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“You kissed him!” Presley exclaimed. “Way to bury the lede!”
“What kind of a kiss was it?” Cassandra curled her wineglass against her chest.
“Oh, you know.” Hallie hesitated, searching her head for the right words. “A basic kiss.”
“What is a basic kiss?” Presley asked after exchanging glances with Cassandra.
“Well, it was like...” She demonstrated by laying a smacking kiss on the back of her hand and making a “mwah” sound.
“I’m excited there was a kiss at all.” Presley insisted. “How did he react?”
“I don’t know. I burst out of the car and ran away. I mean, I didn’t run away exactly, I just got out to look at that old abandoned house at the end of Magnolia Lane.”
“That place creeps me out. Cash and I drove back there once to...” Presley blushed prettily and then twirled a lock of her red hair around one finger. “Well. It doesn’t matter why we were back there.”
“Speak for yourself.” Cassandra waggled her eyebrows and Presley giggled.
Hallie, who had only recently broken her first rule, and not a very interesting one, realized her adventure paled in comparison with the ones her friends had experienced. She was beginning to believe she hadn’t done anything remotely interesting in her life, which was beyond disappointing.
Did Gavin find her as uninteresting as she felt?
“Let’s choose a movie,” Cassandra suggested.
“Rom-com?” Presley reached for the remote. “I would love to see the new one about the marriage of convenience between the big, fancy hotel chain owner in Chicago and a woman who owns a boutique hotel down the road.”
“Me, too. That actor is hot,” Cassandra agreed.
Hallie smiled wanly, feeling left out, and not only because she didn’t know what movie they were talking about. She was the only single woman in this room, and the highlight of her week—hell, the highlight of her whole year—had been the moment she placed a tepid kiss on the center of Gavin’s perfect mouth.
Except she couldn’t exactly chastise herself for it. The second her lips touched his, she could have melted into him and not come up for air for a good long while. The stubble around his firm lips had tickled hers, and the look in his eyes when she backed away was worth its weight in gold. He’d been surprised, and if she hadn’t been mistaken, he’d enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as she had, but close.
As Presley thumbed through the digital menu on the large flat-screen TV hanging over the fireplace, Cassandra microwaved some popcorn. Once the movie started, Hallie curled her leg beneath her and smiled to herself. She might’ve downplayed the kiss to her friends, but it’d been much hotter than she’d let on.
Maybe she’d dare herself to do it again the next time she saw him...
At The Cheshire bar atop the Beaumont Hotel, Cash palmed his glass of bourbon and shook his head. “She kissed you to say thanks?”
Gavin lifted his own glass and tilted his head. “Well, that’s what she said, but I don’t think that’s why she kissed me.”
“Why else would Hallie Banks kiss you?” Luke chimed in.
Cash laughed.
Insulted, Gavin took a sip of his own drink. “Thanks a lot.”
They were in one of the private VIP rooms that offered a spectacular view of downtown Beaumont Bay. Luke often reserved one of the suites whenever they hung out together.
“She’s not the most outgoing woman we know,” Cash said. “You have to admit her kissing you is damn shocking.”
Gavin could admit it was shocking, but what he wouldn’t admit to his boneheaded brothers was that it was amazing. It was a peck of a kiss that shouldn’t have ignited him, and yet...
“So what’s next?” Luke asked.
“Whatever she wants. I am merely a humble teacher.” He splayed his hands on his chest and tried to look innocent. It worked in court sometimes, but never on his brothers. They knew him too well.
“You’re not a humble anything,” Cash said. “She’s not going to be as easy to woo as the women you’re used to dating.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gavin snapped, before realizing he really wanted to know.
