Page 37 of Pierced Pages
Once all the doors were closed and the engine turned over, Morgan put her hand on the gearshift, but a hand on top of hers brought everything to a halt.
“Can we forget I said anything? Seriously.” Danielle bit her lip. “I’m really so sorry. I was out of line. And I don’t knowanything about your family or you, really, and I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Morgan didn’t know any other way to stop the flurry of apologies than to reach up and take Danielle’s face in her hands and stare into those mossy green eyes.
“Danielle. You’re fine. It’s all good. I promise.”
She suddenly realized how close their faces were to each other, and all she could think about was how close Danielle’s mouth was to her own, coupled with that intoxicating combination of jasmine and springtime that was Danielle’s perfume of choice.
Danielle reached up and placed her hands over Morgan’s, squeezing them slightly. “I just want you to know that I don’t think any differently about you. I’m sure people are weird around you about it, and I don’t want to be one of those people.”
Morgan wanted more than anything to tell Danielle that she wasn’t one of those people. Not yet, and probably never could be.
Instead, Morgan leaned forward and kissed her.
She froze against Danielle’s mouth, shocked by her own move, and unsure if she’d made a terrible mistake. She was about to yank her face away and apologize profusely when the most surprising turn of the afternoon took place.
Danielle relaxed against her and returned the kiss with all the warmth that could only come from Danielle. The kiss was bright and inviting and tender, and Morgan wondered how that kiss could perfectly encapsulate the woman on the other end of it.
Morgan felt the heat crank up between them, and part of her brain wondered just how far she could take this moment in the boutique’s parking lot.
“Wait,” Danielle said with another quick peck before shifting backward closer to her door.
Morgan’s stomach dropped. “Oh, gosh. I am so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have?—”
“No, no, it’s fine. You’re fine.” A strained grin stretched across her face. “We’re fine. I think? It’s just that I, uh, should maybe get home.”
“Right. Home. Back to Kim’s.”
Morgan felt everything tighten as panic set in. Because no matter how much Danielle said it was fine, it definitely wasn’t. She’d screwed this up. Whatever this was before now.
The money hadn’t done it.
Morgan had.
All she could do now was force a big smile as she put her seatbelt on and said, “Let’s get you back to Lila.”
Chapter 16
Danielle
The car slowed to a halt behind Melanie’s little black Nissan with the Louisiana state sticker in pride colors. Danielle stared at the sticker, trying to figure out how she could exit this car without having to say anything.
Because there was nothing else to say.
And everything to say.
But she couldn’t say any of it.
“Thanks so much for the dress.”
It wasn’t what she wanted to say, but it would have to do.
Telling Morgan how she really felt about her was off the table. Even if her own feelings about a relationship were shifting ever so slightly, Morgan gave no indication that her own feelings on the matter had changed. The woman wasn’t interested in anything but casual. And Danielle couldn’t do casual. Not with Lila in the mix. Not to mention her own heart.
“It’s my pleasure.” Morgan squirmed in the driver’s seat as she twisted her hands around the steering wheel. “Listen, can we forget I did that? For real? I don’t want things to be awkward.”
Her low voice clipped along at lightning speed, giving the impression that things were the pure definition of awkward.
