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Then, after they left, an awkward silence descended, and I noticed Charlie was trying to look everywhere but directly at me. When I stepped out of the ring, she suddenly blurted out, “I’m going to get started on the food,” she said and then ran up the stairs before I could remind her I didn’t have anything in the fridge.
By the time I got to the kitchen, she already brought out some leftover stray stuff from the pantry and was setting them on the countertop.
“I’ll help you,” I said, grabbing a knife and an onion before starting to peel it. I didn’t even know I had onions.
“You don’t have to,” she protested.
“It’s my kitchen. Might as well learn a thing or two.”
“You didn’t help Kelly cook?” she blurted out, and once again, the mention of Kelly turned me cold.
13
CHARLOTTE
Shit. Why did I say that?
The easy atmosphere that had been forming between the two of us instantly vanished at the mention of Kelly. The little quirk at the end of his lips disappeared, his face becoming like a stone once again. It was like every single light disappeared from his features at the mention of Kelly’s name.
Why did I have to bring it up when we were doing so well?
He turned away from me without an answer, focusing back on what he was doing. He sliced the onions in little precise cuts, but I could tell he wasn’t thinking about it. His mind was far away, and the tension had returned to his forehead.
I also felt pretty guilty that I had unknowingly contributed to it.
“I’m sorry,” I said immediately, but he didn’t look at me. The only indication he’d heard me was an eyebrow raise.
“I didn’t mean to bring up Kelly and your relationship,” I muttered and sighed. “I know it was probably complicated, and I was too young to understand it. It wasn’t like I was there every single day and saw all your interactions. Kelly didn’t talk much about it either, and most of what I know is stuff my parents said. But anyway, I shouldn’t have brought it up. I didn’t even know when it slipped out. I guess I was getting too relaxed, and when I do, I tend to have verbal diarrhea and just keep going on unless someone stops me, kinda like now, so please say something—”
“Do you always just say whatever is on your mind?” He thankfully cut me off and glanced at me as he did. I could sense the amusement in his eyes, which made butterflies flutter in my stomach. I wrote the sensation off as relief.
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s the only reason I would be standing here talking about diarrhea when we’re supposed to be making food. I mean, that’s not exactly the image you want to have in your head when you’re eating. But don’t worry because the food will taste pretty good regardless.”
And then the most shocking thing happened. Something I never thought I would see in a million years.
Zane started laughing.
It started as a rumbling sound coming out of his chest, and it burst out of his lips in a gust of air. It stunned me so much that I simply gaped at him from where I was standing, still holding the spoon as I watched him. The laughter transformed his entire face into something a little younger, a little boyish. It was like the lines disappeared, and sheer light shone through the darkness, his yellow eyes twinkling like the sun.
I was entranced.
So much so that I didn’t even notice when he was in motion as his laughter reduced to a chuckle. I didn’t realize he was now moving, probably needing another onion from behind me. But he didn’t make it that far because I wouldn’t move out of his way. I couldn’t. I wanted to see more of his smile and hear more of his laugh.
And suddenly, he was staring down at me with those bright eyes shining with mirth.
His lip still turned up in a smile.
And that body that I could still remember moving fluidly as he trained Casey, the same way it had moved down my body in bed, imprinting itself on my skin.
As he stared down at me, the look in his eyes quickly darkened, holding something more potent. His lips moved, but I had no idea what he was saying. I was just staring at them, at the way the top lip slashed across while his lower lip was more succulent and almost plump. I had never noticed how thick his lashes were until now and the way they framed his eyes darkly and lay against his cheek until they looked almost feminine. They were incredibly sexy. But not as sexy as those lips.
And those lips were coming closer and closer.
I had no idea if he was leaning in to kiss me or reaching down to grab the onion behind me. But, at that point, I didn’t even care. Because I wanted his lips on mine more than I wanted to breathe.
My hands moved to his cheeks unbidden, and I got on my tippy toes, closing the distance between us. I could feel his shock as I kissed him, which probably meant he wasn’t trying to kiss me. He only wanted to get an onion, and I just assaulted him with my mouth.
The realization should have made me back down. I should have been humiliated. I should have torn myself away, immediately apologized for my crime, and done just about anything but nip his lower lip in mine and suck on it.
