Page 141 of From Best Friend to Bride
Fred froze as my lips touched against his.
Really froze.
He didn’t move an inch.
His fingers didn’t twitch, his jaw didn’t clench, and he didn’t kiss me back.
He simply lay there, completely still, as our lips lingered together.
Well.
My lips lingered on his.
When he made no move to respond, half the blood in my body rushed to my cheeks. They burned hot as embarrassment spread through me, and I pulled back.
He stared at me, eyes wide, stony-faced, and that was all I needed to tell me the truth.
I’ve fucked up.
“Pretend that never happened,” I whispered thickly, shoving myself away from him. His arm was still around me and briefly tightened, but I accidentally elbowed him in the chest in my hurry, and he grunted.
Spice jumped off the sofa at his deep moan, and I took the chance to make my escape.
“Deli!” Fred shouted after me, but I slammed the door behind me, shutting both him and Spice inside, and ran for the front door.
I grabbed my keys from the hanger, slid my feet into my trainers—thank God for elastic laces—and hightailed it out of Hawthorne House.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
29
FRED
“Deli!”
The door slammed with an echoing finality that made me flinch. I almost tripped over Spice as I clambered up off the sofa, but by the time I got there and pulled it open, the rumbling echo of the front door slamming closed told me everything.
“Shit!” I ran after her, yanking the front door open. “Delilah!”
Her car was gone.
I sank my fingers into my hair and turned around to see my mother standing in the middle of the hallway in her pyjamas, her hand deep in a massive bag of ready salted crisps. She stilled when I laid eyes on her as if I’d caught her doing something naughty.
“Crisp?” she asked, holding the bag out towards me.
I stared at her blankly for a moment, then shoved the front door shut and walked back towards the living room, tugging my phone from my pocket. I texted Lucy to let me know if Deli showed up at her place, got bombarded with sixty questions about what I’d done this time, and tossed my phone to the side.
“Moo.”
I stared at Spice. “Don’t look at me like that,” I said, oddly unnerved by her large, black eyes. “It’s not my fault.”
“Moo.”
Was I seriously talking to a cow right now?
Fuck.
I lay back on the sofa and threw my arm over my face, covering my eyes.
