Page 63 of Once Kissed

My arms pull her closer in time for a slow dance. Neither of us says anything for the longest time. “You look beautiful,” I finally tell her, because she does, even in this old-lady getup.

“Thank you,” she says. “But God, I really hate this dress.”

I laugh and whisper close in her ear. “It’s kind of hot. You got support hose on beneath all that paisley?”

Her voice gathers a husky edge. “Do you want to find out?”

My hold on her tightens. “Yeah. I do.”

“What time is your shift over?”

I glance up at the clock. “I got another forty minutes.”

“Enough time to return to my apartment.” She leans back so I can see her face. The heat in her eyes stops me dead where I stand. “What say we head back so you can help me out of this dress?”

Chapter 15

Tess

I don’t say goodbye to Spencer and never bother to find my father, even though I know he’s here. Instead I hold tight to Curran’s hand as he leads me out of the ballroom, both of us laughing as we cross the street and reach his truck.

He opens the door for me and helps me inside. I can’t stop smiling, especially when he slides into the driver’s seat and gives me a quick kiss. “Thank you,” I whisper against his mouth.

Curran returns my grin, stroking the side of my face. “You’re welcome, angel face,” he tells me.

I lean against his shoulder. This awful evening is now behind me, thanks to this man I can’t stop thinking about. But our night together? Well, that’s only just begun.

“Is Lu on watch tonight?” I ask.

Curran laughs, but it lacks some of its humor. “Yup. She’s on.”

He cranks the engine and pulls out of the lot. I place my hand on his leg. “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I tell him truthfully.

He rolls to a stop at the first light. “And I don’t want to pretend like there’s nothing between us when there obviously is.”

“There’s something between us?” I muse.

He shrugs. “Considering we’ve been miserable apart, I’m guessing there might be.”

“Oh, hell,” I say, trying my best to imitate him. “We’re not going to have the ‘are you my boyfriend’ talk, are we?” I lift my arms and drop them like they weigh a ton. “Oh, we are, aren’t we?”

He throws back his head, laughing as he steps on the gas, but then his good nature fades. “That Spencer guy, your date.”

The name alone erases my grin. “What about him?”

“I didn’t like you with him.”

“I don’t like him with me, either,” I mutter.

“Good,” he says, sounding satisfied. He taps the screen to his Bluetooth. “Hey, Lu,” he says when she answers.

“I’ll be at the hotel in thirty,” she says by way of a greeting.

“Don’t. Tess is headed back to her place.”

There’s a pause before she says, “I take it you’re headed back with her?”

Curran doesn’t hesitate. “Yup.”

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