It’d felt like nothing. A pull that didn’t matter because his fingers were on my skin, his mouth on my mouth, his breathing heavy, and his body pressing mine into the doorframe.
God.
He laughed when she said something about her baby, and it was impossible not to find him to be the most charming man on earth.
What the hell was he up to?
Colin
I listened to Sara—baby, husband, house in West O—but my mind was on the girl in my periphery. It was taking extreme self-control not to look in her direction. I’d tossed and turned all night after the kiss, plagued by guilt and also a nonstop replay of the kiss, so at five in the morning I’d finally gotten up and just went into work.
Where I spent half the day with my head in my hands, trying to stop thinking about it. I needed to have a minute alone with her to make sure we were cool, but I also didn’t want to be alone with her. What was wrong with me?
“Excuse me—waiter?” Olivia cleared her throat, and when I swung my gaze her way, she was giving me a wine-drunk smirk. “I could use a refill, as well.”
“Of course, ma’am.” My blood went instantly hot as I looked at her red lips and the lipstick print on the rim of the wineglass. Shit, shit, shit. I swallowed and poured, unable to come up with a single comment.
What were words again?
I felt her watching me, and when I looked up from her glass, to the sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks—how had I never noticed those before?—her eyebrows were knit together. Her eyes were narrowed, her head was tilted, and she was blinking fast.
She looked absolutely confused.
Same, Marshall.
Hard same.
11
Olivia
A week later was moving day. Or, to be more specific, moving evening because I’d had to wait all day for the polish on the fancy wood floor to dry. Since it was the middle of the month, they’d prorated my rent, so I had no reason to wait to move in.
I still hadn’t had a chance to thank Colin for giving me a reference, mostly because I’d been avoiding one-on-one conversation with him since the kiss. Except for the weird happy hour with Sara, he seemed totally normal since it happened, behaving the way he had since I’d moved in.
Entirely unaffected.
I did my best to act normal, as well, but the sight of him brought the memories flooding back, making me hot and bothered and struggling not to stare at his incredibly talented mouth.
I grabbed the big box I’d filled with clothes and slid it into the living room. Jack was watching TV, and Colin was nowhere to be found.
“I can’t believe that we literally only have to move one box and an air mattress.” Jack came over and carried the box to the doorway. “Best move ever.”
“Yeah, everyone should be so lucky as to have a fire burn all their belongings.” It was probably a testament to my patheticness, the fact that I still had no real stuff to move.
“Colin already went down because he wanted to measure something.”
“What the hell would he want to measure?”
“I don’t know, I think he liked your flooring planks or something like that.”
“He’s so weird.”
“Yeah.” He gave me a smile and said, “I’ll get the box if you’ve got the air mattress.”
“Cool.” We loaded them into the elevator before riding down to my floor. My floor—I was beyond excited. I very nearly ran down the hall when we exited the elevator, bouncing off walls with my rubber raft, so excited to be back in that pretty apartment.
“You’re such an idiot,” Jack laughed before attempting to race me down the hall while carrying a huge box.
The door was ajar and I pushed it open with the air mattress. “What the hell are you measur—”
“Livvie!” Dana ran at me and grabbed the air mattress. “This place is amazing!”
“Dana, what are you doing here?” After she took it from my arms, I could see that Will and the boys were there, alongside Colin. There was also a stack of pizzas and a twelve-pack of beer on the counter. “Oh, my God, are we having a party?”
Colin laughed with my brother, and my cheeks got hot.
“We got you two stools for the counter as a housewarming gift,” Dana said, grinning and pulling me toward the kitchen area, “but if you hate them, we can totally do an exchange.”
“They’re perfect.” They were tall and the exact same shade of wood as my cabinets, and they each had a big red bow on the back. “I love them.”
Brady ran over and raised his arms for me to pick him up—which I did, of course—and Kyle made a face and mouthed the word poop at me because he knew he wasn’t allowed to say it but also knew he could use it to make me laugh.