Page 19 of When in December

His lips were soft, and he kissed the same way he talked when he was a little drunk. Or a lot drunk. Smooth and easy.

And kind to me.

He tasted like sharp liquor that burned, sticking around long after I left, making sure he fell asleep on his side before I did.

After that night, I’d never seen Aaron Hayes again. From what I’d heard, after his parents died, he’d moved in with another relative somewhere outside of the city. But still, in the back of my mind, I never forgot him. I never forgot my first kiss. Our kiss.

Or the fact that somehow, it still managed to be the best in my entire life and made the lecture of a lifetime that I’d received from my mother when she realized I’d snuck out—due to the fact I’d never snuck out of the house before and I’d forgotten my key to let myself back in—all worthwhile.

five

. . .

Poppy

“Gah!”I dropped everything in my arms, sending the old, beaten Home Haven office chair rolling away on its wheels. I pulled it back toward me before falling into it with an unattractive grunt.

Today was supposed to be great. Nothing had stood in my way.

I could do difficult things.

Until, of course, something had stood in my way, and it was far past difficult.

Right in front of me and in nothing but a towel, no less.

It was supposed to be the start of winning this promotion and becoming Poppy, senior interior designer at Home Haven. None of this was how it was supposed to go. Could it get any worse?

“Did you seriously just saygah?” Hannah tapped her headset as she turned around toward me. She took a sip from her oversize hot-pink water jug before glancing back toward her screen again, checking the time. “Wait a second, aren’t you supposed to be still at the house right now? I thought today was your first big day.”

Not answering, I took a deep breath as I took my things out of my bag to set up on my desk in my tiny cubicle.

I needed to take a deep breath. I might need two because I had driven over three hours in less than that. I was supposed to be measuring and taking my time right now as I put together a plan to create the best project out of this assignment I possibly could.

But then I’d met the real owner of the cabin. Or rather re-met him.

Only clearly, he’d had no idea that he was re-meeting me.

The real owner of the cabin was so much worse than the possibly uptight corporate lawyer I’d thought I was going to be dealing with. The kind of person I was used to dealing with.

I put a hand to my head.

Aaron Hayes.

We were adults now anyway. I could move on from what had happened. Even if he already was looking at me like he had in high school, like I was the most repulsive human being he’d ever seen.

You know, after he got over the fact that I wasn’t a home intruder.

I wished I could say that he had gotten worse-looking in the past decade or so. But no. If anything, Aaron Hayes had gotten even handsomer than I remembered. He was tall, and his shoulders had somehow turned even broader than they had been when he was playing football, though those eyes piercing into me had felt just as heart-stopping.

Maybe it was a good thing. I didn’t look at all like the girl who had bulky braces and didn’t know how to apply even the basics of makeup anymore because, Aaron Hayes did not remember me.

How was that even possible? It didn’t even seem fair in the whole balance of the universe. Instead of the sweet boy nextdoor, Aaron looked like a ruggedly handsome model as he’d stood in a towel and only a towel, which I couldn’t tear my eyes away from, along with his side, puckered with scars.

Hannah watched me as I chaotically confessed my traitorous eyes and even worse past—about a client.

What happened in the cubicle stayed in the cubicle.

By the time I finished, I put a hand on my warm cheek. My face had turned a bright red in frustration and embarrassment.

---