Page 34 of Kiss Me Forever

Thankfully, the need to breathe finally broke them apart. She doubted she would have made a move otherwise.

Alex lifted his head and the steam of their heated breaths flowed around them. He stared into her eyes, and she wished for a few less shadows. If she could see him better, maybe she could read what he was thinking, but in the dim light, his expression was indecipherable.

She swallowed hard and drew in a breath. "That was…" The right word seemed impossible to find.

"Yeah," he said. "I completely agree."

"You agree it was unprofessional?" she asked, finally finding the word she was looking for.

"That's what you were going to say?" he asked with a frown.

No, she'd been searching for an adjective along the lines of amazing, awesome, fantastic, unbelievable…but she wasn't going to tell him that. "I don't know. I don't want to talk about it. We should go." She slipped his coat off of her shoulders and handed it back to him. Then she headed to the car.

She was in her seat with the belt buckled a good minute or two before Alex finally slid behind the wheel. He started the engine, then looked over at her. "That was the best kiss I've had in a long time." His gaze lingered on hers for a long moment, then he shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking spot.

She looked out the window, his words rocketing around her head. Alex had said exactly what she'd been thinking, what she hadn't had the courage to say. What the hell were they going to do now?

Chapter Seven

Andrea still hadn't come up with an answer to that question when Alex walked her into her apartment building twenty minutes later. He'd insisted on leaving his car temporarily double-parked so that he could see her to her door, which seemed like a remarkably nice thing to do. Most of the guys she went out with were happy to pause the car while she jumped out, and they were usually gone before she entered her building.

On the other hand, Alex's insistence on accompanying her to her apartment created yet another awkward moment. Did she say goodnight at the door or invite him in?

She should invite him in so she could ask him more questions and get him back on the interview track. But inviting him into her apartment came with other problems, most notably the desire still ringing through her body after their kiss.

She slid her key into her lock and opened her door. "Do you want to continue our interview?"

"Not tonight."

She knew she should push, but she couldn't find the words. "Okay. What time should we meet tomorrow?"

"Actually, I'm going to have to pass on tomorrow."

"Why? I thought you'd cleared your weekend for this interview."

"Something unexpected came up."

"When did that happen? And why didn't you mention it before now?"

"Because I don't have to clear my schedule with you," he said, a hard note in his voice.

She stared back at him. "Is this about what happened before?"

"No, it's not."

"Really? Because it seems like your sudden plans for tomorrow came out of nowhere."

"They didn't. I got a call earlier, before the cocktail party. I just didn't have a chance to mention the change in plans until now. Don't overthink this, Andrea. It was just a kiss."

"The best kiss you've had in a while," she couldn't help reminding him, feeling a little annoyed that he was suddenly blowing her off.

His lips curved into a smile. "I thought you didn't want to talk about it."

She didn't want to talk about it, and she was sorry she'd brought it up, because the memory only increased the tension between them. "I don't."

"Then I guess we'll touch base on Monday."

"Alex, we have so much to do. I only have ten days to write this piece, and I don't have much of anything to say yet."

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