Page 242 of One More Kiss

Chapter7

JULY

“Whew,I am so ready for a mini-vacation!” Bailey tossed her bag on the bottom bunk bed in the small room and spun in a circle. “Bikini time?” she asked Ada and Pam.

“Definitely bikini time,” Ada answered with a laugh.

“Sweet! I will go change and then get started on our first batch of margaritas!” Bailey did a little dance before disappearing into the bathroom with her navy blue bikini.

Once she was changed, she left the room and headed for the kitchen. She had just pulled out the tequila when she heard someone come into the room. “That was qui-” she started to say, but when she stood, the words stopped forming on her tongue.

Simon stood staring at her, wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts and sandals. His hard chest was bare save for a small amount of chest hair.

“Bailey you look-”

“Thanks, you too,” she interrupted. “I um, was going to make some margaritas if you’re interested.”

“I’m interested in a lot more than margaritas.”

Bailey’s breath caught in her chest, and she felt her heart begin to pound. Had that feral look always been in his eyes?

“I, uh-”

Before she could finish responding, Tucker, Owen, and Adam walked in laughing.

“Hey, Bailey! We were just coming in to grab some beers.”

Her eyes still hadn’t left Simon’s, and it wasn’t until Tucker walked into the kitchen and got into the fridge that she was able to look away.

“Ada and Pam are changing into swimsuits, and we’ll be out too. You guys get the boat okay?”

“We did,” Adam said easily and grabbed a chip from a bag on the counter.

“Hey, boys.” Brooklyn and Lillian came into the room, wearing their swimsuits, and both Tucker and Adam cat-called them.

“Hey, Owen, you may want to go check on Emma. As of thirty seconds ago, she was refusing to come out of the room,” Brooklyn insisted.

“On it.” Owen disappeared, and both Tucker and Adam paired off with Brooklyn and Lillian, leaving Simon and Bailey alone again. He still hadn’t moved, his eyes focused on the floor.

“Everything alright?” Bailey wondered. He looked back up at her.

“Honestly?” He closed the distance between them in three strides, and Bailey leaned against the counter behind her. “I think about you constantly, Bailey.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Simon, we live together. A relationship is out of the question.”

“Who made those rules?”

“Me! If it went sour—and trust me, with my track record, it would—we will still have to see each other every single day until the lease is up in January. Is that what you want?”

“Who says it would go sour? Brett was an ass. The only one responsible for that relationship ending was him.” He reached forward and cupped her cheek. “Don’t you feel it too, Bailey?”

She nodded. “But that doesn’t mean we should jump into it.”

“Don’t we owe it to ourselves to at least try to figure out what it means? What this”—he gestured between them with his free hand—“means?”

Fighting against her urges, she moved away. “I can’t do that just yet. Give me time, Simon.”

She left the room, leaving the blender full of ice and tequila.

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