Page 44 of Sugarlips
Even still, her chest rose and fell with each heavy breath she took, and I licked my lips, aching to kiss her again. Her lips were all I thought about since that morning she kissed me in her foyer. I craved more, desperately wanted her. With a little tug, I pulled her closer to me, and her soft breasts brushed against my body.
I unlinked my fingers from one of her hands and cupped her jaw. “I could say the same thing about you,” I whispered.
As I leaned down to kiss her, she squeaked, “Wait!”
Shit. I misread the situation. Or I moved too fast. I swallowed a grunt and opened my eyes to find Chloe staring up at me panicked. “I-I can’t,” she stammered.
I immediately stepped back from her, nodding. “Yeah. I’m sorry. That was stupid… we’re business partners and—”
“It’s not because of that. I just… I can’t because of my sister.”
I felt my brows crease. “Lainey? I thought Lainey liked me?” Hell, before the thing with my brother, I would have even called her a friend.
“She does,” Chloe said. “It’s just with her and Neil, she sort of flipped out that first night when she found out you spent the night.”
“But nothinghappenedthat night.”
“I know! That’s what I told her. But still. She made me pinky promise we wouldn’t… thatIwouldn’t…”
“Ah.” I smiled even though my heart was sinking into my stomach. “I see. I mean, according to Addy, a pinky promise is a binding contract.”
Chloe sighed in relief. “You understand? Maybe if she has more time to process and heal. But for now… I can’t.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
And though I didn’t say it, I was thinking,I can wait.
15
Chloe
The next day was about as successful as our first. We had a couple hundred dollars in the till, but far more unsold baked goods than we should on an opening week. Liam and I dropped off the remaining leftovers to the Maple Grove nursing home, then went to the bar at Greico’s to drown our sorrows in booze and pasta.
I dropped my head into my hands as the bartender delivered my second Limoncello and poured another glass of red wine for Liam. He swirled it but didn’t bother with a sip, sighing instead into the glass. “What if we go out to the public hiking trails at the lake like you said a while ago? There aren’t any restaurants out there, so we might have more luck with foot traffic.”
I shrugged. “Sure. Why not. But then you should probably add something heartier, like a lunch option, to the menu that day. Hikers tend to want more than just baked goods, right?”
I was just assuming. What the hell did I know about hiking? I’d only been twice in my life—once as a Girl Scout because it was required for the pretty badge that had a tree on it. And once with Dan. Stupid, stupid Dan when he got into his LL Bean phase.
Liam’s face crumpled. “I guess so. We could do some panini pressed sandwiches… like grilled cheese.”
I sloshed my straw around in my drink. We’d only been open for two days and I already felt like such a failure.
“Aw, come on,” Liam said. “Cheer up. Hey, look!” He pointed to the TV, eyes bright and green. “The story about us is airing!”
My heart jumped in my chest as I sat straighter, looking at the TV above the bar, watching Liam and me onscreen serving happy customers. The story had gotten bumped by a couple days… even after they insisted that first day was the only option available.
Kim Waze held her microphone, talking to the camera with Liam, Nick, and me in the background of the shot. “These adorable, new lovebirds may be able to satiate your sweet tooth,” she said, not finishing her thought as I groaned.
“Uh-oh,” Liam said, his face draining of color.
“…But don’t let that fool you,” Kim continued, her eyebrow lifting. The footage cut to Liam punching Nick in the jaw. “They’re also tough as nails.”
My stomach bottomed out. “Oh, God. She caught that on camera?”
Liam didn’t answer… just pulled his wine glass to his lips and took a big gulp.
“While we don’t have audio on what was said to incite the violence, we can only assume it wasn’t sweeter than pie. And it sure didn’t seem to deter our lovebirds from celebrating their food truck opening.”
