Page 30 of Beachside Kisses With My Enemy

“I…” Blake swallowed, and he leaned toward me. Closer, closer, till his nose hovered above mine. “I’m going to miss this town.”

Miss the town…or me? “This town is going to miss you too.”

His lips quirked into a smile, and my whole body lit under it. I felt the barest whisper of his hand against my hip, the touch of his nose against mine, skimming down, down, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the best birthday present I could ever receive.

“What’s going on here?” A voice interrupted my dream—making it a nightmare instead.

My eyes opened and landed on Mr. Moffitt standing in the doorway, an empty platter in his hand.

Clearing his throat, Blake stepped away from me quickly. “Lucy was just getting a refill, and we were about to head back out.”

“Yep.” I held my cup aloft. “Got it! So, um, guess we can go now.” My voice sounded false and tinny, and I tried not to cringe at it.

“Hmm.” Mr. Moffitt’s gray eyebrows lifted. He looked as serious as ever in his khaki pants and red polo. “Son, help me reload this platter with more burgers from the fridge. Your mother wants to throw more on the grill.”

“Okay.” Something in Blake’s voice shifted down. Being around his dad seemed to have that effect. “See you out there, Lucy.”

Right. I was apparently dismissed. Or maybe saved. Whatever I was, I was sure my face was as red as the sliced tomatoes on the buffet line outside, and I needed to cool down before I faced the crowd. “I’ll be right out. Gotta hit the restroom first.”

I hauled booty down the dark hallway.

“I cannot believe you, Blake. What were you thinking, messing around with that girl?”

The way he said “that girl” made me halt in my tracks, turn, and flatten myself against the wall. Mr. Moffitt had never been overly warm toward me, but he’d never given me the impression he didn’t like me.

“I wasn’t messing around with her.” The fridge snicked open, and I heard Blake rustling around inside.

“That’s not what it looked like from here. Looked to me like you were about to kiss her.”

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t be listening in. But I couldn’t help but want to hear what Blake would say…

“Why would I kiss her? I’m leaving for college tomorrow.”

Ouch. Okay, okay, maybe he had a point. He’d be in Phoenix come tomorrow evening, and I’d be here for another two years at least. The whole thing was probably a bad idea.

But had I really imagined it—or was he just trying to throw his dad off the scent?

“Good.” Mr. Moffitt paused. “The last thing you want to do is fall for a townie.”

I couldn’t help but huff. A townie? Seriously? Sure, I loved Hallmark Beach, but I was so much more than that.

Hopefully Blake saw me as more than that. He’d certainly seemed to…

I held my breath while I waited for his reply. Inched forward a bit so I could see his face. Thankfully, neither of them seemed to notice me.

“Don’t worry, Dad.” Blake’s jaw ticked as he slid a platter of burgers across the counter toward Mr. Moffit. “I was just trying to be nice to Lucy. She’s a sweet kid.”

Kid? The word knifed my heart.

“That girl follows you around like an annoying little puppy, Blake. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.”

What? Sweet macaroni.

Blake laughed, tight and low. “Yeah, but what else could I do? I didn’t want to be mean to her.”

No.

My chest tight, I couldn’t breathe.

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