Chapter Seventeen
Wade
There must be such a thing as magic, or angels, or some kind of force of utter happiness, because I’m pretty sure Scarlett just told me that I owe her a kiss.
Me. I didn’t think she even realized I existed beyond being here to annoy her.
She looks just as stunned by the admission, but I’m not one to let an opportunity slip by. Not when it comes to the woman who has been consuming my every waking and sleeping thought.
I take a quick step forward and wrap an arm around her waist, tugging her close against me. “Scarlett…I promised you a goodnight kiss. But I don’t think you know the kind of kiss I want.”
She tips her chin up in a challenge. “Oh, really?”
“I’m not talking about giving you a quick goodnight kiss on the cheek. If I kiss you goodnight, I’m going to take my time and make sure it’s a thorough goodnight kiss that you’ll never forget.”
Her eyes go wide as saucers at my words .
“Wade, I—” She swallows audibly. “Wade. I want to know.”
“I’ve felt this pull between us. Why do you think I can’t stay away? I’m not coming around here as a favor to your brother. I’m coming here for you, Scarlett. And if I kiss you goodnight tonight…it just might change things forever.”
She nods once. “We could just try it, and if we don’t like it, we could keep being friends.”
It’s the biggest, fattest lie I’ve ever heard. Nothing could possibly be the same. Even if we walked away right now without kissing each other, nothing will be the same.
Because now I know. I know that Scarlett is attracted to me too. That maybe it’s been eating away at her just like it has been me. Only, she’s been a lot better at hiding it.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
Scarlett raises her eyebrows. “You seem to be talking a big game, but I don’t see a lot of action?—”
I cut her off by tugging her against my chest and laying my lips across hers. She gasps against my mouth but doesn’t pull away.
I’m kissing Scarlett.
There’s a victory band playing in the back of my mind. This is really happening.
I am holding Scarlett in my arms and kissing her.
The same woman I never thought would give me a second glance. The same woman who has been an instrument of unbelievable torture the last couple of weeks. The same woman who is moaning against me as she slips her arms behind my neck.
“Scarlett,” I mumble against her lips. “I want more.”
She nods and runs a hand through my hair, pulling my head back down so she can lead the kiss. She tips her head to the side, giving me better access to deepen the kiss.
It’s not at all like I imagined it would be .
When I thought about kissing Scarlett, it was all 2D.
But this kiss involves arms, hands, lips, the scent of soft lemon, her soft hair between my fingers. The sounds emanating from her as she kisses me back.
My entire body feels as though it’s finally alive.
Every sense is heightened, and I never want it to end.
Scarlett finally pulls back a little to catch her breath, and I reach up to gently grasp her head. I stand straight and pull her to rest her cheek against my chest.
I wonder what she’s thinking as she clings to me, feeling my shuddering breaths and my frantic heartbeat. I wonder if she feels like the earth shattered and rebuilt itself just for us.
I don’t know how long we stand there. It could be five minutes or five hours, but it’s long enough that I don’t know what to say. I know exactly where I want this to go now. But I don’t want to scare Scarlett away.
She’s a processor. If I tell her, “Hey, let’s jump into a serious relationship together,” she’ll be doing cartwheels to get away from me.
Even though I don’t want to, I need to just let this kiss be what it is tonight: an experiment.
Scarlett places a hand on my chest and steps out of my arms. She looks at me with wide brown eyes and tousled hair. “What have we done?”
I try to shrug nonchalantly. “That was just a goodnight kiss.”
“That was your version of a goodnight kiss?”
I nod twice.
“Dang,” she whispers softly.
She’s in shock, poor thing.
She reaches out and touches my lips with her finger. “I kissed that.”
“Yes, yes you did.” I smile slowly. “And it was the best kiss I’ve ever had. ”
“Really?” she asks as she slowly pulls her hand away. “How do you rank kisses?”
That’s probably not a conversation I should get into right now.
I reach out and grab her arm and lead her through the living room, into the bedroom and inside the bathroom. I set the drain in the bathtub and turn on the warm water. I walk back into her bedroom and grab the book from the nightstand and bring it into the bathroom, setting it on the small shelf next to the tub.
“I’m going to leave and lock your doors. You need to climb into the bath and just relax. We’ll talk soon.”
I have to force myself not to say anything about the dazed look in her eyes. I reach out and squeeze her shoulder. “Sleep tight.”
I close the bathroom door after me and then check the back exit to make sure it’s locked before I head out the front door, locking it behind me.
I don’t know why, but I feel like if her doors are locked here, this is safe.
The Serendipity’s charm is growing on me. Maybe it’s because we had our first kiss in the basement; maybe it’s a hint of that magic Gloria mentioned to me. Whatever it is, I have a sense of security that it will keep Scarlett safe while she lives here.
When I get home, I make one of the most important phone calls of my life.
Phoenix picks up after two rings. “Hey, how’s it going, man?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. I pull open my pantry door and pull out the flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. Jack’s working tonight, so I don’t have to worry about waking him up with the mixer.
“Then why did you call me?” He sounds confused.
“Because I needed to talk to my best friend who abandoned me,” I reply dryly.
“You make it sound so dire. I promise it’s not that bad. I’m coming back…someday.”
“You abandoned me. And you left me with your little sister,” I complain as I pull the butter out of the fridge.
My parents traveled a lot when I was growing up, which was what precipitated our move to Serendipity Springs—so we could stay with our grandparents while they were gone. They’d been talking about it for a while, and then the house burnt down, and it felt like it was a sign to move in with Grandma and Grandpa here in Serendipity Springs.
