Page 39 of The Problem with Perfect

“A vodka cranberry.”

“A pale ale.”

“A whiskey and a kiss.”

I actually laugh when Rusty says it, my surprise overriding any other potential reaction. Then he leans forward, his hand coming out to slip behind my neck, and he tugs me gently across the bar, planting his lips against mine. It’s just a simple kiss—a smooch, really—before he drops back down on his stool.

I, however, feel frozen in place. Where the hell did that come from?

Clearing my throat, I pull out the vodka and cranberry juice to start making Briar’s drink, using the time to try to unscramble my mind.

“You know I can’t kiss you when I’m working,” I finally reply, but then I laugh again. Thankfully, I’m pretty sure my laughter can be perceived as giddiness over Rusty’s kiss and not the frazzled ends of my nerves bubbling up with nowhere else to go.

Though part of me feels like maybe Iama little giddy about that kiss.

I set Briar’s drink on the counter in front of her, and that’s when my eyes connect with hers. Her eyebrows are raised, but there’s a small smile on her face.

“That was so weird,” she tells me, her voice quiet, but not so quiet that Andy and Rusty can’t hear her.

“Trust me, it was just as weird for me to have you here to see it,” I reply honestly. I grab a pint glass and pull Andy’s beer from the tap then put a rocks glass out and pour in two fingers of Woodford for Rusty. “Be right back,” I say, giving them a smile before moving down the bar to help other customers.

Technically, this is Emily’s side of the bar, but she’s busy helping a woman at the far end, and I feel a desperate need to put a few feet between me and the man who just kissed me. I move through a simple order—three shots of tequila and three bottles of Bud—almost unseeing, my mind fixated on that kiss.

It was a nothing. A peck. So then why does it feel like someone is tightening a cinch around my chest? Why did the feel of his beard on my skin send threads of desire simmering through my body? Didn’t Ijusttell myself any level of attraction to Rusty is a no-go, full stop?

And yet here I am, feeling flustered by a kiss that, to Rusty, was surely about as platonic as they come.

After I help a few people, I dip out from the bar and take a quick bathroom break, hoping to shake off whatever this is, but when I step back out a few minutes later, Rusty’s leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and that inscrutable expression on his face.

“What was that?” I ask, feeling slightly mortified by the way my voice squeaks. “A little warning would have been nice.”

“I did warn you. I said, ‘A whiskey and a kiss.’”

“I thought you were joking.”

“Well, I wasn’t.” He uncrosses his arms. “But clearly it was an issue, so I won’t do it again.”

I can feel him bristling, and I reach out and put my hand on his forearm, halting him before he heads down the hallway.

“Look, it’s not…” I sigh. “It’s not aproblem, it just caught me off guard, okay? It’s not something I have a lot of experience with.”

He huffs out a laugh, like he thinks I’m joking. “What, kissing?”

“Yeah.”

Rusty’s eyebrows pull down in the middle. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means…” I pause as someone comes around the corner and down the hallway, greeting Rusty with a nod before stepping into the men’s room. “Can we just talk about this later?” I ask, not wanting to discuss my lack of experience in the bathroom hallway at my work.

He watches me for a long beat before nodding, and I take that as my cue to head back out to the bar. Rusty follows and slips back onto his stool just as I get back behind the counter.

“Sneaking off for a little smoochy where nobody’s looking?”

I pin Andy with a look. He just grins and takes another sip of his beer.

“Abby said you’re coming to family dinner next week.” Briar watches me with a thoughtful expression. “That should be fun.”

I nod. “Yeah, as long as I can get someone to cover my shift here.”

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