The Princess and the Principal (The Rebel Royals 5)

Chapter Fourteen

The moment Ron stepped across the threshold into the Bauer foyer, he knew everything between he and Kylee had changed. His first clue? She had changed.

Of course, she’d changed in the metaphorical sense. That ten-year gap was still between them. There was so much about her life that he didn’t know. But that wasn’t the change he meant.

Kylee had changed her clothes. She’d gone from her buttoned-up office clothes to something a woman who wanted to impress a man without looking like she was trying too hard would wear. Her blouse wasn’t low cut, but it showed off those collarbones that had mesmerized him earlier. The skirt she wore gave him a teasing display of her knees and just a hint of thigh. But most importantly, she was wearing makeup.

What woman coming home after a long day of work, and then stopping by for an after-school fundraiser, would return home at the very end of the day and make all these changes? A woman who wanted to impress a man.

Ron’s heart did a flip and landed into his belly. Kylee Bauer had gone through all this effort to impress him.

Ron took the doorknob from Kylee’s hand. He closed it behind him, with a quiet snick that reverberated through his entire being. His first steps were tentative, unsure. How often did a man actually walk straight into his dream?

He caught up with Kylee in two strides. The brush of her forearm against his sent a tingle down his spine. Ron gulped, trying to push down his desire. He had to keep repeating the maneuver because his craving for her wouldn’t go away.

“Are you thirsty?” she asked.

“Yes. No. I’m fine.”

They stopped at the couch. Ron waited for Kylee to sit. She slid her hand down her skirt and then, instead of going to the corner where she always sat, she took a place just off the center of the couch.

Ron folded himself down beside her. The sides of their knees brushed. He had to hold himself still as the tingles became electric sparks.

“Where’s Molly?”

“She went to bed early.”

“Oh.”

Here they were again; alone on the couch. This was where the dream always turned, and she landed in his arms. What was hazy was exactly how he got her there in the dream world?

Kylee turned to him. She took a deep breath in through her nostrils, which raised her chest and exposed her collarbones. Ron’s gaze caught and held on those twin peaks.

“Before I forget, here’s your watch. And here’s the pitch information from Thrive Learning Systems since I forgot to give it to you the last time.”

Kylee handed him his watch and a packet. Ron took them and placed them on the coffee table.

“Ron?”

“Yeah, Kylee?” He tried to lift his gaze to hers. He didn’t want her to think he was staring at her chest. He was, in a sense. Just not at the part of her chest that would normally get a guy into trouble for staring at.

“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

Ron lifted his gaze to hers. Had he read this whole situation wrong? Was she about to friend zone him?

“I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed you these last years until I saw you. Which sounds awful because it makes it seem as though I didn’t think about you. Because I did. I thought about you a lot. And then I tried not to think about you. Because every time I thought about you, I’d come to realize how unlike you the man that I’d chosen to spend my life with was.”

These were the words Ron had always dreamed of hearing coming out of Kylee’s mouth. The problem was, he was having a hard time listening because he was so focused on the shine of her glossed lips.

“I don’t want to lose you again.”

“You won’t,” he said. “I’ve already told you; I’ll kidnap you.”

She tossed her head back and laughed, giving Ron the perfect view of her collarbones again.

"You're so funny," she said. "I forgot how nice it is just to hang out with you. And –"

"Ky?”