Page 99 of Just Let Go

“I think you are.”

“Well, you’re wrong.” Heat rushed to her cheeks as she practically spat the angry words.

In one quick motion, his hands were at her face, his lips on hers. He kissed her like he meant it—pointed but not forceful—and she began to feel her anger disintegrate as she closed her eyes and gave in to the kiss.

The unwanted—yet so wanted—kiss.

She would allow herself a moment, but she wouldnotmelt in his arms.

But they were strong arms, and they made their way around her body, pulling her toward him as if he couldn’t get close enough. Slowly, she moved her hands, resting them on his solid back. He deepened the kiss, and her stomach turned itself into a knot. For a moment, her mind went completely blank.

There was nothing but Grady, his lips, and her wobbly knees.

And then reality smacked her upside the head. She pulled herself from his grasp, hands going up as if to say, “Whoa. Hold on a minute.” Because in her mind, all she could think was,Whoa. Hold on a minute.

“This is a bad idea.”

“Why?” He took a step toward her and she took a step back.

She turned away and walked to the counter, letting out an ironic laugh as she did. “So many reasons.”

“Tell me.”

“We’re really, really different people, Grady,” she said. “And that—what just happened—”

“Me kissing you?” He supplied the answer in the most amused tone, and she could only attribute his nonchalance to his prior experience. A huge problem she had but would never say aloud.

“Yeah, that. That was a big mistake.”

“I don’t think so,” he said.

She paced the width of the floor, thankful for the counter between them. “No, you’re wrong. And you’re all wrong for me.” She laughed. “Anyone who knows us can see that.”

“I know us, and I don’t see it.”

She stopped moving and looked at him. “This is what you do, isn’t it? You draw women in and then you break their hearts. You’re so comfortable doing it. You’re so comfortable knowing that you’re going to have to leave. It doesn’t even matter that this could never work.”

“Maybe I haven’t decided that it can never work.”

“I’m telling you. It can never work. And casual romance is not my thing.” She pressed her lips together, still a bit dazed from the spell his kiss seemed to cast over her.

His eyes turned serious. “It’s not my thing either.”

“Grady, please. I know how to use Google.”

He shoved a hand through his hair. “What if I don’t want it to be my thing anymore? What if I want something real? Something different?”

She searched his eyes. This was what guys like him did with girls like her. They pretended to be something they weren’t. But she wasn’t going to fall for it.

He faced her, standing completely still. “I’ve never met anybody who makes me think that what I have isn’t enough. But you do. And I don’t have the right to say this, but I want more.”

The unexpected words spiraled toward her, landing squarely on her shoulders, and there they sat, threatening her resolve.

She wanted to believe him.Oh no. She wanted to believe him.When had she turned into the kind of woman who wanted to take a man at his word when she knew she absolutely could not? He would leave, just like everyone else had left—just like her mother had left.

And she couldn’t bear that pain again.

“I’m sorry, Grady.”

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