Page 52 of Nutmeg + Mistletoe
She starts playing with the hem of those shorts I love. “Shame it didn’t end with a kiss, huh?”
“Biggestregretof my life.”
She steps closer, slowly closing the space between us. My pulse kicks up like it’s trying to outrun my good intentions.
“So,” she whispers, just inches away now, tilting her head to meet my eyes. “Maybe we say goodbye. This time the right way.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” I murmur.
Her hand rises, delicate fingers tracing the edge of my jaw, her palm warm against my skin. The second she touches me, the restraint I’ve been clinging to snaps like a frayed wire.
I dive in, capturing her mouth with mine—hungry, desperate, but reverent. I need to memorize her taste because I’m painfully aware our first kiss is also our last.
Her lips part softly beneath mine. She melts into me, hands fisting in my shirt, and for a moment, the world disappears. It’s not rushed. It’s not frantic. It’s heartbreak disguised as passion—two people clinging to something they’re both terrified to lose, even as they know they have to let it go.
For a second, I let my hands roam, unable to stop myself. I slide them down, cupping her behind, pulling her even closer.She’s exquisite. Petite, soft and full in all the places that make my self-control fracture.
She moans into my mouth, and my erection pulses painfully as her fingers slide into my hair, tugging just enough to make me lose what little sanity I’ve been clinging to.
I kiss her like I’m trying to hold time still. Like if I kiss her deep enough, long enough, maybe we don’t have to let go. Maybe goodbye doesn’t have to come.
But it does.
When I finally pull back, breathless and desperate to stay, even as I know I can’t, my forehead rests against hers.
“I’ve dreamed about doing that since you first sat next to me at that bar, Eslin Saunders.”
Her breath hitches, voice low and shaky. “How dare you fucking kiss me like that, Mister? I was just starting to convince myself I could get over you.”
She tries to make it sound light, but I can hear the weight under her words. Feel it in the way her hands won’t let go just yet.
“I know the feeling,” I whisper back.
Neither of us says anything else. We don’t have to. The goodbye is already thick between us, sitting heavy in the air like a storm we’re both too heartbroken to outrun.
“I left the team doctor’s number there on the coffee table.”
She looks back and smiles. “I didn’t even notice. Thank you.”
I bend down and press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad you’re ok, Coach Saunders.”
And then, with one last look, I turn and walk away—feeling like I’ve just left a piece of my soul behind.
And damn…can she kiss.
Chapter fifteen
Salt & Pepper with a Side of Sexy Lips
Eslin
Ineed to talk to someone.
Someone who won’t judge me. Someone who can handle the full, chaotic download of my hot mess life without blinking. Max is buried in back-to-back meetings, and unfortunately, it’s too early to head to the local bar and drown my feelings in tequila. So I head to the next best place.
“Happy Holidays! Welcome toHollyDates!”
I roll my eyes as I walk in. “It’s not even Halloween yet, Holly.”
