Page 29 of Kiss Me Forever

BROOKLYN

“He did what?”

I moved to the side as a small child began to skip down the pathway and winced at Aly.

“He kissed me.” I tried to whisper the words, but it felt as if I were screaming them across the void.

It didn’t matter that we were in a public place, and countless others were milling about as they got their mid to late season plants for their home do-it-yourself gardens, I felt so lost that I could barely even keep up with my own thoughts.

“And? Why? How? How was it? What happened next? Did you talk about it? Is this the first time? Oh my God, I have so many questions and you’re not saying anything.”

My lips twitched at Aly’s enthusiasm, and in that moment, I knew telling Aly first was the right choice.

Unlike nearly everybody else in my life, she didn’t know my family. She didn’t have a history or a full connection as to who we were. She hadn’t dated or been with any of my cousins or numerous other family members. In fact, I was pretty sure the only two people in my family that she had met were myself and Dash. I wasn’t even sure if she’d met Dash outside of those few moments where he had given her a look and then shuffled away because we were working.

“I don’t think I have any answers to those questions,” I said after a moment. I moved closer to her so I could whisper. While I didn’t know anybody around us, the pipeline of Montgomery information was oddly quick. You just never knew.

“You have to have at least one answer. So Reece. He’s worked with you for how long?”

My teeth worried my lip, and I forced myself to calm down. It was a kiss. An accident. I could talk about it and get over it. Then I’d go home and make way too much bread. “For a while now. He used to be a firefighter. And he’s worked with a few other construction crews. Now he does fire restoration and contracting directly with us.”

“Ooh. A firefighter. I would say something inappropriate, but I’m sure that has to get old.”

“Considering his three younger brothers are still firemen, probably.”

“And are they single?” Aly asked, nearly bouncing on her toes as we moved toward the fruit trees.

“I don’t know. It’s not like Reece and I talk about personal things. Except that’s all we’ve been talking about lately with the whole Bella situation.”

Aly’s expression changed. “That has to be terrifying. For both Bella and Reece. But he has a supportive family. Right? And he’s not married?”

“I think his parents and brothers are supportive. He gets along with the Montgomerys as we work as a family. Like, he’s part of a big family of his own. And no, he’s not married, Aly. He kissed me. He’s not a cheater.”

“That’s good. That’s good. So, he just kissed you out of the blue?”

When I had shown up to go through a few spreadsheets and talk plants for the upcoming season, I had just blurted out that he had kissed me. She didn’t even know Reece, and she was trying to be supportive. And here I was, rambling.

“Not exactly. I mean, there’s always been looks.”

“Interesting.”

I shook my head, my lips twitching even as my stomach revolted. “Not like that. I was with Duke. And we were happy.” Or so I thought. “And whenever I saw Reece out he had a different woman each time. Not that it was often, but I’ve never actually known him to date anybody. He was married for a bit, then wasn’t. It’s like all of my single cousins who just date around.”

“He must have kissed you for a reason. It’s not like he just fell on your lips.”

We paused by another grouping of trees, and I let out a breath, trying to find something to do with my hands so I wouldn’t wring them in front of me.

“Brooklyn?”

“I think he kissed me just to calm me down.”

“What happened?”

I let out a shaky breath before going through the long story of Duke, the restoration committee, my baking, and then about Chelsea.

Aly’s face paled, before she took me by my arm and tugged me to the side by the employee area. “She did what? Oh, Brooklyn. I’m so sorry. Did you tell anyone in your family what happened?”

“Considering Dash and Lex were there, I’m pretty sure the entire family knows what happened yesterday.” I stopped for a moment. “And I’ve been dodging calls from my parents, so the grapevine has been worked.”