So much for one kiss. Again and again I kissed him, afraid of what would happen if I lifted my face to his. We’d be swept away. Desire would overtake us like an angry storm surge—insistent, destructive, unrelenting. We’d drown in it.
It had been waiting for us for so long.
His chest expanded at an odd pace. His hands threaded into my hair. “Miranda…”
My hand glided along his rough jaw.
When he said my name a second time, I wrenched my face away from his neck, setting my forehead against his. He tightened his grip in my hair, stopping me as I moved to close the distance.
His brow was furrowed, his eyes closed. He swallowed hard. The scrape of yearning in his voice was impossible to miss. “I have to make sure this is what you want.” I stopped, backing up as his eyes fluttered open, looking straight into mine. “You know what will happen if we kiss.”
He didn’t have to say more.
“We won’t stop.” He pushed some strands out of my face. “If we start this, I can’t promise I’ll leave it at a kiss.”
I closed my eyes, nodding against his forehead. Had to think.
Jumping here would change our arrangement forever.
Did I want that? I wanted Jack, but we had a common goal here.
And it wasn’t marriage.
It was money.
My heart withered. Died on the spot.
Why was our history so tainted? Why did everything go the way it had? I wanted to let bygones be bygones and makesweet love with this man. Throw caution to the wind. Cross my fingers and hope the second go-around would be less painful than the first.
But second chances don’t work that way.
Jack gave me everything except the only thing I ever truly asked for. The one thing I needed more than anything else.
His presence.
Until he could share his heartaches and was willing to share mine, we had no foundation.
I felt like Mary from It’s a Wonderful Life.
“Jackson Barkley Lassos the Moon.”
Maybe so, but he had no idea what to do with hearts.
Because when mine broke, he did nothing.
He watched it bleed and did nothing.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Jack
Miranda wanted to kiss me. The knowledge put pep in my step for an entire week.
All this time, I had forced myself to believe my feelings were mostly one-sided. So when Miranda found her way into my lap, I was stunned. It was a welcome curveball. Took every ounce of my strength not to push her down on the couch and kiss her senseless.
We were just shy of three weeks into our arrangement, and Miranda already tried to kiss me. Granted, after thinking about it, she chose not to. But shewantedto. Pain etched her brows and slightly puckered her bottom lip. Her visible frustration was enough for me.
Maybe this situation wasn’t as hopeless as I thought.
