“Yeah.”
Neither of us moved. Holden's jaw was tight, his breath visible in the cold. The streetlight caught his cheekbones, the dark of his hair, and I thought about how he'd looked in the park that first day. The certainty of him, the way he'd bent down like he knew exactly what he was doing.
I went up on my toes.
Holden met me halfway, one hand coming up to cup the back of my head, his fingers threading through my hair. The kiss was soft at first, careful, almost questioning.
Then I grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him closer, and it stopped being careful.
His mouth was warm against the cold. His other hand found my waist, steadying me, and I leaned into him. The height difference should have been awkward. It wasn't. He bent to me like it was easy, like he'd been waiting.
I forgot, for a moment, that this was supposed to be for show. Forgot that anyone might be watching. There was just his mouth and mine, his hand in my hair, the solid warmth of his body against the January night.
The delicious feeling of kissing a lovely man.
His hand was still in my hair when I broke the kiss.
“See you tomorrow,” I said. It came out rough.
“Tomorrow.”
I spent every second of the walk home replaying the kiss.
The way his hand had felt in my hair, how he'd pulled me close to him. The way it had started as an act and ended as something else, something that made my pulse race and my thoughts scatter.
If this was real, I'd be in serious trouble.
Good thing this wasn't real.
Chapter Four
Jamie
The park was emptier than usual for a Friday afternoon. A few kids on the swings, one mom pushing a stroller, and me standing near the bench where Landon and I always did the exchange, checking my phone for what felt like the hundredth time.
Holden had texted twenty minutes ago.Running late. Be there soon.
The black Range Rover pulled into the lot at exactly three o'clock. Landon was nothing if not punctual.
He got out first, all Canada Goose and perfect hair, every strand in place like he'd just left a salon. Then he opened the back to let the girls jump down. They spotted me before their paws hit the pavement, Marceline already straining toward me, Bubblegum close behind. My chest cracked open the way italways did when I saw them after a week apart, the ache of missing them finally releasing.
“Hey, babies.” I dropped to my knees on the frozen ground, not caring about my jeans, and let them crash into me. Marceline's whole body wiggled with the force of her excitement, her red puffer vest bunching up around her neck. Landon had called those vests ridiculous when I bought them, but he’d put them on the girls anyway. Bubblegum pressed her nose against my neck and made that little huffing sound that meant she'd missed me, her smaller body warm against my chest. “I know. I missed you too.”
“They had a good week.” Landon walked over, leashes dangling from his hand. He looked good, rested, almost relaxed. Cashmere scarf, leather gloves, the kind of put-together that used to make me feel like I'd won something. Now it just looked like effort. “Bubblegum finally figured out the dog door.”
“About time.” I rubbed her head and stood, brushing dirt off my knees, and then took the leashes.
“So.” Landon crossed his arms, that familiar half-smile playing at his mouth. “I have some news. I'm going out of town next weekend for a few days.” His smile widened, just enough to show teeth. “Blake and I are doing Cabo. Leaving February twelfth, back on the seventeenth.”
Blake. The new boyfriend. I'd heard the name exactly twice, once from Brandy, who'd heard it from someone at the resort, and once from Landon during a dog exchange when he'd dropped it like a grenade and waited for the shrapnel.
Sunny Mexico for Valentine’s Day while I froze my ass off in Colorado. “That's nice.” My voice came out flatter than I'd intended. Not jealous. I didn't feel jealous. I felt something else I couldn't quite name. Relief, maybe. “So I'll have the girls through the seventeenth?”
“If that works for you.” He was watching my face, waiting for something. The jealousy, maybe. The visible evidence that his new relationship hurt me.
But all I was thinking about was having extra time with my baby girls. “No problem at all.” I kept my voice light. “Enjoy your trip.”
Movement at the edge of the park caught my eye. Holden, walking toward us with that particular stride of his, long legs covering ground fast, hands shoved in his jacket pockets. His hair was slightly windblown and his cheeks were ruddy from the cold. He'd texted that he was running late, but here he was. During the busiest season of his year.
