“You also have a battle plan calledLure the Man.”
She gasped and slapped my arm. “That was supposed to be private!”
“It was pink and wide open on the front desk. I can’t be held responsible for the universe putting it in my path.”
She rolled her eyes, still smiling.
“I’m surprised,” I admitted, stepping a little closer again, unable to help myself. “You strike me as someone who charms people for sport.”
Her cheeks flushed, and this time she didn’t laugh.
“I joke a lot,” she said, quiet now. “I flirt, I distract... but it’s just how I am. It doesn’t usuallymeananything.”
“And now?”
She looked up at me, no teasing in her eyes. Just honesty.
“Now it means something.”
The words hit like a punch to the gut in the best way.
I didn’t know what to say. Not yet. But Ifeltit too. And for the first time in a long, long time, I didn’t want to run from that feeling. I wanted tostayin it. Sit with it. Let it wrap around me and see where it went.
Still, I couldn’t resist just a little push.
“So what’s the protocol?” I asked. “Do I sign a guest waiver before I kiss you again?”
She groaned. “You are theworst.”
“I’m serious. I need to know if I’m in violation of any cozy lodge policies.”
She jabbed her finger at me. “Iwillmake you stack kindling for penance.”
“I think that’s an innuendo.”
“I think you’re impossible.”
“I think,” I said, my hand brushing her arm, “you taste like fire and chocolate and something I’d like to taste again.”
She froze.
Then, slow and deliberate, she said, “Well… Idohave extra marshmallows.”
It was an invitation wrapped in sugar, humor, and nerves, and I wanted to unwrap every layer of it.
I leaned in again, just enough for her to feel the shift in the air.
But this time, I didn’t kiss her.
Not yet.
I let my knuckles skim down her arm, my voice low and rough. “Let me know when the third kiss is officially approved.”
Her breath caught. “You’ll be the first to know.”
I stepped back. Not far. Just enough.
Because I wanted her to want the next kiss just as much as I did.
