Page 35 of Blue Jean Summer

“It’s probably Hallie,” I said. “We’re going into town in a little bit.”

“Hallie doesn’t use the front door.” His eyes stayed locked on me. “I need you to be honest. Are you having second thoughts?”

His cologne crept around me in pulsing waves. It made it hard to think. “Are you?”

The front door slammed. I jumped. Hayes didn’t.

“Why is that damn door so heavy?” Lewis shouted as he stomped through the entryway.

“I just—”

Hayes grabbed my hand and yanked me into the pantry.

“Where is everyone?” Lewis shouted as he crossed through the kitchen just as Hayes silently closed the door behind us.

“It’s just a lot to get used to,” I whispered as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. “I’ll be fine.”

Hayes slid his mug onto the countertop that was meticulously organized with labeled canisters and kitchen appliances. “Saying you’re fine isn’t the same as saying you’re not having second thoughts.” His words were so quiet that they were almost inaudible with the slam of the refrigerator doors and cabinets as Lewis pilfered the kitchen for something to eat.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night. New house and all that. But I’m not having second thoughts.”

I couldn’t make out his expression in the darkness, but I knew Hayes enough to know that he was dissecting each minuscule inflection of my voice like a human polygraph test.

“I know I put a lot of pressure on you when I asked you to marry—”

The door whipped open. Light slapped us in a blinding flash.

I grabbed the front of Hayes’s pristine dress shirt and yanked him into me. Our mouths crashed in a kiss that took us both by surprise.

There was no way I was blowing our cover on day two.

Hayes’s momentary shock quickly morphed into blistering heat. His hands were in my hair as he slanted his mouth, deepening the kiss.

Lewis’s huff of annoyance could have been heard from space. “Must you fornicate by the cereal? Now my appetite is gone.” He gagged as he slammed the pantry door, bathing us in darkness once again.

I waited until Lewis’s footsteps faded, but still kept my voice to a whisper. “Think he bought it?”

“Yeah.” Hayes rested his forehead on mine and swallowed. “Good call.”

Neither of us pulled away. We stood in the pantry, breathing heavily as I clung to his shirt and his fingers curled in my hair.

“Sorry to spring that on you,” I said.

Slowly, one hand slid down the back of my neck and came up to cup my chin. His thumb pressed against my lips. “Don’t be.”

I tipped my chin up. The world went hazy as his nose grazed mine and our lips brushed again.

The door flew open again and Hallie appeared.

I shrieked as we jumped apart.

Hallie looked just as flustered and startled as I felt. “Don’t mind me. Carry on,” she said before closing the door on us.

Hayes grabbed his mug, darted out of the pantry, and beelined back to his desk without another word.

Through the glass doors of the study, I didn’t miss the way he discreetly adjusted the front of his slacks.

Hallie stood at the kitchen island, looking rather amused and self-satisfied.