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Before I knew what happened his hands were on my hips, pulling me against his body. And then he was kissing me, firmly and passionately. One hand glided upward to cup the side of my face, as his lips rolled gently against mine.
H—Holy Fuck…
The kiss was slow. Hot. Thunderous. It caused my knees to buckle, even as it awakened that burningly familiar heat in my loins.
Then, just as quickly as the whole thing started, the two of us pulled back.
“I… I…”
I didn’t know what to say. Jay’s gorgeous face was flush with color. His expression was dreamy and contented.
“I have to go.”
He nodded as I ducked away, moving in the direction of the exit. I could feel the weight of his gaze, following me to the door.
“By the way, you’re wrong you know,” he called back. “About the other thing.”
I halted and turned, still holding one hand on the glass door.
“What other thing?”
Jay’s demonic smile was accompanied by an equally-evil chuckle.
“You don’treallythink it was a one-shot deal, do you?”
Seventeen
JENNA
“So Aegean has a Facebook page, yes?”
Tyler stared back at me like I had two heads. He was seated next to Jay, the both of them covered in flour and marinara sauce. Or their aprons, anyway.
“Well, yeah,” Tyler acknowledged, “but I haven’t updated it in months. Our old cashier used to run it for us during the slow times, posting photos and stuff.”
“Can you still get to it?” asked Luca. He was seated beside me. Unlike the others, he hadn’t been working at the pizzeria today. Instead, he was covered in what looked to be spackle and drywall dust.
“I think so,” Tyler shrugged. “But why?”
We’d cornered him at his own restaurant, forcing him to take time out. Seated in the back, the three giant men looked comically oversized for the little booth. Especially next to me.
“Because you’re going to announce that the restaurant is closing,” I told him. “So everyone in town knows.”
His shoulders slumped. He glanced angrily at Jay, who only shrugged.
“Look,” I told him. “This isn’t up for debate. If they bulldoze this place six weeks from now and you never even told your customers you were closing down, there’s going to be a lot of sad, disappointed people.”
“Angry and pissed off people too,” added Jay. “Trust me.”
“Maybe,” Tyler admitted. “But that’s my choice.” He looked at me pointedly from across the table. “I don’t like goodbyes.”
There was a message there somewhere, conveyed by the way Tyler directed the last part solely toward me. I did my best to ignore it.
“This isn’t to say goodbye,” I explained. “Well, initially it will be. But after a couple of weeks it’s going to be more of an ‘I’ll see you later’.”
Tyler looked confused for a moment, then glanced over his shoulder to where the lunch line was already piling up. It was still early, but a few customers were already lingering in the hallway of the abandoned mall.
“Look at me,” I said, putting my hand over his. “What do you think will happen when you announce you’re closing this family restaurant — a staple of Northhold — after fifty years?”
