“Mom says she’s willing to pay for a conference room too. Ari and I might fly out and run a speed dating night. But you’ll be the only woman there. How fun would that be? Hundreds of guys show up, just to meetyou.”
I full-on let the cackle out now. Didn’t even try to stop it. “Um. No. Absolutely not.”
“Too late.” Gabby grinned with a shrug. “It goes live at midnight. We’ll update you every hour on the hour. But the dates begin a week from today.” She rubbed her hands together. “I can’t wait! We’re going to throw everything at the wall. Something is bound to stick.”
The humiliation at the fact that my sisters thought my life was so pathetic that they needed to do something of this caliber was making my eyes fill up and the end of my nose twitch. “Gabs, that’s really sweet.” My voice hitched. “But, I’m going to have to say no. I don’t have time for that and I-I…I’m ready to be single for a while.” A total lie. I’d never been lonelier than I was right now. But this was not the answer.
Gabby pursed her lips and sighed. “Christy, enough isenough. Your ovaries are drying up as we speak. No more waiting around for God or Fate or whatever. It’s time to take the bull by the horns, find you a man, and pop out some babies.”
I couldn’t speak, only blink. Blink and try to breathe.Oh. My. Word.
“Mom.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “Mom!” I almost yelled.
Her face popped into view, smiling like wasn’t this the best idea they’d ever come up with.
I threw my hand up in frustration. “What on earth? I’m the high school principal. I can’t be part of a dating ring like some kind of pimp. Even if I am the only customer. You know what gossip’s like in a small town.” I hated the way my voice was shaking. “Make them stop.”
She pursed her lips like I was complaining about having to eat wheat bread instead of white. “Honestly, Christianna. They’re only trying to help. They love you. They’re worried you’re going to end up an old maid is all.”
My mouth opened and closed a few times. And I was about to say I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than humiliated by this nightmare. But the words choked in my throat as someone plopped down onto the weight bench in front of me.Rightin front of me.
I gasped and my hand went to my heart, as I willed it to quit trying to buck its way out of my chest.
Holden.
His eyes were scorching and his jaw clenched like he was mad enough to throat-punch someone. I scowled, trying to figure him out. But then I remembered I was on the phone.
My mouth parted and I sucked in air. Had he heard my conversation with my family?
I turned my head, hoping to hide my tears and at least some of the humiliation I felt. But his arm shot out, winding possessively around my waist. Then he pulled me right up tohim, so fast I had no choice but to hook my thighs over his. What the…?
His caramel-colored eyes burned into me for a split second before flashing to my lips angrily. I leaned away but his hands came up, gripping my face. His thumb wiped a tear from under my eye. Then his forehead furrowed and his gaze flicked between my eyes and my mouth three times, almost as if he was having some kind of internal struggle.
“I’m on the phone. What are you—” I started to say. But I never got to finish. His mouth crashed against mine with so much force that our teeth clinked.
I froze, dazed. All the noise on the other end of the FaceTime ceased.
Holden’s hands slid into my hair, his lips moving hard against mine as if doing compressions to make mine work. He smelled like leather and spicy cologne and his mouth tasted like cinnamon gum. As if his kiss had some magical mind-melding power, my eyes fluttered shut, and I melted into him, completely ruined. Sparks of heat rolled in waves over my chest, down my arms and legs, all the way to my fingertips and toes. I’d forgotten what it was like to be kissed by him. This had to be what heaven was like. Then again, it was tinged with a splash of wickedness, so maybe not. A soft moan purred in my throat and I started to lower the phone. Because my family did not need to see how my hands were about to rove over his awesomely sculpted abs.
But Holden’s hand shot out, lifting mine back up so the phone had a perfect face-level view.
Oh.
He wanted my family to see our kiss. He’d heard the conversation, and he was sticking it to them. Saving me. It was sweet. And utterly pathetic. I didn’t care.
It was amazing. All heady and breathless and hot.
And if this kiss got my sisters to kill their ridiculous Find Christy A Husband campaign, even better.
In an instant, I slid into character. I was Christy Thornbury, principal of a small town high school who was capable of finding a bodice-ripper-worthy love interest all on her own thankyouverymuch. I slid my free hand up into the back of his hair and tugged him closer, smiling against his lips for a millisecond before diving back in. I inhaled a few times, trying to lock his heavenly smell into my long-term. It was the stuff candles should be made of.
“Christy,” I heard my mom say somewhere along the edges of my consciousness. “Christianna.” Yeah. Ok. We’d made our point. I could stop now. But I really didn’t want to.
I hesitantly pulled back but didn’t look at the phone. Instead, I gazed “lovingly” at Holden, whose warm eyes were still blazing into me, his lips a little puffy now. He looked down for a second, and I sensed some regret.
Nope. Nuh-uh. He’d started this. I was going to make sure he saw it through.
“Hey,baby,” I said with a smile, probing his eyes. “How was your day?”
