Chapter 57
CHAPTER 57
G emma knew exactly what Kent was saying, and she couldn’t breathe because of it. It was ridiculous, of course, it was. He couldn’t possibly be saying what she thought. He had hated her when they first met, just like she had hated him. Hadn’t he? But then she didn’t hate him now, did she? The way he had lied to her about being the owner of the cafe was absolutely ludicrous, but it didn’t make her hate him. If anything, how he tried to protect her from the truth was endearing. Her mind drifted back to dinner. To the way their hands felt so natural on one another. How being close to him just felt natural.
“This would be messy,” she said, wishing that her voice didn’t sound quite so breathless when she spoke.
“Why?” Kent replied. Somehow, his arm had broached the boundary of the cushion and was resting on her lap. Its weight felt like a piece of armour, there solely to keep her safe. “It doesn’t have to be. It won’t be. We both want to do a good job. This won’t change that.”
“But what if you end up regretting it?” she said.
His hand moved from her lap to her cheek, and the pressure of his touch caused her eyes to close.
“I assure you I won’t,” he said. “But if you’re worried you will, then I will roll over and go straight to sleep now. I don’t want to push you, Gemma. I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to be ready for this.”
Gemma’s body and mind grappled incessantly, and she struggled to pull any sense from her thoughts. Of course, she was worried about regretting it. She was worried that because of one silly night, after far too much wine, she was going to mess up the job that she loved so much. But then, whatever happened tonight, she knew that her relationship with Kent had changed forever. And what was that old saying? It was better to regret the things you did than the things you didn’t do. Yes, that was it. She’d never known it to make as much sense as it did in that moment. Still aware that she might be making a terrible decision, Gemma leaned forward, so close that she could feel his breath on her skin.
“I still think this is a bad idea,” she said before pressing her lips against Kent’s and kissing him.