My breath puffed out in a cold cloud between us, blurring her features, but there was nothing blurry about what she wasn’t saying. But I wanted to hear her say it.
“That friend-zone line I drew... Do you think it would be a bad idea to cross it?”
“I don’t know, but I know I want to cross it.” I angled my face over hers. Our lips met, and what I thought would be a quick, gentle kiss was anything but.
Kami wrapped her arms around my neck and tugged me closer. I kissed her with everything I had. I wanted her to know—no, to feel—that this meant something to me. I needed her to know that this was important.
“Wow,” she breathed, pulling away. “I’ve never been kissed like that before.”
“That’s a crime. We should kiss again so you can’t say that anymore.”
She grinned and climbed onto my lap. “Kiss me like that till they turn the tree lights off?”
“With pleasure.”
20
Kami
My lips were swollen from too much kissing.
I take that back.
There was no such thing as too much kissing where Trask Emerson was concerned.
I said goodbye to him at the door, afraid we might get carried away if I invited him in. The house always felt empty when Ryleigh was gone, but tonight I also felt the loss of a partner. Her dad and I had been in love once. I hadn’t known until tonight how much I missed that feeling of euphoria that came from connecting with someone on such a personal, heartfelt level.
Someone to keep me warm at night, wake up with in the morning. Help me get Ryleigh ready for school, spend the holidays with. Normal yet priceless things, gifts that money couldn’t buy. It had been almost two years since I’d missed those things.
Trask made me miss those things.
Tonight, I’d felt alive again. He’d made me feel like I was a prize to be claimed. The mark of his kiss left an impression on my heart and lifted my spirit.
I brewed myself a cup of tea and filled the tub. I needed to relax my nerves and not overthink what tonight meant. A hot bath and a new audiobook ought to help.
I sank into the hot water. As I swiped to hit “play” for the book, a call from Brenna popped up and I accidentally swiped to answer the call.
“I saw your bathroom light on, so I know you’re home!”
Shoot, I forgot I was on her way home. “Um … I was going to call you tomorrow?”
“Is that a question?”
“Maybe?”
“So how did it go?”
I closed my eyes and thought about how to answer. “It was … good.”
“Just good? Is he still in the friend zone?”
“Brenna!”
“What? You haven’t been kissed in almost two years. If it was me, you can bet I’d pull that gorgeous face down to mine!”
I wasn’t going to tell her that had been one of my thoughts just before I instigated our first smooching session.
