Page 20 of Rock Strong

She grinned. And leaned forward. And kissed me.

Chapter 7

Abby

I’d heard it said before that life was not made up of minutes, hours, days, or weeks—it was made up of moments. If that was true, this was one of them. And clearly, I was temporarily insane. But Liam’s light honey eyes looked so pained, so perfect, I had to do it. There he was, worried about his credibility, talking music and plundering and things that mattered, when suddenly, I felt overwhelmed by the urge to tell him that I understood him—I got it.

I, too, had always felt like I wasn’t doing enough.

Do better in school, Abby.

Get better scores on your chair exams, Abby.

Make Samuel appreciate you more, Abby.

My own words—not anyone else’s. Sure, my mom wanted the best for me, sometimes pushed me, but most of it was purely self-driven.

I, too, doubted my own talents.

Why I couldn’t have told him all that without locking lips, I didn’t know. Maybe Rosemary was right, and my pheromones were telling me things my brain wasn’t willing to listen to, and it’d led to this—a single, sweet kiss. I closed my eyes, and without thinking, pressed my lips against his soft mouth. For the first time since our conversation began, I breathed. I breathed in the scent of his skin, I breathed in his aura, I breathed in the mist-spattered garden air.

I breathed in life.

I pulled away, my eyes opened, and his shock was clear. I’d just kissed Liam Collier—rock star. After that whole rant about not being one of his groupies and how he wouldn’t be conquering me.

“Wow,” he mumbled.

“I…I am so sorry. No clue, at all, what came over me.” Great, and if he had an ego about himself, I just made it ten times bigger by showing how weak I was around him.

“Whatever it is, I like it.” He reached for my hand, a light smile at his lips.

“No.” I pushed him away slightly. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was impulsive, imprudent. I should be getting back.” I stood from the bench and backed away.

“Abby, don’t leave.” He grasped on to my arm.

“I have to. Richard…he gave us a break, but that was ages ago. I’m already late making it back.”

“That was awesome,” he said. “Really, it was. I don’t think there was anything imprudent about it, but if that’s how you feel…then okay.”

“I had no right to surprise you like that.”

“Why not?” He chuckled lightly. “I loved it.”

So had I. For a second, my insecurity vanished and joy skipped through me. But only for a second.

Why…why had I done that? Was I so desperate for emotional and physical connection, I didn’t even realize how much I needed it? Had Samuel left me so devoid of both that now I needed to correct things? I stood there, watching his longing face, his sad-dog eyes. Rosemary was right—he was ruggedly beautiful. Not a pretty boy, not a fashion model, just naturally wow. My chest pounded in agreement.

My brain tried to make sense of what happened.

I couldn’t start anything with him. I was only here to spend the summer with Rosemary while making some money. But then, as though a little cartoon devil had suddenly perched itself on my shoulder, I thought about what other girls would say, girls I admired for being so assertive and strong. What? It’s not like I want to marry the dude. I just want to kiss him. But I never was any good at keeping things simple.

“I can’t get involved with you, Liam,” I said.

“It was just a kiss, Abby.” He tugged gently on my arm, coaxing me to sit down. “Come on. Let’s just keep talking.”

“I can’t. Really, I need to be getting back.”

“Abby…” he said, in a way that no one had ever said my name before. He drawled out the A, breathing life into it. “Don’t be scared.”

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