Page 12 of The Pucking Girl Next Door

Thankfully, Smith gives me the space I need as I quickly change. Once I'm done, I head back downstairs, hoping that he hasn't made it to the kitchen. Ideally, I would love to escape and spend some time in my cottage, possibly reading or doing some yoga. But the snow is keeping me from that idea.

As soon as my foot hits the floor, I can tell that my original plan of keeping distance between Smith and I will not work out. I freeze when I look into the kitchen. Smith is already there, shirtless, in a pair of gray sweatpants, cooking breakfast from what I could tell. Stirring something on the stove, I notice himdancing at the same time while singing along to the song he's playing on his phone.

I can't stop myself and let out a giggle at the show, pulling his attention from whatever he's cooking to me.

"Are you spying on me?" he playfully asks.

"Me." I say as I dramatically throw my hand over my heart. "I would never."

Smith makes a beeline for me, abandoning the stove. My brows furrow, wondering what the hell he is up to, but I can tell by the way he's looking at me it's definitely something. "You're going to burn whatever you have cooking if you come over here," I try to say assertively, but it ends up coming out breathier than I meant, and it doesn't stop Smith one bit either.

When he reaches me, I watch his every move as he cradles my face in his hands, and his eyes soften right before he crashes his mouth to mine. A warning quickly flashes in the back of my mind, but I can't seem to stop the kiss. I gasp as I instantly melt into his soft lips. Smith uses that moment to slide his tongue into mine, and I can't do anything but accept it.

And it all feels right.

It feels like this is meant to be and he's really mine. Suddenly, a picture of my brother flashes in my mind and I think about the friendship between Steve and Smith. I would hate myself if I were the person who came between them. Knowing he can't ever belong to me, I place my hands on his chest, pushing him away.

"I can't." Tears burning my eyes, I turn away from him, grabbing my coat off one of the kitchen chairs. Saying nothing else, I just run.

Running away from him and every fucking feeling I'm having, back toward my refuge. My little cottage.

Chapter 11

Smith

Istand still as I watch Annabelle run away from me. As much as I want to, I fight the feeling to run after her, instead I return to the kitchen to continue making breakfast. How can she not realize how good we could be together? I mean, especially after that kiss?

That kiss was amazing.

Fireworks.

And men don't talk about kisses like that. If she would've let me, I would've kissed her forever. Rationally, I know she needs time to wrap her brain around the fact that she is mine. I'll finish breakfast, get dressed, and then I'll track her down. That'll give her enough time to wrap her brain around everything, but not enough to run too much further away from me.

A buzzing feeling comes from my pants. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I look down at my caller ID, causing me to grin. Perfect timing.

"Hey, man," I answer my phone.

"Hey, Smith. How's it going at the house? Have you run into Annabelle yet? My mom said she isn't able to come to the Bahamas because of the storm."

I let out a breath. This will be even easier to tell him now that he's brought his sister up. Needing to plate up the breakfast for two I’d been making, I place my phone on speaker. "I have actually. Man, she's grown up. It's been a while since I've seen her, it's been great getting to know her again."

He chuckles through the line. "It has been a while since you two have seen each other. The reason I'm calling is that my mom said she's having a hard time being away from the family for the holidays. Can you help make it somewhat tolerable for her?"

"I got you, man. Speaking of your sister, I just wanted to let you know I plan on taking my shot with her."

I expect Steve to yell at me or tell me to fuck off after my revelation, but he doesn't do either. In fact, he doesn't speak at all. We both just sit in silence. Tapping the screen of my phone, I make sure he's still there. When I see he is, I let us sit in silence for another minute, giving him time to come around to the idea of me being with his sister.

"Hey, man. I'm not try—" I begin, but Steve cuts me off.

"Is this just so you can fuck her?" he asks me with such a fury that I've never seen coming from him. His accusation pisses me off and I can feel anger swelling in my chest, but I take a deep breath to calm myself.

"Fuck you Steve. No, I wouldn't have informed you if I was just trying to fuck her. She's going to be my forever."

"Forever?"

"Yeah, man. She's endgame for me."

Steve lets out a rushed breath and I can just imagine him pacing around as he runs his hands through his hair. He finally answers, "Sorry, man. I just needed to make sure that your forreal. It's just in the past you've been more man whore than husband material and she's my sister."

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