Warily, I eyed him. Not wanting to turn this into a debacle with my family and friends around—hell, I knew most of the people here—I nodded. “Yes.”
His attention lowered to the Chapstick and tissues on the counter, and his mouth tightened, the action barely perceptible. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been watching him.
Ooh, yeah, he was raving mad. “Jack, please—”
A tick worked his jaw as he pulled out a wad of cash from his wallet and dropped it on the counter. My eyes widened. He braced his hands on the wooden surface, leaning in far too close for comfort.
“Wh-what’s that for?” I rasped.
“You have two choices, Ray,” he countered, his voice low. “We leave now, and you fulfill your promise to spend the afternoon with me. Or I will come around there and start collecting my thousand kisses.”
Thou-thousand?My mind boggled, and I wanted to scowl. But with that handsome face so close to mine, I became distracted by his nearness, his scent. However, my mouth moved on easily without me. “You paid a lump sum, so it’s just one kiss. If you wanted a thousand kisses, you should have paid ten dollars at a time. Besides,that”—I nodded to the cash—“doesn’t even come close to ten grand.” Now, I smirked. No way would he pay that much for mere kisses.
Those silver-gray eyes narrowed. Straightening, he picked up the money and put it back in his wallet. “Mrs. Watts,” he hollered, his gaze skimming the crowd. Aw, crap, he remembered the organizer’s name.
Mrs. Watts’ head snapped toward us from where she stood a short distance away, speaking to her assistant, then she marched toward us.
“Jack, stop this right now,” I hissed.
“You would deprive the charity of ten grand?”
Damn him for saying things like that. Mrs. Watts closed in on us a moment later, concern etching her lined face. “Ray?”
“Mrs. Watts?” the pain in my neck said, “are there any monetary limits to kisses?”
“In this booth, as long as it’s paid for, there isn’t any.” Mrs. Watts’ gaze shifted between Jack and me, curiosity vivid in her bright eyes. I wanted to groan. At least she hadn’t pieced together who he really was.
Good.” An easy smile tipped up Jack’s mouth, and Mrs. Watts’ stern expression morphed—heck, she beamed, totally taken in by his charm—sheesh!
“Do you have a card machine?” he asked, throwing me for a loop.
Noooo. He seriously wasn’t going to do this, was he?
Jack lifted an eyebrow as if daring me to say something. Damn him. Worse, the queue that had lined up on my side was staring at us with avid interest.
“Indeed, we do. But kisses are only ten dollars,” she told him.
“Not this one,” he muttered under his breath, then he smiled at Mrs. Watts and said out loud, “I know, but according to Ray, I don’t have enough cash.”
Grrr, he was baiting me.
Her brow wrinkling, Mrs. Watts nodded. “All right. Every penny counts.”
Penny?I nearly choked. Jack said nothing.
She spoke to her assistant tagging along with her, then the girl hurried off.
“You can’t do this!”
He merely stared at me. There wasn’t even a hint of humor in his gaze. “Then you know what to do.”
“That-that’s blackmail.”
“How?” he drawled. “You’re selling a service for charity—which is great. I want to help.”
“Jack, I’m not the only one working the kissing booth! We take turns.”
“Good. Then your time for today is bought. And paid for.”
