Page 25 of Resting Beach Face
Sawyer grabbed my face and laid a hard kiss across my lips. My eyes widened in shock. He wasn’t supposed to call my bluff!
The kiss was weird. Like a wall was pressing against my lips. Just pressure and force without the attraction that normally went with it.
He shoved me back, breathing hard. “Nothing. I feel nothing.”
“Thanks, man,” I said dryly. “But you weren’t exactly inspiring me to write poetry, either.”
There was the loud screech of a chair, then stomping footsteps heading for the exit. When I glanced that way, Declan was slipping out the door.
“Shit,” I muttered, hopping up. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
My friends’ teasing over my Declan obsession followed me to the door. No doubt they’d be scheduling a “friendervention” for me any day now. Unlike Sawyer, I wouldn’t even fight it.
My stomach knotted up and my palms grew sweaty as I chased after a man who didn’t want me. Or maybe just said he didn’t? Either way, he was sure to be thinking all the wrong things about what he’d just seen.
“Declan, wait up a sec!” I called as I crossed the deck.
Declan jogged down the steps ahead of me, not slowing in the least. He headed for his boat at the dock, and I sped up to catch him before he could board.
I touched his arm. “Dec, please.”
Declan jerked away from my touch, but his face was infuriatingly blank when he turned toward me. “I should get back to the B&B.”
“About what you saw in there?—”
“None of my business,” he interrupted.
“It wasn’t serious,” I said, stepping closer to search his gaze.
I couldn’t tell what was going through his head, but I doubted it was anything good.
He shrugged. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s it? You stormed out like you…”
He tensed. “Like what?”
I raked a hand through my hair, tugging a little at the messy strands. “Nothing. Just… I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea. That’s all.”
His smile was tight. “You don’t take anything seriously, Cash. It’s not exactly a surprise.”
I flinched back. “That’s not fair. I take a lot of things seriously. My life isn’t all rainbows and puppies.”
I’d told Declan more about my home situation thananyone.He’d shut down the kiss that night, but I still thought he’dseenthe real me. The idea that he hadn’t hurt worse than I expected.
Declan winced. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re honest, at least. I’ll give you that.”
“No, I was wrong to say that. I know your life is complicated, and I’m sorry about that. I just…” He turned toward the boat. “I need to go. Kiss whoever you like, Cash.”
“Right.” My chest tightened. “Well, unfortunately, I can’t kiss whoever I like. I tried once, and he rejected me.”
Declan kept his gaze on the water rather than me. A long silence stretched between us.
Well, I’d tried. But if Declan couldn’t admit he wanted me—despite the obvious jealousy—there was nothing more I could do.
I turned away. “Goodnight, Declan. Sorry to have bothered you.”
