Page 45 of Firefly Effect

All these weeks, so many electric moments, a handful of whispered teases, a million secret wishes. So much anticipation. It has all been building to this lip-lock that trumps every single dream of what kissing him could have, should have, would have felt like.

Holy fuck, only our lips are touching, but my entire body is quivering, aching, desperate for more. He feels it too. I can tell in the way he presses against me, his arm tightening around my waist and securing me to him.

My back arches and my arms slip around his neck so I can hold on for dear life. It’s the only way to survive this kiss, which is everything I hoped it would be and so much more. As if by magic, the song “Lovely” by my favorite band, Fly By Midnight, begins playing through the bar’s sound system—a perfect soundtrack for a perfect moment.

He pulls my bottom lip between his, his teeth scraping me gently as I moan into his mouth. Then he kisses me again, righting me so that I’m standing straight as his palms smooth against my back. I’m completely drawn in, my senses on fire with overstimulation. This is the only heaven I want to know.

“Damn,” he murmurs against my lips. “Permission granted, I suppose.”

I feel a slow smile spread across my face as I pull back to look at him with an evil glimmer of my own. “Good. Because I think that kiss was just what the doctor prescribed.”

His mock glower sends shivers up my spine before he leans back into me, his mouth so close. “Damn straight he did.” His lips curl before they meet mine again. “With infinite refills.”

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

EVELYN

My nerves buzz and crackle to life the moment I step onto the gravel driveway of the home where I once lived with Uncle Patrick. I can’t believe I’m about to walk into a four-year-old’s birthday party. Only Lucy Reed could pull me so far outside my comfort zone like this—the adorable spitfire of a little girl who clearly takes after her father. In fact, if Lincoln hadn’t mentioned inviting me was her idea, I would have assumed he put his daughter up to the whole thing.

I pause for a moment halfway up the drive as a rush of memories hit me, thanks to the log-home architecture that’s not changed since I lived there. It makes me happy knowing a little girl is making happy memories here, just as I once did.

The relief and elation that consume me the moment I stepped foot on the property are unmatched. Patrick’s place has always been my home away from home—a place where I was given the freedom to just be a kid, play with friends, go on adventures, and get dirty without being reprimanded. My true home, as I always thought of it. My mom hated when I would say that out loud. Everything started an argument with her, but that kind of comment would get me the tongue-lashing of a lifetime.

“You ungrateful brat.” She would practically spit the words in my face. “After everything your father has done to continue the Vaughn legacy here in Raleigh, you’d rather live in that swamp?”

No matter how visceral her attacks would get, I found myself incapable of backing down. If I inherited any characteristics from my mother, they had to be my stubborn nature, my fierce stance in whatever I believed in, and my bravery to stand against anyone who dared oppose me. Between my mother and me, neither of us ever won a match, and in the end, we both walked away losers. She lost a daughter, and I got completely cut off from my parents. Still, I would choose this life any day of the week over the one they tried to groom me into.

Taking another few steps up Lincoln’s drive, I begin to hear more from my surroundings, almost like layers of an audio track. Music streams from somewhere nearby, bouncing off the trees in nature’s surround sound. Shrieks of laughter, happy chatter, and joyful screams ebb and flow in waves. There’s a splash of water, and I smile—Lincoln must have decided on a waterpark theme. The scent of something on the grill adds to the entire vibe of the day.

I skip the front entrance and walk around the house, following the stone walkway I helped Uncle Patrick create when I was eight years old. Why he decided to leave such a project for the hottest day of that summer is still beyond me, but it’s a small piece of history I’m proud to be part of.

My stomach rumbles at the strong scent of cooking meat, reminding me just how late I am. Kyle had a car appointment that ran an hour into his shift, so I covered for him until he could get back to the bar. If there’s anything more uncomfortable than going to a party, it’s arriving late and having all eyes shift to you. Which is exactly what happens when I round the corner to the backyard.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t such a large gathering for a four-year-old’s birthday. There must be twenty kids, all accompanied by parents. The yard is packed with a long pink Slip ’N Slide, a splash pad, a rectangular inflatable pool, and a bounce house with a water slide.

Smoke plumes from the open grill where Lincoln is already serving hamburgers and hot dogs.

Francine is the first to greet me, her giant eye-roll saying it all. She is completely and utterly annoyed. “I warned him,” she complains. “He insisted on letting Lucy invite whomever she wanted. Look at this circus. It’s insane.”

I turn to take in the entire scene again. A smile tugs at my face. “It’s incredible.”

Francine scoffs while folding her arms across her chest and surveying the party with me. “My daughter would throw ragers that stressed me out less than this.”

Her sarcasm makes me laugh.

“He spoils Lucy rotten,” Francine adds then sighs. “But she is one happy girl.”

My smile widens when I finally spot Lucy stomping around the splash pad with her friends, a look of pure glee on her face. “Sorry I couldn’t get here on time,” I say. “I had to cover for someone at the bar.” I scan the crowd, trying to ignore the stares of disapproval aimed in my direction from bikini-clad moms who clearly have no idea why I would be at this party. I’m not sure I can blame them.

Francine takes my wrapped present for Lucy from my hands. “Well, you’re here now. Feel free to get to work.” She winks. “Or just enjoy yourself. There are adult drinks in the red cooler, hot food on the grill, and snacks everywhere. Help yourself.” She adds my present to the picnic table with all the others.

I take a hesitant step forward, not knowing where to go first. I’m so obviously out of place. Lincoln is at the grill, focused on flipping a section of burgers while Lilith Thornefield, now a widowed single mom, talks animatedly by his side. The entire town knows how unfaithful she was to her husband before he died—she barely grieved before she was onto her next lover.

Now it seems Lincoln is her new target.

Jealousy stings me like a pesky bee—fast and sharp, the venom soaking into my veins. It’s one thing to have a crush on a man like Lincoln Reed, a sexy doctor with the body of a Greek god. It’s another to enter a space among a dozen other women, married or single, who all want to fuck him. And let’s be honest—these women here have something in common with Lincoln that I don’t. They are all parents.

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