“Yes! Okay? I was jealous of Emery because youjust asked to date me,and all of sudden you showed up to my huge event with another woman? I assumed you’d be my right-hand man the whole night and yet you showed up with a beautiful woman. You gave her your jacket, and she made you laugh.” I pulled at my hair, my eyes prickling from the exhaustion and event-hangover. My body always shut down after stressful events. “I never said no to your question, by the way. I said I can’t. I didn’t say no or yes.”
“So you’re saying that I should’ve understood yourI can’tas you haven’t answered me yet? And that you expect me to just wait for you? Because that’s bullshit, Jordan. I’m listening toyour words. You say you can’t date me yet gave me the cold shoulder the entire night because you saw me with Emery.”
“Why did you bring her?” There. I asked the question. If I was going down, I wanted the pain.
Preston smiled. He wasn’t happy, per se, but he grinned as he barked out a laugh. “That’s the thing, I didn’t. Price brought her for me to help me get overyou.”
“Wait. What?”
“Price encouraged me to ask you out, give us a chance. He saw how I felt about you, so I tried. You turned me down. You said you wanted guys to have dates to make it look more crowded, so Price thought he was doing both you and me a favor. I didn’t invite Emery. I don’t like her that way. But she was put in the middle of something and felt awkward, so I made sure to be a polite, decent guy. So, it’s interesting that you’re so upset about her when I didn’t bring her. I had no plans to bring a date because despite all your shit, I still want to date you.”
“All my shit?” I whispered, my nerves twisting.
“Yes. You’re a mess. Have a shit ton of baggage. But you’repassionate and amazing and so smart and fun. You’re a caretaker and messy, but you’re theonly fuckingperson I want to be around. I search for you in every room I’m in, and when I’m not with you, I want to be.” He gulped, and his chest heaved. “You’re petty as fuck and refuse to see the truth and are so goddamn stubborn it makes my eyes twitch.”
He paced, like he had the same uncontrollable adrenaline bursting through his veins like I did. When I gasped, he whipped his head toward me, eyes blazing.
“I know you. I want you. I can’t possibly be more explicit. Now, no word games. No hidden meanings. Just the goddamn fucking truth. Do you want to try this?” His voice was low, gravely, and intense.
This was it. The moment. Whatever I said would shift the entire trajectory of our relationship.
Before my mind could even catch up with my worries, I nodded.
His jaw flexed, and he closed the distance between us, gently tilting my chin up with his thumb. My skin flushed from his touch. “No, I need your words. Tell me.”
“Y-yes,” I whispered, my body feeling like I was falling through the ice. Like admitting the truth would cause the ice to break beneath me. My throat closed up, but my heart practically hummed.Yes, this is him.“I want to…try.”
“That’s a good answer, Jordan.” Preston cupped my face, his eyes dancing with nothing but elation. “Now I’m gonna kiss your sassy mouth.”
That was the only warning I got before he dipped his head and brushed his lips against mine. It was an explosion everywhere, all at the same time. The cool, damp air from the rink coated my face and skin, the smell of coldness mixing with Preston’s musky cologne. Air trapped in my lungs as he kissed me soft, then hard, like he couldn’t get enough of me. A throatygroan left him as his hand pressed against my lower back, and he gripped my dress as he slid his tongue against mine. I ran my fingers through his hair, arching into him to be closer. I wanted more. Needed more. The kiss brought me life and soothed every worry or concern I had.
I was lighting up. My DNA rearranged itself to fit him, and I knew, deep in my gut, this moment changedeverything.
This was so different than what we’d done in the hotel. This was explosive.
My skin tingled from head to toe. My heart rammed against my ribs, each beat harder than the last. My vision danced with spots as my knees gave out. “What the?—”
“Jordan, whoa.” Preston caught me, his worried gaze searching mine. “Are you alright? What was that?”
“I think my knees gave out.”
He smirked, like he was proud of himself. “Don’t want that happening. Now, can you stand?”
I put weight on my legs again, my nipples tightening with want against the fabric of my dress. My body was overheated. Stimulated. Overwhelmed. “Yeah, I can stand. Uh, let’s go home right now. We should, uh, change.” I ran a hand over my face, trying to pull myself together.
It was a damn kiss. I shouldn’t be acting like a fangirl over Preston Charming. He was hot and kind and perfect but not… I shook my head, stepping back to put some distance between us. There was a reason I rarely kissed like that—it was personal. It made things more intense.
Yet Preston just chuckled and grabbed my hand in his. “Already pulling away from me?”
“What? No. No way. Uh huh.” I blushed, my stomach bottoming out. How did he know? Was I that obvious?
“Jordan,” he said my name softly, not doing anything but staring at the back of my hand. “I just kissed you so well that youalmost fell. I legit made your knees weak. There is no escaping me after that, so you can try, but I’m gonna keep coming for you.”
Fuck.
That was reassuring and hot.
“Hey, you two need help down there?”
