Heat and hunger shot through me. Without thinking, I met his tongue with mine.
A groan sounded, like an echo of my own aching response to the taste of him. Oh my baby Jesus, that groan was from him. The hand on my neck tightened. God, my body. Burning. His mouth. Strawberries. Chocolate. Silk and heaven. Oh God, oh God. This was, this was … Joseph was kissing me.
Joseph was still kissing me.
Joseph was freaking kissing me?
I ripped my mouth away from him. My fingers went to my lips.
His blue eyes blinked open as if a fog suddenly cleared, and he sat back abruptly. He looked as shocked as I felt.
“Fuck,” he muttered and scrubbed a hand down his face. Then we both jumped as a fist pounded on his window.
Who the …? Wait. I blinked. There was a girl standing outside the truck. “Is that …?”
“Courtney? Yeah.”
“From Butler Cove High? Your ex from senior year? I thought she moved.”
“She did. To stalk me at college.” He sighed.
“Are you kidding me right now? Your stalker is the chick you went out with in high school? She followed you to college?” I snorted a giggle.
If Joey wasn’t annoying enough in his senior year, he had to go and start dating the most vapid girl there ever was. Okay, now I was just being bitchy. She was super nice. Like really, really ridiculously sweet. Like a meringue. All air and no substance. Gah. Bitch again. What was wrong with me? I don’t care. I don’t care.
“We dated for, like, two seconds,” he said, his voice grim.
Courtney banged on the window again and glared at me. She’d had brown hair in high school. Now it was blonde. And wavy. Not altogether unlike mine. Huh.
“Is she stable?” I asked.
“She’s stalked me to college and back and is now banging on the window after watching me kiss you. What do you think?”
I swallowed, wincing. “Uh, no.” And about that kiss I wanted to add but swallowed that thought. There were more pressing matters. “Is she going to attack me? She looks a little pissed.”
“Oh shit,” Joey said, exhaling roughly and grabbing the back of his neck. “That scenario didn’t occur to me when I asked you for help.”
“And you’re supposedly the smart one out of the both of us.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay.” He breathed out. “Let’s do this.”
“You so freaking owe me,” I muttered. There were favors and there were favors.
Opening the door gently so he didn’t hit the poor girl, he eased out of the truck.
“Joey?” Courtney asked, her chin wobbling. Her eyes darted frantically back and forth between Joey and me. “Are you cheating on me?”
Oh Christ on a broomstick.
I pursed my lips and got out on my side.
I LEFT JOEY and Courtney to talk through their issues in the driveway and hobbled up the steps to find Keri Ann. As I entered, I remembered Keri Ann was doing a shift at the Grill this afternoon. Nana was sitting in her favorite chair by the fireplace. “Hey, Nana,” I greeted.
She started. “Oh goodness,” she said clutching her chest.
I hurried over. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Oh, it’s okay, dear. I must have nodded off.” She looked around her as if coming back from somewhere far away and pulling her shawl tighter. “It’s so cold down here. Look at you all bare legs. You’ll catch your death.”
I smiled and perched on the ottoman by her chair. “I’m fine Nana. It’s, like, eighty degrees out there. Can I get you anything?”
“You’re a dear girl. I’m fine. I need to think about getting dinner started. Are you staying?”
I thought how Joey and I had almost grabbed dinner and felt bad. I hadn’t heard back from Chase. Sitting across from Joey after what had just happened outside was too much. I needed some space. “I should probably go spend some time with my mom.”
“Oh, she called yesterday to tell me Dr. Barrett could see me sooner. Did you have something to do with that?”
I pursed my lips. “I may have mentioned something to her. What’s the good of working for a cardiologist if you don’t get some perks,” I quipped, then my mind slipped to the kind of perks my mom could end up getting, and I winced.
Luckily Nana didn’t notice. She patted my hand. “Well, thank you. Maybe Keri Ann and Joey will stop fussing at me so much.”
The front door swung open. “Hey,” said Keri Ann. “Do my eyes deceive me or is that Courtney out there?”
“Your eyes do not deceive you, and it seems she’s the reason for the favor he asked.”
“What favor?” Nana asked.
Keri Ann kicked the door closed and hung her messenger bag up on the hat stand. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. How was work?” I asked.
“What favor?” Nana asked again.
I sighed. “Joey asked me if I’d pretend to be his girlfriend on a couple of occasions this summer.”
Nana’s eyes narrowed. “Indeed? And what does that entail exactly?”