Page 8 of Enemies in Earnest

“But in the end, Sweet Acacia…”

He pressed his lips to my forehead. They were warm and soft, the perfect kissing lips. And Iwantedthat kiss. I wanted more kisses. A night of them where we collapsed in a breathless heap on a blanket beneath the fireworks.

“The simple fact remains that we are both just drink slingers for tourists.”

His words hung in the air. As if they floated on clouds in front of us. It was as if I could see and read the words, but it stopped there. They didn’t sink in. I couldn’t formulate any understanding beyond the feathery soft brush of his hair against the top of my forehead, his fingers caressing my cheek, that warm press of his lips, and the oceany scent ofhim.

I felt my fingers latch on to his t-shirt, like if I didn’t grab him for purchase I’d get sucked into a vortex and deposited in an alternate reality. Beneath my fingertips his skin felt warm…andfirm. My body froze beneath his gaze. His heated interest slid along my skin, leaving a trail of gooseflesh in its path.

As quick as a clap of thunder, his lips were on mine. Or mine were on his. I have no idea who started kissing whom. But that kiss was heaven and hell. Sin and salvation. It felt like we kissed for hours in the span of a millisecond. I felt every swipe of tongue and press of lip. I swear I heard every grumble and moan working its way up his throat. And then, as fast as that tempest swelled, it dissipated.

“Dinner?”

It was the only word that came to mind. Plenty of expressions floated in that whirlpool, but I feared speaking half of them since they were some phrase or another forplease let’s go back to my apartment and satisfy this ache from my gumball ovaries and clenching uterus.

“Come again?” he asked.

“Ummm….” That wasn’t what I’d expected. “Dinner?” I asked again, my voice going up in that weird sing-song way. “Not tonight if you have plans… you know because your family is here and of course, you probably have plans because why wouldn’t you have plans with your family that probably flew thousands of miles to come and see you. But maybe…at some point… we could go and have dinner… together. I really like Nicko’s. They have Greek food? But if you don’t like Greek food there’s like, you know, burgers and stuff, too.”

He tilted his head, looking at me as if I were a little baby kitten with a tiny fluff ball from the dryer that was going to town as if it were the most entertaining toy they’d ever had the pleasure to play with. I could almost hear him thinkingaww, she’s so precious.But not in a good way.

“Okay. Well. I have to get back to the bar. So, this was great.” I signaled between the two of us feeling absolutely moronic. “I guess I’ll see you around sometime.”

I did a double-barreled finger point. Like I was shooting myI’m too coolvibe out the tips of my fingers. No need to combust from the heat of a kiss when the drenching, cold shame of being eternally awkward promised a much slower, and more dramatic, death.

I slid out from underneath his very muscular body that still pressed me against the wall by the bathrooms. The cold showers worth of embarrassment dousing my body shocked me into beelining for the safety of my bar. Except I couldn’t move. I tried, but my body stayed firmly in place.

“When?” he asked.

I realized his hand was on my bicep. His strong, warm hand that had moments ago brushed little baby flyaways from my forehead.

“Tomorrow?” I asked.

“What time do you get off?”

I wanted to say something flirty or sassy. But I was not a flirty or sassy person. That was well established.

“Anytime you want me.”

Not exactly the flirty I hoped for. Weird? Absolutely. Pathetic show of my lack of game? A thousand percent. He smirked at me.

“How about six o’clock. Do you think Taffy can cover dinner on her own?”

Taffy was my back of house manager. She took care of everything pertaining to my cooks and servers. I wanted to tell him how awesome she was. How capable and smart, that she ran circles around his ass and the one guy named Skeeter that worked his booking desk. Instead, I just nodded.

“Dinner should be interesting,” he rumbled, finally releasing my arm. “I’ll see you then, Sweet Acacia.”

ChapterSeven

There were easilya million reasons why kissing Acacia had been a gigantic mistake. Going to dinner with her? A monumental lapse in judgment. That’s why Klaus and Felicity were being forced to come too. Sad that a forty-two-year-old man needed a babysitter, but I feared what I would do in Acacia’s presence.

That kiss knocked me on my ass. Figuratively, of course. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not on my drive home. Not while sitting on the back porch playing cards, or while my mom and Felicity chatted about the upcomingChristmas in Julyfestivities. Even listening to them laugh and gush over Klaus and theSinful Santathey wanted him to be— dressed in tight candy cane striped bike shorts and all –for the parade couldn’t dampen my spirits.

The only way that kiss could have been more perfect is if it had happened five years ago, seated on that blanket, while we watched the fireworks. But that’s what happens when you don’t sack up. You miss a perfect opportunity and spend years regretting it.

“Tell me again why we’re here?” Klaus looked out the window of my truck, eyeing Nick’s like someone was going to walk out of the front door and douse him in Christmas sprinkles.

“Just in case I need an easy exit. Wait here until I text you. Then, just get a booth, have dinner on me, enjoy all the Christmas kitsch, and watch for a follow up text. If I say I need help, you just need to come and pretend to bump into us. I’ll find a way to escape,” I told him.

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