Page 11 of That Kiss

“Hmm, I see things have changed since last time.” She smirks and I know she’s referring to the night I kissed her when I told her I was trying not to be a gentleman.

“Just give me the damn keys,” I mutter, snatching them from her hands and hitting the unlock button. “Get in the damn car, Juney.” I open the door.

“Bossy,” she mocks and grabs the top of the door, swinging her legs inside. But just before she sits down in the car, she stands up on her tippy toes, her lips now so close to mine, and whispers, “And for the record, it wouldn’t just be a hookup. It would rock your fucking world.”

Chapter 6

Juniper

My hands are shaking as I close the door and start my car, offering up a little wave to Decker before tearing out of the parking lot.

“Holy shit!” I laugh to myself, proud that I stood my ground and didn’t completely melt into a whimpering puddle of goo. Trust me, on the inside, I’m a complete mess, but maybe playing hard to get is exactly what I need. These last few years, I’ve made my intentions clear as day to Decker Slade, so now it’s his turn. If he wants me, he can work for it. I know my worth, and I also know that he and I are meant to be together. Now he just needs to catch up.

I turn up the radio and sing along to Dua Lipa, reminding myself that the way Decker held me the night he kissed me, the way he looked at me, tasted me, touched me . . . there was so much more behind that kiss, so much left unsaid, that I’m not willing or ready to walk away yet, and he’s delusional if he thinks it was just a mistake.

“Happy birthday!” Milly—Decker and Ranger’s older half-sister—pulls me in for one of her warm bear hugs. Her hugs feel like you’re home; there’s no other way to describe them. She plops a gorgeous box down onto the table and peels her denim jacket from her lean frame. “Now, fill me in on everything since you’ve been home.”

It’s been months since I’ve seen Milly, even though we text almost every day. We like to save all of our stories for when we get together for brunch on a weekend like we have today.

“What’s this?” I reach for the box as we both sit back down at our table.

“Just a little birthday something for you from your favorite bakery back in Boulder.” She says it so casually, like she isn’t the most thoughtful person in the world.

“Milly!” I shake my head, a huge grin on my face as I pull the ribbon away from the box. “You shouldn’t have.”

“It was nothing. Kent and I were in Denver, so I just zipped over to Boulder and picked them up on the way home.”

“You are honestly the sweetest!” I slide the lid off the box and see an array of stunning pastries and croissants. I close my eyes, inhaling the heavenly scent before securing the lid. “I’m not going to lie, I will probably eat half of this in bed tonight, so thank you.”

“Alone?” She wriggles her eyebrows at me as she takes a sip of her coffee.

I panic for a second, confident Decker must have told her about the kiss, but then she mentions the made-up boyfriend I stupidly mentioned to Ranger all those months ago.

“Yes, alone,” I say with a bit of hesitation.

“Oh no.” Her hand darts across the table just as our waiter arrives, giving me time to change the subject.

“Hello, ladies. Can I start you off with some mimosas or coffee?” We put in our usual order, and the second he walks away from our table, I take the opportunity to switch gears.

“So how’s married life? I feel like you and Kent are always so busy these days, always between here and Denver.”

After their whirlwind romance and engagement, it was no surprise when they eloped just a few months later without telling a single person. Her father, Colton, wasn’t too happy about it. He said he wanted to walk his only daughter down the aisle, which I understood.

“Yeah.” She twirls her straw in her water.

“Yeah, what? That didn’t sound good.”

“It’s nothing bad,” her hand drops back down to the table, “but I think since we’ve gotten married, which in itself was dramatic with my dad being upset with us for a few weeks afterward, it feels like more and more, our hearts are leaning toward Denver.”

My eyes almost bug out of my head. “Seriously? But what about taking over your dad’s position with Slade Brewing?”

“It’s been okay. I can manage it with my job at the library just fine, but I can’t manage all of it while trying to spend more time with Kent’s family.” She twirls her straw wrapper in her hand, her eyes drifting down to watch the movements. “I feel terrible, because I thought being here was what I wanted. I was so excited when Kent agreed he was over city life and wanted a fresh start out here.”

“But?”

“I dunno, I guess we’ve changed our minds over the last year. He loves being the in-house counsel for Slade Industries International, but he can do that from Denver, and maybe we’ll just come out this way once a quarter instead of trying to make every other weekend back in Denver work.” I can almost see her shoulders lighten once that’s off her chest. “Sorry, I’m so rude. This is about you and your birthday.”

“No,” now I reach for her hand, “don’t apologize. That’s what best friends are for. But I have to ask: Have you told your dad any of this?”

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