Ironically, after our house burnt down and the move to Serendipity Springs, my parents seemed happier than ever. They stopped fighting and seemed to enjoy spending time as a family.
They still traveled with their work for the cruise line but when my mom was home, we always baked together. She told me there’s not a problem in the world a batch of chocolate chip cookies can’t fix. We made cookies all the time when she was home. I’m inclined to believe her theory.
“What’s going on with my sister, Wade? You’re not letting her date jerks, are you?” Phoenix sounds angry at the thought.
I think back to the events of earlier tonight.
The lights flashing on the squad car. The handcuffs and Scarlett’s angry face.
Yeah, probably not a good time to tell Phoenix about the date.
I turn the mixer on, creaming the butter and sugars together.
“Wait, are you baking tonight?” Phoenix asks with a laugh. “This ought to be good. What happened?”
“I kissed your sister!” I yell over the mixer just as I shut it off.
Those four words float through the air, echoing off the walls of my house.
I wait for Phoenix to explode at me. To tell me that he was only joking that I should date her. That I need to stay away from her.
But all I hear is silence, except for the sound of me scraping the edges of the bowl and cracking two eggs.
“What did she do?” Phoenix finally asks. He sounds like he’s actually interested now.
“Well, it’s not like I surprised her with it,” I mutter. “She was the one who brought it up. She told me I owed her a goodnight kiss.”
“Well, did you?”
“Owe her a kiss?”I toss the eggshells in the garbage.
“Yeah. I need to understand the details here,” he chuckles. “Did you promise her one?”
“This is your sister we are talking about. Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yeah, never mind, I don’t want too many details. I just need to know: did she kiss you back?”
I turn the mixer on again and stare at the beater as it circles the stainless-steel bowl. “You know, most big brothers would be yelling at me right about now.”
“Yeah, well, I’m no dummy. I know there’s no one else who would love and protect my sister the way you would. I’ve already drawn up your marriage license papers. Just say the word, and you could seal the deal.”
I can’t help but laugh. Of course he would go the complete opposite direction as expected. He’s Phoenix Fernsby. The soon-to-be assistant DA of Serendipity Springs .
“Okay, okay, okay. How about this? You don’t want to kiss and tell, I respect that. But I just have to know if she wants this to go somewhere.”
I finish adding the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and turn the mixer on low to keep the flour from billowing everywhere. “I’m under the distinct impression that she’s in shock. She’s not sure what just happened. And that’s the truth.”
“Okay, here’s the thing. You absolutely cannot tell her how you feel.”
“What? What are you talking about? I just kissed her, man. I can’t just pretend like it didn’t happen.”
“You’re going to have to trust me on this. If you go rushing in there, you’ll spook her. As much as she likes to blame her relationship problems on me, half of it is her fear of commitment.”
Phoenix is right. Ironic that someone who loves routine so much is fearful of commitment. But I think it has more to do with finding someone who’s worth the effort. Because she is happy. No one talks about how hard it is to insinuate yourself in someone’s life who’s already content. She doesn’t need me.
But I want her to want me.
Now it’s just a matter of convincing her that she should want me.
Because that kiss? It was electric, and I can’t wait to kiss her again.
But what if she doesn’t want to kiss me again? She was stunned tonight. Yes, she kissed me back. Yes, I had a visceral reaction to kissing her. But then she was in shock.
She may never recover from the fact that she kissed the guy who used to put whoopie cushions under her seat at the dinner table.
This isn’t stuff that just gets brushed away. She has years of being Scooter to me. This weird transition into attraction has been hard to wrap my brain around.
“Hello, earth to Wade. Your cookies are probably all mixed by now.” Phoenix’s voice snaps me back to the present and I turn off the mixer.
“You might be right. I don’t want to scare her away.”
“No, you don’t,” Phoenix agrees. “And you definitely don’t want to tell her that I approve.”
“Would it be the worst if she knew?”
“Yeah, she’s stubborn enough she wouldn’t give a relationship with you a fair chance. Don’t mention my name.”
“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” I say as I set out baking sheets. “When has keeping secrets from Scarlett been a good idea?”
“That one time when you caught her favorite sweatshirt on fire and replaced it without her knowing?”
“Okay, that was one time. And not a big deal…”
“Then there was the time her favorite goldfish died, and we replaced it.”
“Yes, but she was nine when we did that.”
“Yeah, well, now I’m fessing up that the reason it died was because I overfed it.”
“I don’t know if I want to be keeping secrets with a murderer like you. You’ve kept that a secret for sixteen years! I’m impressed. What’s the statute of limitations on the negligent homicide of a goldfish?”
“Considering that Scarlett loved that goldfish? I’ll be taking that secret to the grave with me. And now, so will you.”
“Phoenix. I’m serious. I have to figure out what to do. I want her to actually like me.”
“Then tell her you want to be with her. Or ease into it. Either way, don’t let her forget you. Don’t give her room to let another guy steal your place. ”
Yeah, well, the only person in danger of stealing something was the guy who got arrested on their date tonight.
I finally hang up and stare at the two dozen cookies I need to bake.
Ease her into it.
It’s solid advice coming from someone who knows her well.
Right. I could ease her into thinking a relationship with me is a good idea.
I’ll just keep a respectable distance…let her get used to the idea…and eventually, it will be a natural progression into a relationship.
Easy-peasy.
I will not rush her or force her to make any immediate decisions.
Too bad all I want to do is drive right back to The Serendipity and kiss her until we’ve both forgotten our names.