She turned toward him just as he did the same. Their faces were within mere inches of each other’s. He could see the condensation from her breath. The wind had whipped through her hair, causing it to look a little unruly. He reached out and brushed some tendrils away from her forehead, just looking for a reason to touch her. His fingers lingered at the side of her face, sweeping along her cheek.
“Landon,” she whispered, leaning in with a look of longing on her face. Without overthinking it, he moved closer as she gently brushed her lips against his. Bailey placed her hands around his neck and drew him in toward her. From the moment his lips touched hers, he’d felt an electric current pass between them. Sparks were being set off. The kiss crested and soared, turning on a dime into something more sensual than tender. Landon felt an urgency that he’d never felt before, as if time was running out to make this moment happen. He parted her lips with his tongue as the kiss deepened. He could taste the sweet flavor of champagne on her lips. Landon didn’t think he had ever felt more alive in his life.
As they drew apart, Landon said her name, blown away by the kiss they’d just shared. If he was dreaming, Landon didn’t want anyone to wake him up. If there was such a thing as a perfect kiss, then this had been it.
Their gazes locked and held. Her eyes revealed nothing about what had just happened.
“So I guess that complicates things,” he said. Not that he was complaining. If he didn’t think it might make him look like a dork, Landon would jump up and down with his fist in the air.
“It doesn’t have to,” she said. “Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss.”
Ouch.He wasn’t sure he liked her assessment of their romantic moment. For him it had been like being blasted to the stratosphere.
“That’s true,” he said, instantly feeling discouraged. Clearly she wasn’t feeling what he was. He struggled with a sense of embarrassment. Maybe he shouldn’t have kissed her at all.
“So nothing needs to change,” she said, a gentle smile hovering around her lips. “I’m still all in on this.”
Landon was relieved to hear her say that. He hadn’t messed things up! At least Bailey wasn’t going to bail on their arrangement. He felt a bit deflated at the same time. Landon would have been stoked if she’d said something to affirm his own budding feelings. For the moment he would just stuff the disappointment down and carry on.
He stood up. “It’s probably time we head back to the party.” He offered her a hand and helped her to her feet. “Thanks for showing me this secret chamber.”
“Of course.” She put her finger to her lips. “Just don’t tell Hattie.”
As they headed back to the festivities, Bailey was kicking herself for being so flippant to Landon about their kiss. She had a bad habit of putting her foot in her mouth. Her reply to him had been based on wanting to protect herself. It was what she did in certain situations so she didn’t get hurt. Honestly, she wished she could take it back or rip her tongue out.
Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss.
Ugh! In this instant nothing could be further from the truth.
Kissing Landon had been a mind-blowing experience. From the moment their lips touched, she’d turned into a bowl of jelly. In the aftermath, she wasn’t sure she even knew her own name. So of course she’d made things awkward by saying something completely foolish. And untrue. What would’ve been the harm if she just been honest and said that the kiss was smoking hot?
She’d been afraid that he hadn’t felt the same way or wouldn’t feel the same way about her that she felt about him. So she had ruined a perfect moment by being stupid. She wished that she could turn the clock back.
Dammit! She was in deep, so much so that she couldn’t even handle a kiss. Granted, the kiss had been explosive, but she still shouldn’t have lost her composure because of it. Bailey had been kissing boys since she was ten years old. Lots and lots of boys and lots and lots of kisses.
But Landon was clearly aman, one who checked off all the boxes on her imaginary list. She felt squirmy on the inside, as if she wanted to jump out of her skin. Should she say something to him? Or would he think she was ridiculous for bringing it up? No, she couldn’t. Making things even more awkward was a bad move.
She let out a little groan. No, the moment had passed. She would just have to sit in her discomfort and think about it a million different ways. She could’ve handled the situation much better than she had.
“Are you okay?” Landon asked, looking over at her as they reached the main floor.
“I’m fine,” she said. The truth was that she was far from fine. If possible, she would like to sink into the floorboards and disappear. But the show must go on. There was still plenty of time to make an even bigger fool of herself.
“Hungry?” Landon asked, waving his hand around. “There’s plenty of food. Hattie ordered all her favorites to be served.”
“I could eat,” she said. More servers walked by, holding trays of crostini and crab cakes. Fried calamari and fresh vegetables. Everything looked scrumptious.
Landon helped her place some appetizers on her plate and then led her toward available seating. A few moments later a clinking sound alerted them to an impending announcement. A tall, distinguished-looking man stood by the grand staircase. He looked vaguely familiar. Then it hit her. This was Red Stone, Hattie’s son and the father of Landon, Xavier, and Caleb.
“Is that your dad?” Bailey asked. Landon followed her gaze, instantly spotting the man in question. Paul “Red” Stone was a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and an athletic build.
“It sure is,” he said with a smile. “The one and only Red Stone.” Just the sight of him put a huge smile on his face.
“You really are something,” Bailey said, amazed at his forgiving nature. Red hadn’t raised Landon or his brothers. He’d been an MIA dad, leaving their care to his ex-wife. “Most people would be angry at a parent who bailed on them.”
He frowned. “What would be the point in that?” Landon asked. “I wanted a relationship with him, so that meant being open to him, accepting his apologies, and movingforward. It hasn’t been easy, but we’re both putting in the work.”
“I didn’t mean to sound rude,” Bailey apologized. “Sometimes I have foot-in-mouth disease.” She was mortified that she’d spoken badly about his father. Because her own father had been taken from them, it gnawed at her when fathers chose not to do the right thing. It still hadn’t been her place to say it.
