Page 74 of My Vigilante Valentine

I’d love to say it was mutual—and in some ways, it was. But that man’s complete control over the situation had been crystalclear. Sure, I’d been the one to take it to the fridge—score one for my lack of impulse control.

But that move had only let him know we were on the same page, which sparked him into gifting me the kind of kiss that I felt in my soul. And the way he’d punctuated it by soothing my fears about what came next?

Jax hadownedthat whole scene.

Was I endlessly distracted because of it? Sure was. At one point, I nearly poured coffee grounds into the machine without a filter, which would have been a disaster.

It was just… Now that it was the light of day and I could see my previous crush for what it was, I was pretty sure he’d claimed my heart, too.

“Why do you look like that?”

I jumped, nearly dropping the mug I’d been absently drying for the last five minutes. Wednesday stood at the other end of the counter, her perfectly styled ponytail swinging as she tilted her head.

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve been replaced by an alien who’s trying really hard to act human but can’t quite nail the smile.” She dropped her bag behind the counter and tied on her apron. “Spill.”

I bit my lip, trying to contain said creepy alien smile. “Nothing to spill.”

“Luna. Why would you even bother trying to hide the wattage of that smile? It’s blinding me. Plus, you’re here early, which never happens unless something major is going on.”

“Hey! I come in early sometimes.”

“Name one time that wasn’t because you forgot to order supplies and needed to emergency shop before we opened.”

“Um, you can’t just attack me with facts this early in the morning, ma’am.”

Wednesday grinned, leaning against the counter. “Does this have anything to do with a certain broody regular who’s been acting very un-broody lately?”

The memory of Jax’s lips on mine flashed through my mind again, and I felt my cheeks heat. “Maybe.”

Her eyes went mega-wide. “Yes! I knew you guys were starting something—it’s been adorably sickening to watch. But something new happened, didn’t it? Tell me everything.”

“Well…” I paused for dramatic effect. I knew the girl-talk script. This was just the first time I’d been the one with the main character energy. “We might have kissed.”

Her squeal was probably heard three blocks away. Or on the moon, maybe. “Finally! When? Where? How was it? And most importantly, are you officially together now, so you’ll get to do it again?”

“You don’t even know how it was yet,” I teased, shaking my head.

“I would die if it was anything other than earth-shattering, so please don’t tell me it was bad. Actually, I don’t care what you tell me, as long as it’s all the gory details.”

Something inside me flinched at the mention ofgory details.

Brushing that darkness away again, I cracked up, setting down the mug so I could flick her with my dish towel. “I’ll confirm that the Earth was shattered, but that’s all you get. And it happened after we…” I trailed off, staring into space as I realized I’d need to tread lightly here.

First rule of Blade Club?

We don’t talk about Blade Club.

“Luna? Where did you just go?” Wednesday asked, lifting a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“Ah, right, sorry. I’m here. We went on a fancy date last night, so yes, we’re together, and the kiss happened after the date.”

“And? Don’t leave me hanging here. Was the date good, too? No awkward moments or icks?”

I sighed dreamily, probably looking exactly like the lovesick fool I was. “No icks. The date was perfect, too.” I winced. “Well, mostly perfect. There was a small... incident.”

What am I doing?

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