3
While I stand frozen, every muscle in my body rigid, the air shifts and the light switches on.
Joel Adams stands in front of me, eyes wide with shock. And something else I can’t identify.
We’re both breathing hard, the air in the room still explosive with heat.
All I can think to say is, “You’re not Bobby.”
“Nope,” he says, an edge in his voice.
Mortification winds its way through me. I want the floor to open up and swallow me. Right this instant. But apparently the universe is fresh out of trapdoors.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I thought you were someone else.”
He sets his jaw. “Bobby.”
“Yes.”
The air abruptly rushes out of my lungs. Bobby. He could arrive any second. And here I am, in the storeroom with another man. A man I just kissed . My mind darts in a hundred directions. What was I thinking? What am I going to do?
My heart is pounding so hard it’s hurting my ribs. I can’t catch my breath.
“Slow down your breathing,” Joel instructs me in a terse voice.
I bend at the waist and place my hands on my knees, complying with his brusque instruction by taking in slow, deep breaths. My response is automatic. Anyone with a commanding tone seems to have that effect on me.
I can feel him watching me and my anxiety rises.
“This is enough of a mess without having you collapse on me.”
The irritation in his voice cuts through my alarm. I straighten and glare at him. “I’m not going to collapse.”
I can’t help but flick another uneasy glance at the door.
“Relax, Bobby’s not coming,” he says, unerringly guessing the direction of my jumbled thoughts.
“You can’t know that.”
“I’m about ninety percent sure he’s not going to walk through that door anytime soon.”
That leaves a ten percent chance. Ten percent feels pretty big.
I bite my lip. “How can you be so sure?”
“We’ve been in here at least ten minutes. You don’t leave a woman waiting in a storeroom for ten minutes.”
“Maybe he was waylaid.”
“Or maybe he changed his mind.” His dark eyes flash with curiosity. “He your boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
“Is this you getting back together with him?” Almost immediately, he scowls. “Forget I asked. It’s of no interest to me.”
“We’re not getting back together,” I say stiffly.
“So you kiss all your ex-boyfriends?”
It’s impossible to stop the flush rising in my cheeks. He had to bring it up. The Kiss. The one subject I was desperately hoping we could avoid.
I bury my face in my hands. “I don’t know what I was thinking. This is not me. I don’t do things like this.” I let out a groan. “This is beyond awful.”
“Don’t spare my ego,” Joel says lightly.
I lift my head and my eyes meet his. The memory of our kiss hangs between us. I’ve never been kissed like that before. I’m afraid the wonder of it is written all over my face.
Then his words register.
“I don’t mean the kiss was awful,” I say hastily. “It wasn’t. It was...” Incredible . Phenomenal . Unbelievable . I swallow all the words I can’t say. My cheeks flame even more, if that’s possible.
Joel raises his eyebrows. “Please continue. You were just getting to the interesting part.”
“Never mind.”
“I mind that you think the kiss was awful.”
“You know it wasn’t,” I burst out.
“Do I?” he asks idly.
And then I can’t help it. I have to know. Curiosity is eating away at me. “Did you think the kiss was awful?”
He folds his arms, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips. “You first. After all, you seem to like making the first move.”
Embarrassment crawls through me. I’m still dazed by how I acted, grabbing him like that and kissing him as though I couldn’t get enough of him. His response was just as fiery. Despite his teasing, I sense he’s as intrigued as I am by what happened in this storeroom.
I shift uncomfortably and take a step back, putting distance between us. “You know what, let’s not talk about this anymore.” I glance at the storeroom door. “I should go.”
His expression is inscrutable. “Good idea.”
I’m about to step past him, but then I stop. “Wait a minute, why are you in here?”
Now it’s his turn to look uncomfortable.
There are only two reasons a person would slip into a storeroom at a wedding reception. One, they need cleaning supplies. Two, they’re meeting someone with the intention of keeping that meeting a secret.
My head jerks back and I stare in horror at the door. Had Joel arranged to meet a woman in here? Did I interrupt something?
“Mind out of the gutter, Kenzie,” he drawls.
The sound of him saying my name stirs something inside me. “You know who I am?”
“Yes.”
That’s all he gives me.
And then I think, of course he knows who I am. Because I’m not his type.
“So why are you in here?” I ask again.
He sighs. “I was trying to escape someone.”
I’m intrigued. “Who?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Farah,” I guess, remembering how she’d draped herself over him.
He rubs the back of his neck. “Yes.”
“So she’s not your date to the wedding?”
Surprise steals over his face. “No.”
“Oh.”
“And Bobby?”
I shake my head. “I came to the wedding alone. My decision to meet Bobby here was a...momentary lapse in judgment.” I clear my throat. “Like our kiss.”
He keeps his expression unreadable. It crosses my mind that this is a man who is used to concealing his feelings. Unlike me. Sofia and Tess tell me all the time that my face is like a giant neon sign lighting up with whatever emotion I’m experiencing.
I gesture back and forth between us. “No one can know about this.”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Agreed.”
Huh. I was expecting more of an argument.
“We’ll take this to our graves,” I maintain, recovering.
“Coming on a bit strong, but I’m in agreement here that we keep this between the two of us.”
“Okay. Good.”
An awkward silence descends. I clear my throat and we both turn toward the door at the same time.
Joel sighs. “I suggest we leave separately.”
“Oh. Yes. Good idea.”
“I know you like taking the lead, but I’ll go first this time. Shake up the dynamic between us.”
I narrow my eyes at him and allow him to have his little joke.
He reaches for the door handle, but pauses. Without turning around, he says, “And Kenzie?”
“Yes?”
“Just so we’re clear, if we ever kiss again—which we won’t—you won’t mistake me for someone else.”
With that, he exits the storeroom without looking back.