Page 67 of Checking It Twice
“Clare—”
But she’s already moving, tilting her head down, and our lips meet in a kiss that’s nothing like last night’s desperate heat. This is soft, tentative, and sweet in a way that makes my chest ache.
When she pulls back, her cheeks are flushed with more than cold, and vulnerability flickers in her expression, stirring the urge to protect her from everything—even me.
“Sorry,” she says quickly. “I don’t know why I—”
“Don’t apologize.” I sit up, bringing her with me, my hands still spanning her waist. “Never apologize for that.”
“It’s just... this is complicated.”
“Yeah. It is.”
But complicated doesn’t begin to cover what’s happening between us. The way she fits against me as if she were made forit. How natural it feels to have her in my space, trusting me with her balance, her vulnerability, and her mouth.
“We should get back to skating,” she says, but she doesn’t move away.
“Probably.”
“Your family’s watching.”
I glance toward the house and see at least three faces pressed against the kitchen window. “Definitely watching.”
“What do you think they’re thinking?”
“That their son’s finally happy again.”
The words slip out before I can stop them, loaded with more honesty than this fake relationship can probably handle. But looking at her in the winter sunlight, snow caught in her dark hair and trust in her eyes, I realize I don’t care.
“Mitch,” she starts, but I’m already standing, pulling her up with me.
“Come on,” I say, skating backward again while she holds my hands. “Let’s try this again. And this time, don’t think so much.”
“That seems to be a theme with you.”
“What does?”
“Telling me to stop thinking.”
I grin, picking up speed and pulling her along with me. “Maybe because you’re gorgeous when you’re not overthinking everything.”
She stumbles at that, nearly taking us both down again, but I steady her before she can fall.
“Careful with the compliments,” she warns, but she’s smiling. “I’m already unsteady enough.”
“Good,” I say, spinning us in a slow circle. “I like you unsteady.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s when you let me catch you.”
And as we glide across the frozen pond, her laughter echoing in the cold air while my family watches from the windows, I realize I haven’t had this much fun in years.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Hide and Seek
Clare
