Cold Hearted Bachelor

No, I can’t tell her any of that. So instead I say, “It’s just what I do. You know, kiss girls.” I laugh a little, to make light of the situation.

Paisley studies me, her thin brow arching high. “You being a chick magnet is why you kissed me?”

I shrug. “Yeah.” I’m botching this bad, but I don’t know what else to say.

“You thought one kiss from Vaughn James and I would fall to my knees and relent? Like your kisses are oh so great.”

I tug her out of the house so her parents won’t hear her since her voice is rising.

She shuts the door behind her and pokes me in the chest. “Your kiss wasn’t all that, for your information.”

Ouch. But she’s wrong. “Yeah, I’m not doubting my kissing ability.” I know I can kiss. Maybe she can’t. Maybe she’s never been kissed so good she doesn’t know what a good kiss is from a bad one.

“I would if I were you.” She crosses her arms.

And I laugh. “Ha. I am not a bad kisser.”

She shrugs. “Ok, believe whatever you want.”

It’s either my pride, or something else that explodes in my chest, but all of a sudden I have something to prove. I step closer to her, brushing a strand of blonde hair that floats across her face.

She stops smiling.

My breath hitches as I’m entranced by the skin of her cheek. So soft, so smooth. I trace a finger down her face, ending at her chin and I tilt it up toward me.

I’m going to kiss her. And I’m going to show her what a real kiss is like. So there’s zero doubt.

But, before I can, Spencer pulls into the driveway and Paisley and I jump apart from each other.

Spencer laughs when he hops out of the car. “Hey, just the man I was looking for. You heading to the house?”

Paisley doesn’t say a word, and I head off toward Spencer. “Yeah, we’re getting the key made and then I want to head there for a few hours.”

“I just stopped by to drop off something for my mom. Maybe I can head out with you guys if you want.”

I so do not want. But I can’t very well say that.

The front door opens and Mrs. Watts steps out onto the front porch with her signature smile. “I thought you two left already.” She stares at Paisley and then focuses her attention on her son bounding up the steps. “Hey, I have a list of things I need you to fix while you’re here.”

Spencer laughs and turns in my direction after planting a kiss on his mother’s cheek. “Guess I’m not coming out there after all.”

Paisley says goodbye and heads off toward my truck, and I say my own goodbyes as well and follow her.

“I’m gonna hang at the house today if that’s ok with you,” she says once I’ve pulled out of her parents’ driveway. “I get so much more work done when I don’t have everyone bothering me every five seconds.”

What if I’m the one who wants to bother her? Like with kissing, and so much more.

But I won’t. I won’t touch her...today.

Eleven

Paisley

* * *

Maybe I shouldn’t go to the house with Vaughn, but I wasn’t lying about getting more work done without the distractions.

My mother feels the need to bother me with trying to feed me every five minutes. She thinks I’m not eating enough, but I promise you, I’m eating just fine.

I’ve got an addendum I need to work on as well as order the title work on a house. So, I have plenty to keep me busy while I try not to watch Vaughn work.

Here’s the problem with my situation. As I stare at Vaughn, the more my feelings come back in full force. I loved him as a teenager. Unrequited love. I used to wish on all the stars in the sky, on all the sand on the beach, on every drop of water in the oceans that Vaughn would someday love me like I loved him.

But, those dreams never came true. And I was left wanting a man I could never have.

I mean, I’ve tried over the years. I even dated other guys, but I always felt like there was a part of me that would never let myself truly open up to them. Like a part of me was reserved only for Vaughn.

And the craziest thing is, I thought he was going to kiss me again on my parents’ front porch. Crazy, right? But when he touched me, I froze. My blood pulsed, my skin warmed. I held my breath as he ran a finger down my face.

I think he set me on fire, and as I tried to mentally put out the flames, he leaned in. That happened, right? I didn’t imagine it?