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As he handed her three crisp fifty-dollar bills, a sharp rapping sounded from the car window. George was at it again. This time, he’d smooshed his lips against the window and was moving them like a giant fish.
“Oh, George,” Lily said. “Stop.”
Of course, the kid couldn’t hear her. He pulled his face back from the window and pressed his index fingers together, moving them in opposite directions in the international kid sign for two people kissing.
Lily gasped, then groaned.
“I’d better get the shoes so I can get him to camp so he can put some of this energy to good use. But first I’ll fill up with gas so we don’t run out again.” Her face was bright red and she was stumbling over her words.
George must’ve seen the shocked embarrassment on Lily’s face, because now he was alternately pointing at the two adults and making his fingers kiss.
“Oh, gosh,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Cullen.”
As she headed toward the driver’s door, he said, “I’m not.”
She turned back to face him, her hand on the car door, confusion eclipsing her earlier embarrassment. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sorry I kissed you last night. Let George make all the faces he wants, or better yet, you can tell him to stop it. I understand that he’s been through a lot, but that doesn’t give him license to disrespect you. And for the record, I’m not sorry I kissed you, and if you’re not sorry about that, I hope someday soon you’ll let me kiss you again.”
Chapter Six
It wasn’t even a real kiss.
The kids had instigated it. So it didn’t count, Lily reminded herself as she hitched her purse up onto her shoulder, adjusted her grip on the Secret Santa present she was bringing to girls’ night out and walked toward Café St. Germaine in downtown Celebration to meet her girlfriends for dinner.
However, his confession that he’d like to kiss her again was as real as her thudding heart.
The temperature had dropped about ten degrees since this morning when Cullen had come to their rescue. Thinking about his parting words made her feel downright steamy. Her stomach somersaulted as she recalled the look in his eyes.
That look promised that the next kiss wouldn’t be quite so innocent.
Her mind told her she was playing with fire, but her thudding heart said, Bring it on; she’d need something to keep herself warm during these increasingly cold nights Celebration was experiencing.
She’d never been able to see straight when it came to men. Never. That was why things had ended so badly with Josh. She’d ignored the signs, turned away from the hard reality that there were problems with their relationship and goaded him into the wedding.
When Josh had started to pull away, she’d thought that he was just overwhelmed by how fast and how public the wedding was moving forward. Cold feet. She’d convinced herself that once the hoopla was over they’d settle into married life and everything would be fine.
They’d been together for so long, marriage was just the next natural step along the way.
She’d been kidding herself, ignoring the handwriting on the wall, until everything had blown up in her face. Was that what she was doing now?
Convincing herself that this thing with Cullen might be heading somewhere when it wasn’t? She really needed to think about that.
Common sense told her that getting involved with her boss was a bad idea. The kids needed her full attention. She needed the money. Otherwise she wouldn’t even be here. If getting involved with Cullen was a good idea, wouldn’t he be willing to hold that promised kiss until she was no longer on his payroll?
He might not.
If not, she had her answer.
Maybe he was only flirting with her.
The kids had put them in an awkward position with that mistletoe.
They’d handled it appropriately. But if it was all just a game, why had he said what he’d said today when he came to their rescue?
He didn’t have to say that. She hadn’t coaxed it out of him.
As she approached the restaurant’s hostess stand, she shook away the thoughts and the nagging question of whether she should ask her girlfriends for advice.
Until she told someone what had happened, everything was safe. She could back out or move in whichever direction she wanted. But once she started asking for opinions and input, the situation would become very real.
