Tiana nodded. “It was a good call. It probably was better.”
Karina turned to Niko and swatted him playfully in the chest. “I didn’t expect Hot Lips Houlihan over here to play 7 Minutes in Heaven before you even walked into the shop.”
Niko wasn’t going to apologize for the best kiss of his life. If he had to do it over, he would. In fact, he wished he could do it over and over and over and over and over and over again.
“That definitely changed the tone of the reunion,” Karina said pointedly towards Niko, “but at least it’s behind you.”
Tiana inhaled slowly through her nose and exhaled through her mouth.
“Are you okay?” Karina touched Tiana’s arm.
Niko was hoping they were at the wrapping up portion of the debrief and that Karina and Zion would move along to whatever they had planned for the rest of their evening. All Niko wanted to do was get Tiana alone and make sure she was okay from seeing Brock, from Gianna, and from their kiss.
Tiana exhaled once more and nodded.
“Are you coming to book club tonight?” Karina asked hopefully.
Tiana blinked as if she’d totally forgotten there was a book club, then nodded.
“I’m going to go grab an appetizer tray from Sue Ann’s and a couple things from the grocery store, I’d love some company,” Karina invited her.
“Okay, yeah, sure.”
Niko’s heart dropped. It seemed dinner tonight was not going to happen.
“See you guys.” Karina lifted up on her tiptoes to kiss Zion’s cheeks. He stood an impressive six-foot five, so she needed every inch her tiptoes gave her.
Niko did his best to mask the disappointment he felt that he would not be able to make sure Tiana was good, but he was glad she wasn’t going to be alone. He wasn’t convinced that if Zion and Karina had taken off, she wouldn’t have just ditched him, claiming to need time to think. This way, at least he knew she was going to be surrounded by friends for the next three to four hours.
He’d heard of the infamous Hope Falls Book Club, and it sounded to him much more like a wine social club than a discussion of literary works, which was most likely exactly what Tiana needed.
While Karina was giving her Hollywood kisses to Zion, Tiana lifted her gaze to Niko. It was the first time since their kiss that she’d looked at him directly in the eyes. The moment their eyes met, he felt a shudder run through him.
She licked her lips and grinned. “Thanks.”
“For what?” he asked, his voice a little deeper than it typically was.
A blush tinted her cheeks. “Everything.”
Shit. Had she just gotten flushed because she was thanking him for the kiss? As he watched Karina and Tiana walk arm in arm down the sidewalk, his mind was dissecting what else could have caused her cheeks to flush.
“Soooooo, this relationship isfake, huh?” Zion questioned skeptically.
Niko blinked over at him. “What?”
“Exactly.” Zion turned and whistled as he walked away.
10
This wasthe second year Tiana had volunteered at the Haven House Hot Cider booth for the winter festival. She was set up in the middle of Main Street, which was prime real estate and meant she’d had a fairly steady stream of customers. She stood under a canopy strung with mismatched strands of colored lights, their glow spitting rainbows onto the curling steam of mulled juice and ladled cider into paper cups. The night air was a combination of cold and warmth, frosted breath and rosy cheeks, a damp wind tugging at her apron ties, the furnace of bodies huddling together for Christmas carols, and the promise of sugar. She was nearly done with her allotted three-hour shift. When she wasn’t serving a customer, she’d kept herself busy wiping down the folding tables, arranging the cinnamon sticks in neat rows, slicing up oranges, and doing her very best to stay distracted. The act of making order from chaos always soothed her, and the chaos was closing in around her in her mind.
The funny thing was, the bedlam in her brain had nothing to do with Brock at all. The disorder disrupting her peace was the constant loop of Niko’s kiss the night before. She could not stop thinking about the taste of peppermint on Niko’s soft but firmlips. The sensation of his tongue exploring the recesses of her mouth. And the shock of arousal that raced down her spine and splintered out from her core when his hand wrapped around the back of her neck and his fingertips sank into her flesh, tipping her head to give him better access. The feeling of him taking charge of her in a way that was dominant but not dangerous was everything she’d ever fantasized about. It was forceful but not frightening. She’d never felt so protected and possessed, as if she was the most precious item in the world.
It was embarrassing, actually, how thoroughly she was coming undone for this man. She kept replaying the way his voice had dropped to a raspy whisper right after he kissed her, when he explained why he’d done what he’d done. How his lips had brushed the cusp of her ear and how the baritone of his voice had travelled through her body, causing her to vibrate like she was a gong, and his kiss, his voice, and his touch were the mallet that struck her. When he turned his attention on her, it was a potent experience, as if the whole world was background noise. He made her feel like a precious secret kept and a treasure worth the risk of revealing, which made no sense to her logical mind.
“Does this have alcohol?” Wilma Farmer was suddenly standing in front of her, leaning forward and sniffing in the general direction of the pot, which had the cider brewing.
“No, ma’am.”
