Page 31 of Between Here and There

“T-thank you,” I stammer, feeling the heat rush to my cheeks.

He doesn’t miss a beat. “Even prettier now that you’re blushing,” he teases, his grin widening.

“Cut it out,” I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest in a weak attempt to regain control of the situation. “Aren’t you supposed to be fixing something?”

“I was,” he says, leaning against the wall, “but I wouldn’t be much of a boyfriend if I left my girl standing here, would I?” His eyes flash with mischief.

I rolled my eyes, though my lips twitch, fighting back a smile. “Stop it!”

Before Josh can fire back, Bon finally appears, saving me from further embarrassment. “Ew, you look icky,” she says, wrinkling her nose at him. Funny—young Emily would’ve totally agreed if she saw a shirtless, sweaty Josh, but now? Now he just looks… not icky. I shake my head, hoping the motion will clear my mind.

“Let’s go, Em,” Bon says as she fumbles with her keys.

I glance back at Josh, and sure enough, he’s still watching me with that playful, flirty look, like he knows exactly how to get under my skin. Well, if he can make me blush, I can do the same. I saunter over to him, leaning in to give him a soft peck on the cheek, lingering just enough to make it count.

“See you later… baby,” I say, tousling his hair with a teasing grin before giving him a wink. “Since you consent to anything.”

Bon grunts another teasing remark, and Josh blinks, clearly caught off guard. “Y-yeah,” he stammers, looking like he just lost his cool for the first time.

One point for Emily.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Joshua

Ihave never been rattled by a peck on the cheek before. Never. It’s such a small, fleeting thing that barely even registers most of the time. But this? This is different. The second her lips brushed against my skin, my brain short-circuited, and for a solid thirty seconds, I forgot how to exist like a functional human being.

What in the world is this? Why is she doing this to me? How did the ground shift beneath my feet and I got flustered by a freaking peck?

I run a hand through my hair, pacing the length of the garage like a caged animal. It’s a good thing she’s heading out for the rest of the day. I need the space. I need time to regroup, to breathe, to figure out what the hell just happened to my finely tuned emotional defenses.

Because I cannot—will not—let myself be flustered like that again. It’s embarrassing. Mortifying, even. I suppose it’s my own fault. I have been shamelessly flirting with her. I couldn’t help it. She draws me in, in ways I’ve never been drawn in before. So, I have to be prepared for her to flirt back. It’s harmless, anyway.

I’m repairing my dad’s old car, part of the list of repairs my mom has been pestering me to do since I arrived here. Engineer in the family? It doesn’t matter if you run a whole company. You’re a 24/7 on-call maintenance guy, whether you like it or not.

“Hey,” a voice fills the garage. I turn to see Ryan walking toward me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” I ask.

“I just finished with patient rounds, my clinic hours are tomorrow,” he says. “I’m free for the rest of the day.” He works at the hospital just outside town, and apparently, he only had two patients to check this morning.

“How can I help you?” I ask, getting straight to the point.

He shrugs, walking over to my workbench and perching on the edge. “I just wanted to hang out.”

I glance at him skeptically. “If you need more advice, I’m all out,” I say, referencing the time he called me in a panic last year, looking for help on how to confess his feelings to my sister.

“On the contrary,” he says with a grin, “I’m here to ask if you need advice from me.”

I snort, wiping my forehead with the towel draped over my shoulder. “Why would I take advice from you?”

Ryan leans back, folding his arms across his chest. “Because I’m getting married, after all,” he says, his voice practically dripping with pride.

“Yeah. To my chihuahua of a sister,” I say, and Ryan chuckles. “It’s not the selling point you think it is.”

“Okay, fine,” he starts. “Your chihuahua of a sister asked me to talk to you about Emily.”

“What?” I say, dropping the wrench. Even the mention of her name rattles the shit out of me.

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