"When you had that argument with the customer – the guy who lives in the neighborhood. You told me straight-up it wasyourfault, not his."
"Yeah, because it was."
"But you admitted it," I said. "Do you know how rare that is?"
"Not forme." She rolled her eyes. "And you can probably guess why."
"I can?"
"Yeah. It's because of my stupid mouth."
My gaze drifted to her lips. She had a pretty mouth, nice and full in the perfect shade of pink. With a smile, I said, "Your mouth looks fine tome."
"It's not how itlooksthat's the problem. It's the stuff that comes out of it. I swear, I need a muzzle."
"Or maybe," I teased, "you need a kiss."
Finally, her lips twitched like she might smile. "Oh, likethat'sgonna stop me."
"From what?"
"From making an ass of myself." But then, shedidsmile. "Although…that kissing idea…I guess it doesn't hurt to try."
And so I did, sealing her lips with mine – not with a kiss of passion, but a kiss of tenderness.
I held her tight and stroked her hair, liking how she burrowed against me as if wanting to get closer. It reminded me of how she'd described the kittens.Maybe she was more like them than she knew.
What she needed now was a distraction. When we pulled away, I said, "Hey, you owe me. Remember?'
"I owe you what?"
"You said you'd tell me what you were thinking."
"Oh. That."
"Yes," I teased. "That."
"Alright." She sat up straighter. "You know what?"
"What?"
"The thing I was thinking – it's kind of embarrassing, but I'm going to tell you anyway. And do you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
"Because Ideserveto be embarrassed."
I laughed. "I'm not sure I agree withthat.But I still wanna hear it."
"Alright." She blew out a long, unsteady breath. "I wasthinkingof how you were talking about your last girlfriend, and how you emphasized the word 'last,' like you had acurrentgirlfriend now. And for a moment there, it made me wonder if you meant anything by it."
I smiled. "Oh, yeah?"
She glanced away. "Yeah, but I know it's ridiculous. I mean, we've known each other for how long? Just a few weeks?"
"It's long enough for me to knowonething."
"What?"
