Page 52 of The Holiday Honeymoon Switch
“And now?” he says, his voice muffled by the water in her ears. “Do you think I’m a serious person?”
She keeps floating, keeps looking at the sky. Ivy has made it a practice to be an honest person for so long that what she’s really feeling and thinking has crowded into her mind and can’t be ignored.
“Yes” is all she says.
She decides to let the water decide what’s going to happen next. A soft push and she’s by his side. One more, and their hands are touching. They float there in silence, then bothturn over at the same time so they’re facing each other in the water.
“You’re a real distraction, Ivy,” he says, his voice low.
“I’m sorry,” Ivy says. “I know how much you want to get that photo.”
His gaze is intense, and she wants to get closer to him, wants their bodies to be touching again.Maybe just one kiss, she tells herself.Maybe that would be enough to get him out of my system.
The water has brought them together again. Their faces are just inches away.
“Ivy…”
“Oliver…”
“I want to kiss you,” she says, her tone frank. “I think we should. Get it out of our systems.” Her voice is a whisper, and his laughter in response is low and sexy.
“Okay, let’s try that.”
Ivy has had good kisses before. She’s had great kisses. Lots of them. But she has never in her life had a kiss like this. The water between them is a soft embrace, as are his arms, reaching for her under the water. His lips against hers are strong and searching; his tongue tastes like salt water. The kiss leaves her panting and filled with a want that veers toward need. Almost blindly, they swim together to the side of the pool, where they can rest their feet on the rocks and give themselves to exploring each other withouthaving to worry about sinking. Clearly, this was not going to be just one kiss. Her willpower, the shred of it that was left, disintegrates like a puddle of water in the hot sun.Poof.Gone. She feels like she’s been dying of thirst for days, and is finally getting the water she needs. At some point during the kissing, they slide down into the pool together again, their legs entangling under the water as they float.
“Okay, we should stop,” Ivy eventually says, placing her hand on his chest, gasping for breath, treading water again.
“Right,” he says. “We were just getting that out of our systems. And we did. We’re good now. Right?”
“Right?”
He swims away, pulls himself out of the water, and shakes the water out from his hair. “Out of our systems,” he repeats. “Now, let’s head back to camp before it gets dark.”
14
Holly
December 23
Hudson Valley, New York
“Holly?”
She opens her eyes and finds herself staring directly into Aiden’s bright blue ones. He smiles down at her from where he sits at the edge of the bed. “I’m really sorry to wake you so early. But…” She thinks he’s about to pull her into his arms again, for a repeat of some of their most passionate moments from the night before—and earlier that morning. But then she realizes he’s fully dressed, hair still damp and shampoo-fragrant from a shower. “I have somewhere I need to be. So…”
“Oh. Of course.” Holly tries not to show how mortified sheis as she pulls the sheet up around herself and crosses his bedroom, picking up her clothes as she goes. Is this what a walk of shame feels like? If so, she never wants to do this again.
“How are you feeling after the punch? Can I get you a coffee? Water?”
“I’m fine,” Holly calls out, scuttling toward his bathroom and closing the door firmly. She peers at herself in the pine-framed mirror, and is dismayed. The night before, she felt like a sexy vixen. Now last night’s mascara is pooled under her eyes. When she wipes it away, dark circles still stare back at her. She splashes water on her face and swishes some of Aiden’s toothpaste in her mouth. But then she has to put on her sparkly tank top and ultra-tight pleather leggings that seemed so perfect for the dance—but feel all wrong today.
In the kitchen, Aiden is waiting with a large glass of water and a steaming mug of coffee. “I know you said you were fine, but I wanted to give you something.”
“Thanks,” Holly says, still bleary-eyed. He’s wearing his customary jeans and flannel shirt, making her feel even more out of place in her outfit from the night before.
This is why I’ve never had a one-night stand, Holly thinks regretfully.This is way too awkward. This isnotme.
“You know what?” Holly says. “I think maybe you should just take me home. I can have coffee at the cabin. Let’s just go.”
