Page 28 of Unlucky in Love
When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing hard. His thumb brushed her cheek, lingering for one beat longer than necessary.
“Did you ever think that maybe I came back for you?” He kissed her gently this time, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her flush against him.
She let out a soft moan as she kissed him back. Enjoying the moment and wondering how her lifelong fantasy had just become a reality.
She nearly cried in protest when he pulled back, a satisfied smile on his face.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he murmured, voice low and rough.
And just like that, he turned and strode down the street, leaving Taylor rooted to the spot, lips tingling, heart racing, clutching her secret journal like it might anchor her to reality.
* * *
Taylor was useless with the pastry display. She’d dropped a muffin, nearly spilled a tray of scones, and spent the better part of three minutes staring at a cinnamon roll like it had personally wronged her.
All because of Ryan Carter.
Her lips still tingled. Her chest still ached with the memory of his mouth on hers, the way his hands had framed her face like she was something precious, something he couldn’t stop himself from touching. She’d barely slept, tossing and turning like a teenager after her first kiss. Except she wasn’t a teenager. And this wasn’t her first kiss.
But it felt like the first one that mattered.
The bell over the café door jingled, jolting her out of her daze. Emma breezed in with the stroller, juggling a diaper bag, her phone, and a pacifier in a way only Emma could. She spotted Taylor immediately, narrowed her eyes, and grinned.
“Well, well,” Emma said as she parked the stroller near the counter. “Somebody looks suspiciously… glowy this morning.”
Taylor blinked, heat rushing to her cheeks. “Glowy?”
Emma leaned on the counter, smirking. “Yes. Glowy. Giddy. Radiant. Like someone just got kissed under the mistletoe, except it’s February and you’re usually a Valentine’s Day grinch.”
Taylor fumbled with the pastry tongs, dropping another muffin. “I’m fine.”
Emma arched a brow. “Fine? You’re practically floating. Normally this week you’re sulky and snarky about heart-shaped chocolates. But right now you’re humming.”
Taylor froze. She had been humming. “I am not.”
Emma grinned wider. “Oh, you definitely are. Spill it.”
Taylor busied herself with arranging croissants, avoiding Emma’s knowing gaze. “There’s nothing to spill.”
Emma tilted her head, eyes sharp. “Taylor Pierce, you’ve never been good at hiding anything from me. So who is he?”
Taylor swallowed hard, her heart racing. Her mind flashed to Ryan’s mouth, Ryan’s voice murmuring I’ll see you tomorrow. She tried for casual, tried for deflection, but her smile betrayed her.
“No one,” she said weakly.
Emma let out a triumphant laugh. “Oh, it’s someone. And judging by that look on your face, it’s not just anyone.”
Taylor pressed her lips together, cheeks blazing. She wanted to tell her, to gush like they were teenagers again, but the words caught in her throat. How could she explain that it was Ryan without unraveling everything?
Before Emma could push further, a customer appeared at the counter, and Taylor gratefully turned to take the order, her heart still hammering.
But as she glanced out the window, she caught sight of Ryan leaning against his truck across the street, arms folded, watching the café like a man with a mission.
And her lips curved into a smile she couldn’t contain.
Emma slid into a chair at the corner table once the baby settled, still watching Taylor with that insufferably knowing grin.
“So,” Emma began, drawing out the word like she was savoring it, “is it anyone I know?”
