Page 60 of Promise Yule Be Mine
Oh God, it was true, wasn’t it? He wanted to fire me, didn’t he?
That was okay. Maybe it would be for the best. Maybe it would be the kick I needed to get my shit together and leave and never come back. Because how in good conscience could I come back when the mere thought of him made me want to abandon my moral compass and risk it all for him?
“I did. I…I don’t know how to say this.”
I set my mug down and got in his field of vision. If he was going to kick me to the curb, the least he could do was look me in the eye.
“Quickly like taking a band-aid off,” I said.
“Isn’t that supposed to hurt more?” He also put his mug down and scooted closer to me.
Why would he scoot closer?
“I don’t know. Is there really a way to pull a band-aid off without hurting?”
“Yes. If you run it under water or rub some oil?—”
“What is it, Kody? What do you want to talk to me about?”
He leaned on the back of the couch making him inch closer to me and I bit the inside of my cheek to resist a taste of sin. To resist closing the distance. But if he didn’t say what he wanted to say fast I might not be able to control myself anyway.
“I…this is hard to say…I…” he started again and I huffed.
“Just do it, Kody. Just say?—”
Before I could finish my sentence he grabbed me by the back of the neck and kissed me something fierce. His lips tasted of cocoa and his tongue of ardor and I lost all sense, all self-control. I kissed him back. I brought my hands up to his head and threaded my fingers through his hair, pressing him closer to me.
My breath caught and my heart pounded so hard it threatened to rip out of my chest and my stomach did so many somersaults I felt like I was free-falling.
His mustache tickled my top lip but it only drove me wilder. It only made me kiss him harder.
But when I let out a moan, it knocked some sense into me. It gave me the clarity of mind and strength to pull away and I did.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t do anything for a moment.
And then realization washed all over me.
“Shit. What…what are we doing?” I jumped from the couch and put distance between him and me. I didn’t trust my body around him anymore. Not after what I’d done.
“Nova, I…I really like you. I think I’m in?—”
“No!” I shouted. “No! Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say. This is wrong. This is so wrong. Jenna is my best friend. She’s my best friend and I just betrayed her trust. I can’t. I just…I can’t.”
Kody stood and tried to follow me.
“Jenna will understand. I promise you. She won’t be mad.”
I stopped and glared at him. “Are you serious? What the fuck, Kody? What woman wouldn’t be angry that her best friend and her fiancé kissed? We both betrayed her trust.”
“We didn’t. You don’t understand. Jenna and I, we have an understanding. We?—”
I shook my head. “No. Don’t. Stop. I don’t care what understanding you and Jenna have. I don’t want to be part in any of this. I need to go. I need…”
I needed fresh air. I needed distance. I needed home.
I grabbed my coat and my shoes and ran out of the door. I managed to put one on while hopping on one leg and by the time I made it outside I was fully prepared to face the biting winter cold. I was ready to face that, but nothing else. Not my feelings, not my betrayal, nor Kody’s.
“I need to go. I need to go.”
