“Thank you.”
“You’re not mad?” he asked.
“No, I’m not mad. And I sure don’t think he’s going to bother me again.”
“He better not.”
My lips still tingled, and I inadvertently rubbed them together. Theo’s eyes flicked to my mouth, and I caught a glimpse of his tongue darting across his bottom lip.
I glanced away. The kiss had been fake. He’d only been pretending to be my boyfriend to make a point. The fact that I could still feel his mouth on mine wasn’t because it was the best kiss I’d ever had. It was just because he’d surprised me. I hadn’t been expecting it.
Okay, that was a huge lie. It was the best kiss I’d ever had.
And suddenly, it was killing me to know that I’d never get another one.
CHAPTER 21
Theo
I shouldn’t have donethat.
The thought kept running through my mind as I looked at Penelope sitting across from me. I shouldn’t have kissed her.
I could have accomplished the same thing without the kiss. All I’d needed to do was touch her shoulder and tell Sean he was in my seat. That would have been enough to get the message across.
But no. I’d leaned down, and a second later, I was kissing her.
I could still feel her lips. Still taste her. And I was hard as steel thinking about what it would be like to taste more of her. To devour that mouth, and the rest of her along with it.
Fuck.
At least she wasn’t mad at me for interfering.
She hadn’t touched the drink Sean had bought her, which was weirdly gratifying. I wanted to get rid of the last remnants of him, so I grabbed his empty bottle and reached for hers.
“Do you want that, or…?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m not going to drink it.”
“Good.” I stood and picked up her cider. Maybe staying for a drink—on me, not the douchebag—would be a good idea. Ididn’t trust myself to be alone with her yet. “I was thinking about getting a drink. Do you want something?”
“Sure, that sounds nice.”
“One of these?” I lifted the cider.
Wrinkling her nose, she adjusted her glasses. “I think he ruined that flavor for me. Maybe just a regular cider.”
“On it.”
I took the bottles to the bar and waited while Rocco served another customer. Penelope seemed restless. She kept messing with her hair and glasses.
“Be right with you, Theo,” Rocco said.
Glancing at him, I tipped my chin, and he disappeared into the back.
When I looked at Penelope again, she was touching her lips with her fingertips. Inadvertently, my tongue darted out and I licked my lips, remembering the way she’d felt. The way her mouth had tasted.
Our eyes met and we both froze. Looking away, she dropped her hand into her lap. I pressed my lips together, as if I could pretend I hadn’t been thinking about how it had felt to kiss her.
