Page 13 of The Kiss Countdown

Vincent rolls his shoulders. “It’s complicated.”

“You mentioned as much the other day.”

He drums on the steering wheel and lets out a long breath. “Okay. For years, my mom has harped on about me settling down and starting a family. Typical mom stuff, right? It was easy to dodge and ignore when I didn’t live so close.”

“California is quite the distance.”

He flashes me a toothy grin and I instantly wish I’d kept my mouth shut.

“Have you been checking up on me?” he says.

“Don’t get too full of yourself. I had to make sure you are who you say you are and that I wasn’t about to step out with a psycho. Although, I guess that’s still debatable.”

Vincent chuckles. “Yes, I was in California. I came back to Texas to work with NASA, and while it brought me back home, starting a career as an astronaut really sent my mom over the edge. Don’t even get me started on how she reacted when I went to the International Space Station.”

“She doesn’t like what you do? Other than, say, firefighters, I can’t think of any other occupation that’s more revered or regarded as heroic.”

“Heroic,” Vincent echoes with a proud nod.

I make a mental note that compliments go straight to his head.

“To answer your question, the thought of me taking off into space terrifies my mom,” he continues. “I don’t blame her. While we try to mitigate risk as much as we can, a safe return home is never fully guaranteed.” His jaw ticks like this truly concerns him. “But that can be said about any occupation, right? Anyway, each conversation usually ends with her trying to get me to switch careers, and I end up feeling like the bad guy because she’s upset.”

“And you having a fake girlfriend helps... how?”

“I think her hope is that if I had a family, I wouldn’t be so willing to risk my life. Having a... fake girlfriend”—he shifts uncomfortably—“it allows me to focus on my mission. Ever since I told her I was dating someone, the complaints have stopped. Don’t get me wrong, she’s still upset about my going to the moon, but our conversations have shifted. Dodging questions about future wedding plans is a lot easier than dodging questions about when I’m going to find a desk job.”

“Were you ever seeing someone?”

Even in the interior of the car with nothing but intermittent streetlights to highlight Vincent’s dark profile, I see the slight wince in his eyes and can’t help but feel just a little joy at his discomfort.

“My profession doesn’t exactly make room for extra personal time. I’ve been training for this mission for the past two years. When I’m not training, I’m researching or providing ground support for other astronauts on missions.”

I’ll take that as a no, he was never dating anyone. Not that I blame him. His life sounds exhausting.

“I see,” I tell him. “Well, okay, then.”

We come to a red light and Vincent gives me a dubious glance. “That’s it? Okay?”

“That’s it.” He’s got a busy life, but I also understand wanting to spare your parents unnecessary worry. That’s exactly why I’ve put off telling mine about the state of disaster my life is in. “I can’t imagine it’s easy dealing with your mom if she’s not encouraging of your career on top of pressuring you to settle down.”

The thought of a marriage-minded momma pushing Vincent makes me think he’d easily slip intoBridgertonas a Simon replacement. They may not look the same, but Vincent is handsome enough for the big screen. I bet he does all sorts of experiments and handles sciencey things with those large hands that grip the steering wheel. His muscular thigh flexes as he moves his foot from the brake to the gas pedal, and I just know he’ll get some good hang time when he walks on the moon. Is it possible to blast off the moon’s surface from a single leap? Gravity is different there. Nah, probably not. Okay, so he definitely has the body, but will he be able to do justice to the love scenes?

“And you?” Vincent says.

“What about me?” My voice comes out more abruptly than I intended. He caught me off guard, in the midst of picturing him as Simon and me as Daphne in that steamy scene where they put the library ladder toverygood use. And damn, it’s definitely been a while, but I don’t need these kinds of thoughts about Vincent running through my mind.

“What made you feel like you had to lie in front of your ex?”

I inwardly grimace. There’s that word again.Lie.

“There’s really not much to say. Like I told you before, we broke up a few months ago. After seeing how quickly he’s moved on, I didn’t want him thinking I was pining after him.”

“And are you pining after him?”

“That’s a hard no. He’s not a bad guy, but deep down I knew our relationship wouldn’t last. Especially once my mom got sick and I couldn’t put in the effort needed to keep a relationship strong. Who wants to be with someone who won’t pull their weight emotionally?”

I say everything matter-of-factly, but my failed relationship really was a letdown. I’ve always wanted someone who would stand by my side in the good and the bad like my dad has stood by my mom, but by breaking up with me, Derrick proved I was right to hold myself back and not rush anything. When we began dating, he was intentional about wanting a life partner to settle down with. But if he couldn’t handle a few months of disconnect when my focus was on my mom—couldn’t be my rock when I needed someone to anchor me—he never would have stuck around in a marriage when the going got tough.

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