Page 92 of The Holiday Ex-Files

Noah stilled, but his heart pounded so heavily, I could feel it. It made me nervous.

“We can be friends, right?” I pleaded.

“Cams,” he whispered and kissed the top of my head, and then he leaned away and kissed my forehead, then my nose, next each cheek.

All while I held my breath. This was all very friendly of him.

His eyes captured my own, willing me to pay attention. “I don’t want to be your friend.” He articulated it so clearly, it pierced my heart.

“But—” I began to beg him to reconsider.

He silenced me with his lips as they brushed my own.

The world and my heart stopped. Noah kissed me. I didn’t have time to think about what that meant because he kissed me again and the pleasure center in my brain exploded, making all reason go out the window. This time when his warm lips pressed against mine, he drew me against him. He groaned as his lips glided and teased. His kiss was intimate and sweet before it became deep and incredible. Like the most amazing kiss I had ever experienced. His tongue danced magically in my mouth, making me feel all the things from dizzyingly warm to hungry. So hungry. I wanted more and more. I gripped his jacket and wound my fists in it, begging him silently not to stop. I wanted to endlessly drown in the cinnamon on his breath.

But then I remembered what I should have remembered all along. I pushed away from him. “I’m a shameless skank and you’re . . . you’re a man whore.”

He blinked and caught his breath. “What?”

I pointed and spluttered. “You . . . you . . . you’re dating Annika. You love her. How can you kiss me like that?”

He gave me a devilish grin. “You did kiss me back.”

“Ugh. I know! What’s wrong with me. I’m the other woman now.” I backed away from him.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me right back to him.

I half-heartedly struggled to release myself from his grip.

“Cams, will you calm down? You’re not the other woman. You are the woman.”

“What?” Was he high?

He drew me closer and rested his cool hand on my cheek. “Cami, I don’t love Annika. I love you.” He let out a long breath like he had been holding it for years. “Damn that felt good to say.”

Either the air suddenly vanished or it was so cold my lungs froze. All I could do was stare blankly at him. This couldn’t be real. When I forced some air into my lungs and could finally form words, I responded, “No. No.” I shook my head. “We’re friends. You’ve never said anything.”

He dropped his hand and sighed. “When would have been a good time for me to tell you I was in love with you, Cami? When you started dating my best friend? When you got engaged to him? Maybe before you walked down the aisle?”

“Well, I can see how that could put a damper on it. Wait. How long have you been in love with me?” I could hardly believe I was asking that.

He gathered me in his arms and chastely kissed me once. “Since the moment you said, ‘Hi, I’m Cami.’”

“Oh,” I squeaked. “That’s a long time.” I still couldn’t believe this. “But you’ve been doing photo shoots with other women, and you and Annika came as a couple to the Halloween Bash, and she told me you were going to rekindle, annnddd . . . you’ve been caulking her and polishing her floors.”

Noah spat out a laugh. “Caulking her?”

“Yes, caulking her tub. I know what that means.”

“Cams, I don’t think you do.” He grinned before letting out a heavy breath. “I don’t know where to begin, but I only did those photo shoots because I couldn’t think of any other way to see you. After your divorce, I felt like you divorced me too, and I was desperate to change that.”

Oh man, he was right. I would think those photo shoots were romantic.

“So, you weren’t dating any of those women?”

“Not one. They were just acquaintances, willing to help a guy get his girl.”

“But what about you and Annika? You were the Damon to her Elena.”

“Ugh,” he groaned. “That was a terrible coincidence. I came as Damon because of you.”

“So, you aren’t caulking her?”

“No.” He snorted. “That said, I feel guilty. She told me today she wanted more, and I had to tell her I didn’t feel that way about her.”

“How did she take it?”

“Not well; but Cams, I’m more concerned about how you’re taking this.” He pointed between us.

“That’s a good question. The kiss, definitely an A-plus. I don’t know if you practiced licking the beaters when you were a child, but it paid off.”

His hands slid down my back, inching me closer to him. “You want to go for round two?”

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