Page 42 of One Unexpected Kiss

He was right. Kissing him was beyond unprofessional. The only thing in my favor in this situation was that I doubted he would want anyone to know, so my secret was safe. Anyway, what had I expected—that a single kiss would alter reality? Men didn’t end up with women like me, especially men who were professional adversaries.

“I’m sorry.” I took a step backward, needing to put some space between us. “I shouldn’t have—”

“No, it was my fault. Just… forget it happened.” He strode toward the house and disappeared inside, leaving me alone.

Again.

***

Bennett

CLAIRE SAT INthe living room, surrounded by my siblings and with my dog perched in front of her while she rubbed his ears. I was surprised she hadn’t gone home immediately after I’d left her outside. That was an asshole move, even for me. I swallowed my guilt. This way was better. In fact, the sooner she got out of my life, the better it would be for both of us.

But she couldn’t take a hint. Or maybe Claire was making some kind of statement, like,You can’t scare me away.

She scared the hell out of me. I felt things for her, things I shouldn’t. Seeing how seamlessly she fit in with my family rattled me. If I’d known she was going to be here, I would have told Grandpa Charlie I’d cover the Brew Co. that evening, and he could have come to dinner instead. That would have made my life less complicated. I needed to stay away from Claire, which should have been easy, but I hadn’t been able to manage it yet. I wasn’t taking responsibility for that, though—she was the one who kept showing up, unexpected and uninvited, on my turf. Three times—not that I was counting.

Lyra came up beside me and pointedly turned her head to follow my line of sight. “You know, you could just talk to her instead of watching her like a creeper.”

I scowled. “I’m not being a creeper.”

She arched a brow, and I ducked my head. Okay, so perhaps standing in the kitchen doorway, watching Claire through the dining room into where she sat in the living room, was a little creepy. But damn it, I was trying to keep my distance. I obviously couldn’t be trusted in her presence. The memory of her firm breasts pressed against me caused my dick to stir, and I shifted my posture. The only thing that would make this night worse would be getting a hard-on in front of my sister.

Jesus. Claire needs to get the hell out of here.Now.But even my own mental protests didn’t seem as strong as they once had been now that I knew how she felt against me—how she tasted. I wanted to explore more than just her mouth…

Fuck, fuck, fuck.I wanted not to get a boner in my mother’s kitchen, but I was doing a piss-poor job of it.Add that to the list.

“You shouldn’t have invited her.” I retreated farther into the kitchen, where I could no longer see Claire. That seemed to be the safest bet.

“Ididn’t invite her,” my sister informed me. “I was merely the messenger. Mom invited her.”

Of course she did.I should have realized my mother was trying to play matchmaker. It was so obvious I couldn’t believe I’d missed it.

“You could have forgotten to pass along the message.”

Lyra’s eyes widened in pretend shock. “Me, let down Mama Annette? I don’t think so. Besides, you like Claire. You always have.”

“Well yeah, I like her,” I admitted. No use trying to lie to Lyra. When she became a mother, she turned into a human lie detector. Besides, if she’d taken a good look at my pants a moment before, she’d know exactly how much I liked Claire. “But that doesn’t matter. She could be in there gathering intel.”

Lyra laughed, holding her stomach, as her eyes watered from the effort. “Will you listen to yourself? You sound like one of those guys who spends his weekends chasing Bigfoot.”

Okay, so maybe I could have worded that better, but that didn’t make the concern any less valid. I turned and leaned against the sink, where I coincidentally could see Claire if I tilted my head. She was sitting on the floor with Larry on his back between her legs, his head in her lap.Lucky bastard.

“Bigfoot is most likely to be in the Northwest,” I said absentmindedly. I couldn’t believe I was jealous of my mangy mutt, but there it was.

“Seriously?”

So I might have known more about this than the average person because I was obsessed with bigfoots and yetis when I was seven. I shrugged. “You never know.”

Lyra shook her head. “You’re not distracting me that easily, Bigfoot boy.”

That wasn’t my goal, but whatever. Lyra might not be my mother’s daughter by birth, but the two women shared a stubborn streak.Might as well get this over with.

I crossed my arms. “Fine. Say what you have to say.”As if she needs the invitation.

“You like Claire, so why don’t you get over this silly resort phobia and spend time with her?”

Resort phobia?My sister made it sound like it was a small thing to fear, like spiders, instead of a massive corporation that would ruin our way of life on the islands. “First of all, it’s not a silly phobia, and secondly, what’s the point? As soon as we shut down the resort proposal, she’ll be on her way.”

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