Kiss Me Not (Kiss Me 1)

“Because it’s see-through and you’re not wearing a bra!” I grabbed the towel from Abigail and threw it at her. “You have to put your nipples away!”

Grandma huffed and tossed the towel away. “These are what the kids are wearing these days!”

“I knew that Hulu subscription was a bad idea,” Abigail muttered, retrieving her towel. “Too many reality shows.”

I could have told her that.

In fact, I had told her.

Three times.

Nobody listened.

“You can’t wear that dress in public,” I said, fetching a bottle of water from the fridge. “There are children around. You’ll scar them for life! You’re scarring me, for goodness sake.”

Grandma looked down and pursed her dark-red lips. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. What if I wear a bra?”

Abigail looked at me. That did solve the problem, didn’t it?

Damn it. She was going to get her own way. That was never a good thing—she was like a child. If you gave her an inch, she’d take ten miles, and she’d repeat her behavior over and over.

“It’s too short,” I said firmly. I wasn’t going to back down. “Everyone will see what you ate for lunch if you bend over.”

“I won’t bend over.”

“Grandma, no.” I put my hands on my hips. “I’m not arguing with you. I’ve said you can’t wear it and that’s final.”

She sniffed. “You don’t see me for six months, and this is the way I’m treated. You young’uns have no respect for your elders these days!”

“You wearing that dress would be disrespectful. Trust me on that.”

She frowned and narrowed her eyes at me. She jabbed a finger in my direction, her French-tipped nail flashing through the air. “No respect, I tell you! This dress is a masterpiece! Everyone should see it!” She turned with a flourish, flicking some of her shoulder-length white hair. “You’re ruining my life, Halley!”

The sound of her stomping up the stairs filled the air, and Abigail rolled her eyes.

“She’s been in that mood ever since she got here yesterday evening.” She turned on the hot tap to fill the sink. “She tried calling you eight times to see if you’d take her to get her hair done today, but you didn’t answer.”

“Oh. That explains the missed calls from the unknown number. Did she change it again?”

“Every time she breaks up with someone, and considering she only goes out with them once…”

My grandmother was hard work.

“Why didn’t you answer, anyway? She had theories about everything from you being sex trafficked to you breaking into the White House.”

“How would I get to the White House on short notice?”

“I don’t know. What were you doing? You always answer the phone.”

“Oh. Um, I was busy.”

“I guessed that. Doing what?” My stepmom turned and raised one eyebrow.

Damn it. That look always got me, and she knew it.

I cleared my throat. “I had a date.”

“You had a—oh! Were you with Preston? Mandy said she saw you two at the fair the other night after the booth closed and you had a raccoon with you. That’s how I knew she was telling the truth.” She smirked.

“Yeah. We went out.” I scratched the side of my neck. “He made Betty and everyone sandwiches, so we ended up getting pizza, too.”

“And the booth ends today?”

I nodded.

“What will you do after?”

“I’m honestly just trying to get through today. It feels weird kissing other people when I know I have strong feelings for him, you know?”

Both her eyebrows shot up. “Are you telling me that you’ll give up the kissing booth?”

I hesitated. I hadn’t actually thought about it since everything with Preston, but I’d always assumed that one day when I got into a serious relationship that I would.

Besides, there was always the chance I wouldn’t have a choice. The champion was the only contestant allowed to return, but when they got beaten, they couldn’t go back the next year. It was so there was always someone new in the booth.

It’d briefly crossed my mind that Preston would be the one to dethrone me, but I’d never imagined it would go like this.

“I guess so,” I replied after a long moment. “I mean, if anyone is going to beat me, it’ll be Preston anyway.”

“You’re probably right there.” She smiled warmly. “What are you doing today? Did I see Lauren at the fair yesterday?”

I nodded. “She came down with her boyfriend. We’re having dinner with Reagan and Ava tonight, before the announcement and the talent show.”

“I’ll see her there, then.” Abigail reached up and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “Don’t you need to get to the booth? I’ll make sure your grandmother doesn’t show up looking like a Barbie doll.”

“Good luck with that,” I said dryly. “I’ll see you later.” I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and shouted, “See you later, Grandma!”

“See you later, sugar!” she hollered back.

The woman had lost her mind. I was pretty sure of that.