AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I did my best to erase any incriminating evidence, but the memories are there.”
“I’m sure you did.” She placed the Band-Aid over the cut and stepped back with a satisfied expression. “There. Much better.”
“You’re forgetting one thing.” I tapped my jaw.
I didn’t know why I was dragging this out when I didn’t want to be here in the first place, but I couldn’t remember the last time someone fussed over me. It felt…nice. Disturbingly so.
Vivian’s brow wrinkled. “What?”
“My kiss.”
Pink crept over her cheeks. “Now you’re the one teasing me.”
“I would never tease about such a serious matter,” I said solemnly. “One kiss for each of my injuries. That’s it. Would you deny a dying man his last wish?”
Her sparkling gaze held a touch of exasperation. “Don’t be dramatic. You’re the one who said you were, quote-unquote,fine.But since you insist on being such a baby about it…” She moved closer again. My pulse beat in my throat when she brushed her lips over my brow, then my jaw. “Better?”
“Much.”
“You’re incorrigible.” Laughter bubbled beneath her voice.
“It’s not the worst thing someone’s called me.”
“I believe it.”
She turned her head a fraction, and our eyes held.
The bathroom smelled like lemon cleaner and ointment, two of the unsexiest scents known to mankind. That didn’t stop heat from sparking in my blood or the memory of her taste from flooding my mind.
“About Bali.” Her breath brushed my skin, warm and tentative.
My groin tightened. “Yeah?”
“You were right to stop things when you did. Our…what we did was a mistake.”
Something that felt suspiciously like disappointment snaked through my chest.
“I know we’re getting married, so we’ll have to…eventually.” Vivian skipped over the specifics. “But it’s too soon. I had too much wine at Thanksgiving and got caught up in the moment. It was a…” She faltered when my hands rested on her hips. “A mistake. Right?”
Her skin branded my palm through the layer of cashmere.
A hard smile flickered over my mouth. “Right.”
My touch lingered for a beat before I moved her to the side and headed to the exit.
I should’ve stopped in Bali, and what happened before I stopped was a mistake.
We were both right.
But it didn’t mean I had to like it.
CHAPTER21
Vivian
After Thanksgiving, the year passed in the blink of an eye. I’d like to say my first holiday season as an engaged woman was special or memorable, but it was more stressful than anything else.
The weeks between Black Friday and New Year’s Eve were packed with work, social obligations, and endless questions about my upcoming wedding. Dante and I stayed overnight at my parents’ house for Christmas, and it was just as awkward as I’d feared.
