Page 53 of It's Complicated

Lori nods and leans the rest of the way toward me. Her lips brush against mine softly. I drop my hands, clenching the sheets so hard I’m afraid I might tear them.

She plants tiny kisses across my jaw and down to my neck. Normally, I’d be all over this and we’d be ripping each other’s clothes off, but now I’m fighting my body and aim to keep my hands to myself.

“Lori,” I pant, “we can’t.”

“If I remember correctly,” she whispers against my ear, “kissing is allowed.”

“You’re killing me.”

“Good.”

Her lips meet mine again and this time I have no strength to resist.

I grab the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. I rub my thumb on her cheek and kiss her jaw, her neck, and her mouth until she goes limp in my arms.

When I pull away, I straighten Lori up—all her bones seem to have melted, saying, “Should we call it even and get dressed?”

Lori smiles and I know I’m a goner. “You play dirty, Barlow.”

“Oh, I play dirty? Miss Killing You Softly?”

She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Can I borrow a hoodie? I only have my tank top from last night.”

That might actually help me keep my sanity.

“Sure.” I gesture to my right. “Mi closet es tu closet. I’ll go make some coffee.”

When Lori walks into the kitchen, she finds me seated at the table, cradling my phone.

“What’s with the phone rocking?”

I look up and the breath gets knocked out of me. She has no right to look that stunning in an oversized hoodie. But with her legs bare, long hair falling on her shoulders, eyes still a little sleep-puffy, and a bright smile stamped on her kissed-up lips, she’s beyond beautiful.

“Yeah,” I say. “’Cause I just realized we have a bigger problem to solve before lunch with my mother.”

Lori frowns questioningly.

“Remember that delightful story you spun Aiden about how we first kissed on a night you supposedly got stood up by a blind date and I was out having drinks with my sister?”

“Yeah?”

“Jessica is going to know that’s not true.”

For a moment, Lori stares at me blankly, then sinks into the chair across from me. “And she’s coming to lunch, too, today?”

“Probably. But even if she isn’t today, she will eventually.”

“What do you propose?”

“We have to bring her into the loop.”

“You mean to tell her everything?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, gosh.” Lori covers her face with her hands.

“That’s why lying is never a good idea.”

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