Page 12 of Only a Kiss

“Why do you sound so tired?Rough night?”

I scrubbed my face.“It’s nothing.”The lie sat heavy on my heart.Last night felt like everything, even if it couldn’t be anything.“Everything okay with you?”

“Yeah, I just called to see if you wanted to grab some breakfast.”

“Sure.Our usual place?”Our dad always took us to the same diner every Sunday for brunch when we were kids.While my brother and I didn’t go every Sunday anymore, we still tried to maintain the tradition and go as often as we could.

“See you there in thirty.”He hung up without a goodbye, and I pulled up the ride share app on my phone.While I waited, I glanced up at Sadie’s building, wondering how long it would take me to recover from last night and how long I could avoid her altogether.

Because despite what I knew I should do and my resolve to do what was right, I was worried that if I saw her again while I could still remember what she tasted like, I wouldn’t be able to resist her.

Wyatt showed up five minutes after I arrived, and we both ordered our usual before he leaned back against the booth and draped one arm casually along the back, his discerning gaze watching me carefully.

“Okay, spill.”

“Spill what?”

“Don’t pull that shit with me.It’s my job to read people, so tell me what’s going on with you.”

Wyatt worked for Carmichael Security—a high-end private security company doing a lot of bodyguard work.He was trained at reading situations and people and acting accordingly, and he was damn good at what he did.There was no way to hide the mess going on in my head.Not from him.

Leaning forward and resting my elbows on the table, I played with an unopened sugar packet as an excuse to avoid his gaze.“I hooked up with a woman last night who’s all wrong for me, but it was…” How was I supposed to define perfection?How did I put into words wanting a woman who was so wrong for me but felt so right when our bodies writhed together?

“It was unreal.”It was close enough to the truth, at least.“She was incredible.”

“Let me get this straight.You’re fucked-up this morning because you had mind-blowing sex last night?Dude, some of us have real problems, you know.”

I shook my head, my jaw clenching as I stared out the window.“She’s off-limits.I never should’ve crossed that line and I’m worried if—when—I see her again, I might not be able to control myself, but I cannot under any circumstances go there with her again.”

He leaned forward and his eyes narrowed.“Who is it?”

“No one you know,” I said, which wasn’t at all true.He’d met Sadie plenty of times.

“Bullshit.If it wasn’t someone I knew, then you’d tell me.”

Our gazes clashed and guilt ate at me.Wyatt noticed it and rubbed his jaw as he watched me.I could practically see the wheels spinning, and dread built in my stomach.

“Someone off-limits…who you will likely see again… Hmm, not many women fit that bill.”His gaze sharpened.“In fact, I can only think of one who you would absolutely shit yourself over.”

I swallowed thickly, waiting.

“Please tell me it’s not who I’m thinking.”

“I have no idea who you’re thinking.”My voice sounded hollow.I hadn’t felt this unsteady since Vanessa told me she was pregnant when we’d barely been dating a month.

“Sadie,” he said.

I dropped the sugar pack and placed my head in my hands, shoving my fingers through my short hair.The action reminded me of the many times Sadie had done the same thing last night, and I instantly dropped my hands and forced myself to meet my brother’s shocked face.

“You can’t say a word.To anyone, but especially not to Jenna.”

“You actually slept with Sadie?”

“I don’t know what happened.It was…” Again, I was at a loss for words.This woman had reduced me to complete stupidity.You’d think I was the twenty-two-year-old in this situation and not the forty-two-year-old.

“We were at the same restaurant, and I stopped at her table to say hi and found out she got stood up.I joined her because she looked so dejected and I couldn’t stand to leave her there alone.But instead of it being awkward, she was charismatic, funny, smart.I’ve never spent any time with her alone—she’s always been with Jenna—and it was like she was a completely different person.She’s absolutely stunning in every way possible and way too easy to talk to.I’m sure the alcohol didn’t help my inhibitions, but if I’m honest, she had me captivated as soon as I sat down.And then once we got to her apartment—it was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

I didn’t know why I didn’t tell him about the masquerade ball, but it felt like what happened that night—when Sadie and I were just two strangers—deserved to stay between us.

---