Page 94 of Choosing Forever
I know immediately that he didn’t manage to pull it off. Looking at Darren to check would be a waste of time.
“That’s okay. This is for a good cause,” I reply, refusing to take my eyes off him despite my uneasiness.
Sam moves closer to the front of the booth. “You make very good points.”
“Which cheek would you prefer?”
“Cheek?”
My laugh sounds ridiculously painful. “Yes. Only cheek kisses from me at this booth.”
“Oh! Oh, I thought—I’m sorry. Ignore me, I haven’t had my second cup of coffee yet today,” he splutters, face turning sunburnt red.
“Oh, it’s okay! It’s a common mistake. The whole kissing booth thing is a bit deceiving.”
He rubs at the back of his neck. “Right. I don’t suppose the rules have any bend to them?”
“Hey. Sam, right? Remember me? I was at the drive-in fire,” Darren interrupts, joining Sam on the opposite side of the booth.
Sam blinks rapidly when Darren slaps him on the back andsteals his hand to shake it. “Uh, no, I don’t think so. You were at the fire . . .?”
“I was working to put out the fire while you were, you know, out on the highway helping with traffic. Those U-turns don’t always make themselves, right?”
I bite on my tongue and keep my expression flat while staring up at Darren, silently urging him not to be a jackass.
“Oh, maybe I did see you. That was a crazy night,” Sam says.
“You’re telling me. But anyway. About today, yeah, we aren’t doing kisses anywhere but the cheek.”
Sam steals my gaze. “There aren’t any exceptions?”
“If we give an exception to one person, we’ll have to give them to everyone. I’m sure you know how that goes. But by all means, if a cheek doesn’t suffice, I’ll fish your money out myself,” Darren answers, his friendliness leaving a lot to be desired.
“Delaney’s cheek will more than suffice. I’m being greedy,” Sam relents.
I jump in before Darren can. “You’re not being greedy. I’ll do both cheeks to help make up for your disappointment.”
“That’ll be extra,” my apparent bodyguard announces.
“No, it won’t. I’ll throw in an extra cheek for free.”
“That’s against the rules,” Darren states.
“Against what rules? This is our booth.”
Darren pushes on as if we don’t have watching eyes all around us. “The rules I just made, Elle. We have fifty-fifty ownership of this business, and I’m saying we aren’t doing buy-one-get-one-free kisses.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” I snap, my temperature soaring. “And it’s Delaney.”
He huffs. “I’m just trying to avoid being taken advantage of.”
“You’re not the one doing the kissing!”
“Not yet. If you want to change the rules, then they count for me too.”
I curl my fingers beneath the booth and flick my attention back to Sam. “Come here, Sam.”
He jerks forward, and I quickly kiss both of his cheeks. They’re warm from the blush that’s still tinting them, and for some reason, that makes me pull away from him as if the heat burnt my lips.
