Page 95 of All's Fair in Love and Blood - A Romantic Comedy Novel

He gave me my space and grabbed the popcorn. The sun had gone down, and lights began to flicker on the giant screen ahead of us. A hush fell over the parking lot filled with cars. Several people were sitting outside of their vehicles on camp chairs. I think someone was grilling based on the delicious aroma in the air. There seemed to be a collective excitement about the movie starting.

Tonight, they were playing retro movies on our screen: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Footloose. I hadn’t seen either of the ’80s classics, but Kane was pretty excited about them. Apparently, they were some of his favorite movies growing up. It didn’t take me long to see why.

I turned to him once we were well into the movie. “You’re Ferris Bueller.”

Kane laughed. “You think so?”

“Yes.” Ferris and Kane made life happen. I could see Kane skipping school and making his best friend, Cameron, let him “borrow” his dad’s prized Ferrari for a day trip into the city. When Ferris got his friends into the fancy restaurant without reservations, I saw Kane. It wasn’t Ferris on the screen singing “Twist and Shout” in the parade—it was Kane. Ferris and Kane were spirit animals. A rare breed who had a zest for life unlike any others.

“Does that make you Sloane, then?” Kane whispered in my ear, sending shivers down me in the warm summer air. Sloane was Ferris Bueller’s gorgeous cheerleader girlfriend.

“No. I would be Cameron’s off-screen extremely awkward girlfriend. I would be so awkward Cameron probably wouldn’t have even known we were dating.”

Kane ran a finger down my cheek. “Good thing for Ferris, because I’m sure he grew up and realized that while the Sloanes of the world are great, it’s the women who quietly live behind the scenes that make the world go around. That make my world go around.”

His words made my pulse race. “You promised me you wouldn’t be you tonight.” I could hardly say it, as he was making me want to pole-vault over that pothole and right into the front seat of his car.

“I think you’re mistaken. You just assumed,” he said seductively while leaning in a little closer until I could feel his sweet breath against my lips.

I so badly wanted to close the distance, but instead I placed my finger against his begging-to-be-kissed lips. “Friends don’t kiss.”

He gently removed my finger. “Darlin’, you know that’s not true.”

“Fine.” I kissed his cheek, meaning for it to be only a friendly peck. Thinking it would put him in his place. Except when my lips touched his skin, they felt like they had come home. As in, take your shoes off and stay for a while. I took a moment to breathe him in and memorize how his stubble tickled my lips. How he smelled like spiced ginger cookies and red wine. It felt as if I had been put in my place.

I pulled away, my eyes wide like a deer in the headlights. “We should probably finish watching the movie,” I said breathlessly.

Kane wasn’t retreating. I didn’t expect him to. He was Ferris Bueller. He was the guy who didn’t let any obstacle get in his way. Not even me. “When you’re ready, my lips are all yours.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Every second of every day. But I wasn’t ready to give in yet. Actually I didn’t plan on giving in at all. If I gave Kane another chance it wouldn’t be because he truly convinced me. It would be because I knew it was the right thing to do. But first, I had to figure out how to become his boss.

Missed Memories

For two days now, I’d been avoiding unblocking Kane on Facebook and reading his Edge of the World post. Not to say I was avoiding him. We’d had lunch at the office the last couple of days. We were friends, after all, just not on social media. Kane was still patiently waiting for me to take the next step. I had this feeling he had shifted gears since our night at the movies. He was going to let me come to him. During our lunches he had been way less flirty, and he hadn’t touched me once since he’d almost kissed me in the back of his truck. He hadn’t even tried to when he’d walked me to my room that night. That was weird, us coming home together.

I stared at the door to the Jack-and-Jill bathroom from the floor where I was supposed to be working on my business plan—not debating about whether or not I should friend Kane or wondering where he was so late at night. I assumed he was working on his house. How he had time to do it all, I didn’t know. He was even giving a huge presentation at the conference on Friday. He seemed 0 percent worried about it. I had tried to get him to tell me how his business plan was going, and all he did was smile as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Meanwhile, I was researching new plasma therapy uses to play to my strengths. I was going to show the board that I was a forward thinker. That Armstrong Labs would lead the way in curing diseases and saving the world. I had even tried to find a way to bring forensics into it. I still hadn’t found the perfect angle, but I wasn’t giving up. Maybe if I could merge my life’s passion with my legacy, I could be fulfilled.

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