Page 37 of From Grumpy to Forever
“Yes.” Reid didn’t hesitate. “But I do think we should practice first.”
“Practice?” I echoed, my pulse kicking up a notch.
He shifted a little on the step, his knees bumping into mine.
“What kind of practice are we talking about?” My voice was softer now.
He leaned back slightly, tipping his head toward mine. “For starters…we should work on the whole happy couple thing. So, maybe a kiss.”
My breath caught. “A kiss?” I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about kissing Reid again. How could I not? He was sexy and strong and…we’d been working so closely together. And then there was the memory of our kiss at the courthouse that played on an almost constant loop in my head, especially when I was alone in my bed at the end of the day.
“We want it to look real.” His lips twitched, almost like he was trying not to smile.
“We do,” I agreed, leaning closer to him. “And practice does make perfect, after all.”
He nodded as his rough palm slid over my cheek, cupping it gently. “Really,” he said. “It’s the responsible thing to do.”
He was so close I could feel the warmth of his breath against my lips.
“It is.” My voice was little more than a sigh as our lips met.
The kiss started soft—so soft it almost undid me. My heart stuttered, an ache building in my chest.
But then it shifted. Reid angled his head, deepening the kiss with a confidence that sent a shiver down my spine. His hand slipped to the nape of my neck, his thumb brushing against the tender skin there in a way that made me melt into him.
I couldn’t stop the small sound that escaped me, just as I couldn’t stop leaning into him. My fingers curled into his shirt, holding on to him for balance—or just to ground myself somehow before I got completely lost in him.
Everything around us faded. Nothing else mattered but this man and this moment.
When he finally pulled back, I was breathless. He rested his forehead against mine and for a long moment, neither of us moved.
“That,” he said, his voice rougher now, “felt real enough to me.”
I blinked up at him. “Me too.”
The way his eyes searched mine told me that this wasn’t just practice—not for either of us.
Chapter Eighteen
Reid
I’d never given weddings much thought. Or any thought at all, to be honest. I’m a guy. Guys don’t give a shit about weddings unless they were their own. Even then, it was debatable.
But even I had to admit, Craig and Lucy’s wedding was beautiful. It felt like the entire town was in attendance for the nuptials that were held up at the ski hill and the Trickle Creek Lodge that the Carlson family owned.
Craig’s little girl, Meri, was the flower girl, pulling their baby girl, Julia, in a flower-covered wagon up the aisle to where the groom waited with his brothers, Asher and Chase, along with his best friend, Andy, as his groomsmen.
Craig’s sisters, Charli and Kat, along with Lucy’s best friend from Vancouver were Lucy’s bridesmaids, filling out the bridal party.
They all looked fantastic, but not nearly as gorgeous as my wife.
Avery wore a dress that should have come with some kind of warning label on it.
It wasn’t the pink and purple flowers printed on it that were the problem, although the color did make her eyes even brighter and complemented her hair, somehow making her look even more stunning.
It was the way the light, flowy fabric simultaneously hugged her curves and floated around her bare legs that stirred up a million different thoughts, each of them more R-rated than the last. And certainly not appropriate for a family-friendly event.
What I wanted to do was whisk my wife away and do some more practicing.
