Page 46 of Booked for the Holidays
The cherry swirl candy and another lick of my mouth. He easily steals the candy with a cocky swipe of his tongue.
He pulls back slowly, grinning, lips stained the faintest pink. His tongue darts out, and when it does, I see it.
The candy sitting right there on his tongue.
That smug, infuriating ass.
My eyes narrow.
“Oh, you think you’ve won?” I scoff.
He raises a brow, daring me. “Pretty sure the scoreboard says?—”
I don’t let him finish. I surge forward, fisting the front of his sweater, and kiss him like I mean it. Like I’m the one calling the shots now. And I would be if I didn’t suddenly get wrapped up in the feel of him against me. The feel of his hot mouth on mine. The way his fingertips dip beneath my sweater, teasing the sensitive skin above my waistband.
Wait. What was this all for?
Oh, yeah, the candy.
I press in farther, then drag my teeth against Liam’s bottom lip.
A sound resonates from low in his throat, surprised and undone.
My tongue sweeps into his mouth, claiming the candy, and maybe a little piece of him, too.
I lean back slowly, smug as hell, and pop the candy between my teeth. “Thanks for holding that for me.”
Liam just stares at me, completely wrecked, lips kiss-swollen and chest rising fast.
And if I weren’t feeling the exact same way, I’d probably enjoy it even more.
“There you two are.” My mom’s voice cuts through the moment like a snowplow down Founders Street.
I jolt back a step, nearly choking on the candy. Liam straightens too fast and knocks his hip into the counter, swearing under his breath.
With a clipboard in hand, my mom, in her red cardigan and jingle bell earrings, looks like she’s about to direct a Christmas play.
“Yup. It’s us. Two holiday roomies. Just hanging out in the kitchen.”
Her eyes narrow for a moment, like she’s onto us, but then she waves a hand.
“I’m planning a surprise engagement dinner for Jasper and Stella, and I need you two to help me pull it off.”
I glance at Liam. He’s already watching me.
As if the atmosphere wasn’t already warmer than chestnuts roasting, my mom just tossed us straight into the fire.
“What did you have in mind?” I ask.
FOURTEEN
JUNIPER
Cassie yanksa sequined tree skirt off the rack and holds it up like a prize. “Yay or nay?”
I blink at it, then at her. “What?”
Cassie narrows her eyes. “That’s what I thought. You’re barely here right now. Earth to Juniper. What happened? You look like you got hit by a Hallmark truck full of unresolved tension.”
