Page 52 of Heartsmashed
It would be so easy to kiss him now. He was staring down at me like he was thinking the same thing, but that couldn’t be right.
This wasn’t supposed to feel this real.
So I did what I always did when I wanted to defuse the tension.
“You know, this song is highly manipulative.”
His mouth curved. “How so?”
“I mean, how can you resist someone telling you their whole life revolves around you? What are you gonna do? Tell them that’s nice, but no thanks? It’s a lot.”
“Yeah,” he said. “It is.”
I waited for him to make a joke, to lighten the mood and give me an out.
Instead, he pulled me in even closer, the heat of his body wrapping around me. “Or maybe the other person feels the same way.”
My stomach flipped at the intensity in his gaze. I started to look away, but then he said my name and I found myself under his spell again.
“Don’t get back in your head,” he said softly.
“Well, that’s kind of my thing.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.” The hand he had on my waist slid down to my lower back, grounding me without words.
I swallowed. “About earlier…”
“I know,” he said again.
That stopped me. “You do?”
“I do. You’re trying to figure out if that meant something, or if it was just part of what this is supposed to be.”
I stared at him, wondering how he knew to say exactly what was on my mind.
“I… Yeah,” I admitted, scared to hear his answer.
He brought our joined hands between us, his gaze never leaving mine as he said, “It wasn’t.”
My breath caught.
“I didn’t do that because I had to or because you wanted me to.”
We both stopped moving, completely engrossed in each other.
“I did it becauseIwanted to. And I’m still here for the same reason.”
Oh God.If he hadn’t been holding on to me, I might’ve fallen over, because my knees went seriously weak.
My gaze dropped to his mouth, then flew back up, the space between us feeling suddenly not close enough at all.
Before I could lean in to do what felt right in the moment, Beckett was already there, his hand moving to the back of my neck, pulling me toward him.
Our mouths met, right there in the middle of a crowded room where my family was probably watching, but none of that was on my mind. Not as Beckett angled his head and his tongue teased mine. His lips were soft, but he kissed me without hesitation, without holding anything back. We’d crossed the line once, but this time we were choosing to step over it, and that set every nerve ending in my body on fire.
