Page 52 of For Butter or Worse
“Thanks for inviting me over.”
He turned. Her legs were crossed, and the hem of her dress slid up her thigh just enough that he had to look away to avoid staring.
“You did me a huge favor, and I owe you now.”
“You don’t owe me, I had fun,” she insisted. She’d also stayed after his family left, so as not to make his mom suspicious. Nina was a lot more generous than he deserved or had ever given her credit for. “You and your family seem so effortless together.”
“I don’t know what’s healthier—not telling your sibling every detail of your life or having them pretend to be you on dating apps. Which is what Gavin has me do, by the way.”
“Cute?” Nina’s nose crinkled.
“My mom calls it pathetic, so either way—not great.”
“The last time I met someone’s parents was with Charlie.” She took a final spoonful of the gelato, after scraping the sides of the dish to get every last bit. “We dated for two years, and I only met them once. He never asked me to spend the holidays with them or anything. But they eventually came to LA, so he couldn’t keep hiding me.”
He wiped his hands on a dish towel. Hiding her? Leo couldn’t imagine a situation in which Nina would be with someone who was hiding her away. If he was dating her—which he wasn’t—he’d tell actual strangers that Nina Lyon was dating him if they so much as asked for the time.
“Which is when I discovered that they didn’t even know what I did for a living. He never talked about me to them, clearly.” She finished the remaining sip in her wineglass.
She’d opened up to him again, now revealing something deep about her last real relationship. He felt lucky to be given the privilege of her trust.
“He’s a moron,” Leo blurted out, but he meant it. Charlie had to be a special breed of idiot to not realize how incredible Nina was. “I’ve never eaten at his restaurant, but he clearly has shit taste if he wasn’t smart enough to know how lucky he was to have you.”
Leo leaned across the kitchen island. He had an affogato for his dessert—espresso with a scoop of gelato—and he took a sip. He was more than a little depressed over the fact that he hadn’t met someone as special as Nina. Well, he’d metNina, but he couldn’t be with her.
He wanted more of her, but that wasn’t on the kinda-friends menu they had in front of them. But friendscouldhang out late, after a boozy meal. Theycouldlet their eyes linger on how full each other’s lips were. Theycouldwant to lick each other...right?
As if reading his mind, she smiled. She was really adorable when she smiled.Ugh.He had to stop noticing all of the quirks that made her even more appealing than she already was.
“What are you giddy about? Unexpected coven meeting?” He raised an eyebrow.
She gestured toward his mouth. “You have a little...” She licked her top lip, and he followed the line her tongue made. He wished he could lean farther across the countertop and taste her, the way he had on their hike.
He swiped his thumb across his lower lip. “Gone?”
She rolled her eyes, then stood up from the barstool and came around to him. “There are, like, dozens of rom-coms where people drink lattes and then get milk on their lips.”
“Excuse me, this is not a latte, it’s an affogato,” he pointed out.
“Well, excuse me, but you look absolutely ridiculous drinking it.”
Her gaze darted toward his mouth, which opened slightly at her touch, the same reaction he’d had when they’d first kissed. But this time they were alone. There wasn’t a waiting cameraman, and no career incentive dangling like a carrot. He wanted to kiss her, not because it was part of an itinerary, but because his whole body leaned forward instead of away from her.
She took her index finger and traced it above his upper lip, wiping off the cream.
“Nina...” Her touch was sending flames through him. How was his entire body suddenly warmer?
And her index finger stopped and lingered at the corner of his mouth. She kept her gaze fixed on his lips, not daring to meet his eyes. If she looked up at him, he was sure the sound of his heart pounding heavily against the walls of his chest would be impossible to miss.
“Leo.” She slowly pulled her hand away.
When she finally looked up, her long, fixed stare blazed at him. His gaze darted from her mouth back to her eyes.
Was it possible that Nina actually did feel something for him, too?
He could feel her warm and quick breaths against him. The back of his knuckles brushed the line of her cheekbone. She breathed out, and a shiver ran through her. His head dipped toward her, and she tilted up her chin to meet him.
“This okay?” he asked, their lips so close he almost breathed the words into her. He wasn’t sure whatthiswas, or what he’d done right in his life to be in a moment where Nina might actually want to kiss him, but he hoped she wanted this as much as he did.
