Page 41 of Rebel Bride
“And you guys really own a boat?”
He slid a look. “Are you interested in me for my boat, Shelby Mae?”
“You bet I am, Boat Boy! Are you serious about taking me out?”
“Any time.”
I didn’t have a swimsuit, but I could probably scrounge up shorts and a tee from Aurora’s closet.
“So what’s so special about Saugatuck? I get that it’s scenic and all, but it’s got a different vibe to other small towns.”
“It’s a former artists’ colony. Back in the 1910s, artists would come here and paint as part of the Ox-Bow school. They set up artists’ and writers’ residencies, and now it’s what the town’s known for.”
“And for producing the legendary Theo Kershaw.”
“That, too.”
He spent a few minutes talking about summers in Saugatuck, which made it sound idyllic and a million miles from the summers of my childhood. We had circled the harbor and were back at the Bellagio, heading to the car when a familiar figure emerged from the restaurant, carrying a takeout bag.
The Panty-Purveying Cougar herself.
She was coming our way but hadn’t spotted us yet. I wasn’t sure what possessed me, but I hadn’t liked that melancholy in Hatch’s expression when he talked about her earlier. Something had happened between them, and whatever it was, it left him sad and her wanting more.
Hatch went to open the passenger door for me again, ever the gentleman.
So I decided to do a most unladylike thing and take advantage.
Placing both hands on his chest, I pushed up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. I wasn’t expecting him to respond. In fact, I didn’t need him to respond. I just wanted Ava to know she couldn’t have him. She blew her shot with whatever she’d done and now, as far as she was concerned, this man was mine.
His lips were warm, his body hard and unyielding. I had kept my eyes open because this was a fake kiss, a gesture to prove something.
It was also a mistake.
Because Hatch’s eyes smoked over with, first, surprise, then a recognition that something significant was happening here. And it wasn’t silly Summer’s attempts to pay it forward.
No, this was another of Shelby Mae’s poor decisions.
He didn’t ask what I was doing. He just went with it, like the great adapter he was. I had pulled back, assuming that was enough to get the point across. But it wasn’t enough for Hatch. His hands slipped around my back. One fixed above my butt, the other dipped—and dipped—to below it. As in cupping one butt cheek.
I gasped, and he dove right into a kiss so startling I had no choice but to part my lips and take him in. He devoured me, thoroughly, letting me know who was in charge. A couple of seconds later he slowed to sips and soft licks.
But now that wasn’t enough for me. I angled my mouth for more and moved my hands up around his neck, seeking purchase. His hand tightened around my butt cheek and squeezed, then levered me up so I was inches off the ground.
I found myself spinning, spinning, and landing in the passenger seat of the SUV. Instinctively my legs parted and wrapped around his waist. The kiss continued, then abruptly stopped.
He blinked, retreated, stared, then touched his mouth. His expression was just this side of astonishment.
“Plenty of material for your book, Shelby Mae,” Ava called out.
Hatch turned to Ava, who stood there with her takeout bag and a smarmy grin.
“Ava,” he said quietly.
“Have a good night, you two.” She made it sound indulgent, like she was blessing us. I didn’t care. I saw how annoyed she was, and that was all that mattered.
Or, at least, I thought it was before Hatch upped the ante on that kiss. At which point I had tried to pretzel myself around his body.
You naughty girl, Shelby Mae.
