That was it. That was all that left him,andthat was enough to make the heat climb up my throat. I guess I shouldn’t have bothered with blush. Hindsight was, as they said, 20–20.
I reached for my bag on the counter; he didn't move from the doorway, which meant I had to pass close enough to catch that cedar-vanilla scent of him. But he closed the door before I could squeeze past him and stepped inside the apartment, pushing me back in with his mere presence.
“Is that lipstick smudge-proof?”
I froze, bag clutched in my fingers. “What?”
“Your lipstick,” he repeated, his voice lower this time. “Is it smudge-proof?”
The question hung between us like summer lightning — dangerous, electric. My apartment suddenly felt too small, the air too thick.
“I don't think so,” I managed. “It's just regular—”
His hand came up, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth in a gesture so light I might have imagined it if not for the heat it left behind. “Shame.”
I swallowed hard. “We should go. Aren't we already late?”
“Fashionably,” Judah said, but didn't move. His hand was still lingering by the corner of my mouth. Then he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek — so gently I hardly felt it. And then gentler still, moving toward my mouth.
His arm went around my back, and he steadied me against him. “Be still. I don’t want to ruin your makeup.”
I held my breath, frozen between his touch and the warning. The kiss never quite landed on my lips — instead, his mouth hovered a whisper away, our breaths mingling in the narrow space between us. Time stretched like molasses in July.
“Judah,” I whispered, the word escaping before I could catch it.
“Where can I kiss you?”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “What do you mean?”
“Where can I kiss you that won't leave evidence?” His voice was soft as a confessional, but there was nothing holy about the way his fingers traced the line of my collarbone.
I knew what he was asking. The careful dance of appearances. The fish fry was not just a fry — not in the South. Everything had to be immaculate.
“My wrist,” I finally said, extending my arm between us, offering the pale underside where blue veins mapped their delicate course.
His eyes darkened as he took my hand in his. When his lips pressed against my pulse point, I felt it everywhere — a currentrunning from that single point of contact straight to my core. I pressed my knees together and pretended I didn’t.
“We really should go,” I whispered, though I made no move to pull away.
“Yes,” Judah agreed, but his mouth moved higher, placing another kiss at the inside of my elbow. “We should.” At this point, his lips were at my shoulder. “And you shouldn’t have worn this dress. Two things can be true at once,” he said, his words vibrating up my neck. He lifted me up from the ground in one smooth motion and pressed against the wall.
It wasn’t even anything special — the dress. Just a white, floral summer dress.
My breath caught as my back met the cool surface. His body was firm against mine, one hand cradling the back of my head to protect it from the impact. I could feel the ridges of his tattoos against my bare skin where his forearms supported me.
“The fish fry,” I managed to say, but it came out breathless, unconvincing.
“You’re beautiful,” he said.
The words struck me like a physical blow. Not because they were unexpected, but because of how he said them — like a fact he'd been carrying around, a truth he'd been waiting to confess.
“Judah, we can't—” I started, but the protest died on my lips as his mouth brushed the hollow of my throat. My head fell back against his hand, exposing more of my neck to him.
“Can't what?” he murmured against my skin. “Can't be late? Or can't do this?” His teeth grazed my collarbone, and I bit back a sound that would have betrayed just how much I wanted this.
“Both,” I whispered, even as my fingers curled into the crisp linen of his shirt. “Everyone will be waiting.You’rethe pastor…”
He let out a heavy sigh against my neck and let me down slowly, making sure I found my footing before he released me. “If anyone looks at you wrong today, Iwillget into trouble.”
