“That’s not... necessarily... the wrong idea.” I take another step and raise my hand to his cheek. At my touch, his breath catches, his eyes flutter shut briefly.
“It’s not?” he asks, wrapping his hand around my waist and pulling me to him. I revel in his closeness.
“I think,” I breathe out. “It’s a really good idea.”
“Well then... ” He tips my chin up. “Lettie?” He looks at me. I’m stunned by the affection in his eyes.
“I wanted to hate you,” I whisper. “But . . . I don’t . . . not at all.”
“I can work with that.” His lips quirk into a smile. And then his mouth takes mine. There’s nothing tentative about this kiss; it’s deliberate and demanding. Liam Darcy is kissing me, and I am kissing him. And I never want to stop. He moves one hand to my hair, and the other splays on my back. My hand rests on his cheek, which is delightfully stubbly. We begin the kiss frantic but soon slow down, savoring each other. He plants small kisses along my jawline and down my neck, nibbling my bare shoulders as I let out happy sighs. This is glorious, this is bliss, this is...
“Ahem!” A loud throat clearing jolts me back to reality. Colin Funkhauser stands a few paces off, holding two champagne flutes and raging with righteous indignation.
“Lettie Benson! How dare you!”
Heaven Forbid! That would be the greatest misfortune of all! To find a man agreeable whom one is determined to hate.
—Pride & Prejudice
13
“I kissed him!” I squeal as I close our apartment door.
“You kissed Colin?” Char asks, absolutely horrified.
“No—though he certainly tried ... then Liam kissed me and ... ” I swoon onto our couch. “I’m in so much trouble.”
“What happened? Tell me everything!” Char sits down beside me.
I close my eyes and, for a moment, relive the splendor of those few minutes in the orchard “I don’t know how it happened,” I sigh. I’m not sure what came over me. I don’t know how to explain this to Char when I don’t completely understand it myself. To kiss Darcy while I was on date with Colin! I’m shocked by my own behavior. “He helped me get rid of Colin and then I don’t know... ” I absolutely instigated that kiss. I wanted it more than anything. “Is it bad that I wanted to kiss him just once before I leave?”
“You’re still leaving?” Char sounds surprised.
I nod sadly. “One kiss can’t change my plans.”
“Poor Darcy,” says Char.
“He’ll be fine. Noah says he’s a player.” I’m not sure how much I believe this. I recall Liam’s expression right before he kissed me. It was so achingly tender. I’m certain I’ll remember it all my life.
“Did you tell him about Iowa at least?”
“No, Colin interrupted us and made a big scene. After that it was total chaos. Colin left in a huff. Liam offered to take me home. But I had Priscilla drive me. I felt bad enough that he kissed me when technically Caroline was his date.”
“Oh, I forgot about Caroline. Damn! Kissing someone else’s date. Who’s the player now?”
“It’s not quite as bad as it sounds.” I groan. “They’d already talked things over, before he kissed me.”
“Oh, so this was a premeditated kiss?”
“It felt very spur of the moment. But it would be dishonest to say that the two of us weren’t circling each other the entire evening.” I flop back on the couch. “I kissed him even though I vowed to hate him forever.”
“Do you regret it?” asks Char. I take a minute to answer. Maybe I should regret kissing Liam but I don’t. I will relish the memory of that kiss until I am an old woman. But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to date him. I definitely don’t hate him anymore. But how much do I dare like him? I’m wary of Liam. Scared he’ll break my heart. “I’m taking your non-answer as a no,” clucks Char.
“Yes,” I blurt out. “I mean, no. I don’t regret the kiss. I just don’t know what to do about it.”
My phone buzzes. It’s Liam—judging from my sudden rush of dopamine, I like him—a lot.
“Is that a text from him?” asks Char. I nod. “What does it say?”
