So whoever he was, he was cruel enough that she's still affected by it almost two decades later.
Words matter, people.One cutting remark can stick in someone's soul for the rest of their lives.
For some reason, my words only make Morgan's shoulders shake.When I open my mouth, she puts her palm over my face without looking at me.It's funny, and I know she meant it that way, but my laugh is a conflicted snort.
She does a few rounds of deep breathing before pushing away from the sink and shaking out her long, loose black hair."Noah…"
I'm drawn to her.Pulled closer by an irresistible, magnetic force.My gut is fluttering.Somehow, without intentionally moving, I find myself between her and the sink, facing her.Our thighs brush, and her eyes find mine.Which is when I realize I've never noted the exact shade of her eyes—a green somewhere between emerald and forest.
"Noah," she murmurs."What are we doing?"
I shake my head."No clue."
"I'm not sure I'm ready for—"
"Neither'm I," I say, before she can finish.
Her lashes are thick and dark against her skin as they sweep closed, staying that way for a moment before opening again and meeting mine.Her lips are natural, no lip gloss, no lipstick.No makeup at all, actually.But my eyes are fixed on her lips.The plump Cupid's Bow, the indent of her philtrum, the slight sheen that's left when the pink tip of her tongue slides across her lips.They look soft and wet.Inviting.
Our mouths meet, and a soft exhale escapes her; it’s almost a whimper.
A searing bolt of electricity sizzles through me, ramping my pulse to a frenzy, making my stomach flip and flutter.
Time halts for an instant, a freeze-frame of locked lips and pounding hearts and shaking hands.A first kiss, emblazoned on my soul.
And then the grinding rattle of the garage door opening breaks the moment.
Morgan rips herself away from me, staggering back a few steps with her fingers touching her lips."Noah—"
"Mom?"
I lean over, snag the hand towel off the oven handle, and start drying a bowl, facing the counter to hide the evidence that I’m not exactly unaffected.
I catch a grateful look from Morgan before she scrubs her face and rearranges her features into Surprised Mom mode."In the kitchen, baby."
Wet boot-rubber squeaks on laminate; athud-thudof boots being kicked this way and that; a coat rustling."I saw Cherry on the side of the road, but you weren't in it, and—“Mallory enters the kitchen from the mudroom and halts when she sees me at the counter."Oh.I see."A grin spreads across her face."Well.This is cozy."
