Page 461 of One More Kiss

A few people saw us coming out of the closet, and I’m a bit self-conscious, but I decide to take pride in my walk of shame. We’re both adults, enjoying each other’s company.

Ethan’s hand is leading me as we walk back into the main room and through the crowd. Women look over their shoulders at us and snicker, probably knowing what we were just doing. I’m sure I look as guilty as he does, but he wears it with no fucks given.

Hours pass as I sit in the front row and watch him, completely mesmerized by his amazing skills. Each time he throws me a wink, I playfully roll my eyes at him because I don’t want to get shanked when I leave here. Before too long, I realize I need to get back to the house. At Ethan’s next break, I tell him I need to leave.

“I understand, babe,” he says.

“I still have to call the airline and make arrangements to reschedule my flight, but I’m going to do that once I get back to the house.”

Once the Uber arrives, he walks me out and pulls me into his arms. “Bye, babe. I’ll see you very soon.”

“You will,” I tell him, placing a quick kiss on his lips before getting into the car.

I wave at him and blow a sweet kiss that he tucks into his pocket before he heads back inside the studio. Letting out a sigh, I decide I want to do something nice for him tonight and ask the Uber driver if she can take me to a grocery store instead. She agrees and drops me off at the door.

“I can wait for you if you’d like,” she offers.

“That’s okay. I might be a while. Thank you, though,” I tell her, and she gives me a wave and drives off.

My phone vibrates, and I see a text from Nora. I guess she figured it out after all.

Nora: DOES HE HAVE AN OLDER SINGLE UNCLE?

I laugh and send her a text back.

Me: No. And your cap locks is on again :)

Nora: DAMMIT.

I swear to myself that when I get back home, I’m going to teach her how to use that damn phone. Laughing at her, I walk inside and grab a cart and go straight for the steaks. As I’m looking at ribeyes and sirloins, trying to decide which one to cook, a tall, Paris blonde woman stands close beside me. She has long, lean legs and a pretty face; the woman could be a model.

As soon as we make eye contact, she flashes a smile. “Oh hey, I recognize you,” she says, matter-of-factly, though I’ve never seen her in my life.

I’m kind of confused. “Really?” I tilt my head, trying to figure out if I recognize her or not.

“Yeah, you were just at Ethan’s studio, weren’t you?” she asks, her smile never fading, yet her tone is giving off a weird vibe.

I smile back at her, not really wanting to make small talk but decide to be nice. “Oh right. Yeah, I was.”

“So I have a somewhat personal question,” she tells me, sliding her cart to one side, so we don’t block the aisle.

I’m not really sure what to say, so I just nod.

“Are you seeing Ethan? Like, are you two a thing?” she asks, her nose wrinkling.

I open my mouth and close it, trying to draw my attention back to grocery shopping. “Something like that, but I’m sorry, who are you?”

“I’m Harmony. It’s nice to meet you,” she says in an overly sweet tone that sounds fake as she holds out her hand, but I don’t take it. “Anyway, I know you’re not from around here, so I thought I’d give you a warning about him.”

I furrow my brows and look at her like she’s lost her damn mind, but still, I’m intrigued to hear what she has to say. I already know about his past and secrets, about his wife and daughter; what else could she possibly have to tell me?

“He likes to make women think he’s falling in love with them, especially ones who are just in town on vacation. He makes them believe that they’re different from anyone else he’s ever been with.” My brows raise, shocked by her bold statements.

“You’re lying.” The words blurt out of my mouth before I can stop them.

She looks at me with pity before continuing. “He has the same MO with all of them, honey. Takes them out on special dates to the beach where he’ll hold your hand, and you’ll walk along the sand barefoot together. He’ll bring a blanket for you both to sit on, and that’s when he spills his guts to you, just to hook you in even more. Then, once he’s gotten his fix of you, he drops you like a bad habit, as if you and he never happened. He’ll make you believe you’re something special, that he’s falling hard, and can’t get enough before moving on to the next. Then you’re left to pick up the pieces of your broken heart.”

I feel sick. My head is spinning because she just replayed the most intimate part of our date. There’s no way she could know that. We weren’t even in town. The only person I told was Nora, and I doubt he’d tell anyone outside of Aunt Millie. How the hell does she know all the details? I instantly feel like a fool, and my heart hurts.

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