Grace (The Family Simon 5)

The guy who’d kissed her like no tomorrow beneath a snow-filled sky. It didn’t matter that Grace had been the one to initiate the kiss. Or that she’d ignored his protests and had practically assaulted him. It didn’t even matter that when he’d eventually managed to pull away from her, he’d told her that it was all wrong. Said that he wasn’t the kind of guy she should be kissing in the first place. She’d protested. He’d said he wasn’t interested.

Matt Hawkins had taken a step back and that’s when she’d glimpsed something in his eyes that told her otherwise. She’d called bullshit, but he’d walked away all the same. Without another word or a look…without anything.

That had stung. It had stung for a long time because Matt Hawkins had been wrong. So damn wrong. His kiss ha

d rocked her world and she was pretty damn sure she’d done a little rocking of her own.

Grace accepted another tequila from Nicola and downed the shot, eyes moving over the crowd until they found Matt and the blonde. He was chatting with another man, a guy who looked vaguely familiar, but it was the blond woman who had Grace’s attention. She was pressed against Matt, her curves melted into his hard frame, and the red-hot jealousy that rolled through Grace left her breathless.

“Are you okay?” Nicola asked.

“No. I’m not even close to okay.”

Nicola followed Grace’s gaze. “You guys had sex once, a couple years ago and he still gets under your skin? That must have been some night.”

Irritated, Grace turned to her friend. “We didn’t have sex. Why would you think we had sex?” She saw the surprise in Nicola’s eyes.

“Because you told me that night with him was the hottest you’ve ever spent with a guy.”

“It was.”

“But there was no sex?”

“Nope.” Grace closed her eyes for a moment, stomach tumbling. “All we did was kiss.”

“You just kissed.” Grace could tell Nicola didn’t believe her.

She nodded. “That would be correct.” What an understatement. Even now the thought of that kiss kick-started a throb between her legs that was so intense she nearly crossed them in order to alleviate it.

“Must have been some kiss.”

You have no idea.

“Please tell me you were at least naked or something.”

“Nope. Fully clothed.” Cheeks flushed, Grace brushed her long dark hair from her neck. “It’s hot in here, right? “

Nicola’s gaze settled back on Matt. “He’s not interested in the blonde.”

Startled, Grace jerked her head to the side and her insides twisted when her eyes slammed into Matt’s. He didn’t look away. Didn’t seem to care that she’d caught him staring at her. In fact a half smile curved his mouth even as he nodded down to the woman glued to his side.

“He wants you.”

“No he doesn’t,” Grace replied, eyes still held firm by Matt’s.

“Hell yes he does.” Nicola ordered up another shot of tequila. “You’re an idiot if you don’t walk over there and do something about it.”

“He’s with a girl,” Grace retorted tearing her gaze from Matt.

“I will respectfully disagree. She might be standing beside him with her boobs stuck to the side of his chest, but trust me, you’re the one who has his interest. He’s looking at you and he’s remembering the kissing. That fully clothed kissing.”

Grace shook her head but she didn’t get a chance to respond because Nicola shoved another tequila into her hands. She downed that shot too, not even tasting the stuff anymore.

“Doesn’t matter,” Grace eventually replied, once the fire had left her throat. “Because he’s not interested. Matt made it pretty clear that he and I would never be a thing.”

“Why not?”

That was the frustrating part. “I don’t know, Nic. Let’s just forget it. The guy lives in Michigan anyway.”