Page 2 of Blame it on the Kiss
“Tell me the rules, Honor.” His tone rang curious. And far too rebellious for her liking.
She gulped. Ran her sweaty palms down her jeans. “I’d really rather skip it.”
“Because of me?” He inched a little closer, his body heat and knock-a-girl-to-her-knees scent completely surrounding her now.
“Bryce.” How could he not feel as guilty as she did about what had happened between them?
“I want to know. We’re part of a wedding for the next three days and I don’t want things to be awkward. You avoided me like I had some deadly disease during the film festival a few months ago, but you can’t keep dodging me now. If this is about what happened—”
“Stop.”
His hand found hers. He laced their fingers together and so much pleasure shot up her arm she had to hold back a sigh. “You don’t need to be—”
“I said stop. Please.” Humiliation filled her chest and the back of her throat all over again. She couldn’t get past the moment when they’d finally exchanged names and she’d fled his hotel room with her dress haphazardly covering her body.
She tried to pull her hand away, but he wouldn’t let go. “We need to clear the air. Walk through that night and…” he let out a deep breath, “move past it. I’ve tried to leave it behind, but I’m having a hard time forgetting how good it felt to touch you. If we hadn’t exchanged names…”
Her breath caught somewhere between her lungs and her vocal chords, so it took her a minute to answer. He was right about them talking. She didn’t want to feel weird about things during the wedding festivities. She didn’t want to cause Sophie any concern or strain during this special time. If they discussed that night like two mature adults, she could walk out of this closet with their very brief past over and done with.
“You were supposed to be a one night stand.”
He let go of her hand and shifted his stance. “Yeah? When did you decide that?” He sounded half relieved, half sheepish. Had he been after the same thing? Had he wanted to use her to forget about Payton?
“After you laughed at my lawyer joke. No, wait, after you told me you hated stuffy, everyone has stick-up-their-asses parties and you’d rather swim with sharks.”
“Thenyoulaughed,” he said. “And it was the best sound I’d ever heard. I whispered I’d get a room at the hotel and asked you to sneak away with me.”
Bryce liked her laugh? She sounded like a hyena on helium. They’d never talked about what they were both doing at the party, just formed an immediate kinship over feeling like they’d rather be any place else.
“And I said yes, because that’s when I decided what I wanted to do.” Everything about Bryce had made her insides dance and sing. He’d lit her up so much more than she’d ever been before. After only an hour together! That’s when she knew she’d had to take thePretty Womanapproach. No kissing on the mouth. Lame movie move she’d never used before, but following Julia Roberts’ lead had seemed like a good idea at the time.
“For the record, you would’ve been my first one night stand.”
“Really?” she almost said. A hot guy like him never having a quick hook-up seemed improbable, but in case he wasn’t feeding her a line she went with, “That’s nice to know.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to your story?”
His suspicion sent a wave of warmth through her. He’d been in tune with her that night, but she wanted him nowhere near her feelings now. She swallowed. How much should she tell him?
“My emotions were all over the place that night. And then I met you and I forgot for a little while, and…”
“What?”
“Then I remembered Payton’s list and that’s why I went to a room with you.”
“Her list?”
“Before she died she gave me a list of things she’d always wanted to accomplish and asked me to do them for her. I agreed without even looking at it. She’d been my very best friend for almost twenty years, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.” Honor’s heart gave that familiar hitch whenever she thought about Payton and how unfair it was that her life had been cut so short.
“A one night stand was on her list?”
“Yes.”
Silence filled the small space. Not the good kind. Or the comfortable kind. The kind that screamed she’d said too much. She couldn’t believe she’d told him. But if they were going to move past what happened between them, she had to be honest.
“Until that night I had no idea Payton had passed away. When you told me it was like being thrown against a wall of razor blades. She’d dumped me, by voicemail, with no explanation, and ignored my calls and texts…”
“She didn’t want to burden you.”
