“I thought we were friends,” he said. “The fries, Siobhan. The unmatched popcorn chicken. I introduced you to them and then you go and rule against me?”
She started to laugh before stifling the sound with her hand. It was quiet in this part of the campground. And dark. And about as private as they could get outside with most of his relatives around them.
But he wasn’t thinking about that. Not at all.
“You tried to charm me,” she said, and maybe it was his imagination, but did she move closer to him? To be able to keep her voice low, he told himself. “The smile. The eyes. I saw what you were doing.”
“In my defense, it usually works.”
“I bet it does. But apparently you forgot that, whether it’s cold leftover pizza for breakfast or sticking things in electrical outlets to see what will happen, I say no to pretty blue eyes and cheeky smiles on a regular basis.”
And there it was—a reminder of the thread already connecting them. Even though there was no official confirmation yet, on some level they’d both accepted they shared a child. And he didn’t need any kind of official documentation to know that any kind of intimacy between him and Siobhan should be avoided at any cost. His best move was to go back to his original plan for dealing with her—ignoring her presence entirely.
But the version of him that had come up with that planwas gone and he’d never be that guy again. There might be some question as to whether he was a father now, but there was no question about the fact that this version of him knew Siobhan was sweet and funny and sexy. Now he knew that her laughter immediately lifted his mood, even from a distance.
And he knew that magic was the reflection of fairy lights dancing in her hazel eyes.
“Just remember, when it comes to losing, a Kowalski can really hold a grudge,” he said, injecting a lightness he didn’t feel into his tone.
“Oh, I saw the look you gave me when I lost you the point,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “It promised payback.”
The way he remembered it, alotof looks had passed between them during that volleyball game, and most of them hadn’t been promising retribution. Every time their eyes met, he felt singed by the sparks arcing between them, and he didn’t think he was imagining it.
Then Siobhan rested her hand on his forearm and instantly it felt as if the blood in his veins had been replaced with lava.
“Promise me that payback won’t come in the pool, though,” she said earnestly.
Nothing could stop him from touching her, and he smoothed wisps of her hair back from her face before cupping her cheek. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
Siobhan leaned into his touch, her fingers sliding down his arm to circle his wrist. He trailed over her cheekbone as their gazes tangled and caught, neither of them looking away. Her lips parted as he closed the distance between them. She didn’t back away, and as she tipped her head back, her anticipation-quickened breaths matched his.
Finallywhispered through his mind as he lowered his mouth to hers.
He slid his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck as she released his wrist. For a second he thought she was pulling away, but then he felt her hands on his back and groaned against her lips.
Brian lost himself in the kiss, everything fading away as his tongue danced over hers. Siobhan’s hunger matched his own, and he kissed her harder and deeper as her fingernails bit through his T-shirt.
The jingling brought him back to reality. He broke off the kiss, backing away from her as the sound of Stella’s metal tags bouncing off each other grew closer.Please don’t let anybody be with her, he thought as he looked into Siobhan’s eyes and saw his awareness of what they’d just done reflected back at him.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—” Stella reached them, thankfully alone, and bending down to greet her with a good back scratch gave Brian an excuse to have somewhere else to look besides Siobhan’s eyes. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too. That was…” She didn’t say what it was, instead letting the words fade away. “I should go get Oliver and wrangle him into bed.”
Now that he’d had a minute, Brian forced himself to straighten and look her in the eye. “Do you want me to carry him for you?”
He watched her consider it, knowing she’d probably rather see the last of him for the night. But Oliver was heavy and the walk from Steph’s cabin would be even longer than from the playground.
“I’d appreciate it. Thank you.”
They walked in silence to Steph’s cabin. She openedthe door before they could even knock and put a finger to her lips before waving them in. Kyle was as deeply asleep as Oliver, and neither of them stirred when Brian scooped the little boy into his arms and lifted him.
Stella walked with them until they got to Siobhan’s camper, and then she ran off to find somebody more interesting to hang out with. Once he’d navigated the steps, he laid Oliver down on the edge of the bed.
“Thank you,” Siobhan said quietly, not meeting his eyes.
“No problem. Good night, Siobhan.”
He left without trying to say anything more. He wasn’t even sure what hecouldsay. Kissing her had been a mistake. He knew it. She knew it. The only thing he could do was promise he wouldn’t do it again.
