Blame it on the Kiss

by Robin Bielman

  “I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo myself,” his grandma said, a twinkle in her eye. “One of those cute skull and bones, I think.”

  “Not the badass one?” Bryce teased, used to his grandmother’s youthful vim and vigor.

  “Don’t tempt me, mister.”

  “Excuse me, Mrs. Bishop? A quick word before we begin?” said the woman Bryce thought was head of public relations for the foundation.

  His grandmother smiled warmly at Honor. “Excuse me, would you? We’ll talk more during dinner.” She cast Bryce a quick look of affection—and approval—and took her leave.

  “I like her,” Honor said with tenderness.

  “I’m pretty sure she loved you.” He watched Honor’s eyes widen just enough for him to know his use of the L word affected her. “So listen, I’d like another date with you after this.”

  She swallowed. He did, too. Her brother stood between them, knots of uncertainty deep in his gut, too, but he was powerless to stop himself from asking for more.

  “I want to keep seeing you. I want to learn everything about you and have lots of amazing, sweaty sex.” Damn, her blush turned him on. “I want to go places, do things, see the world through your eyes, too. What do you say?”

  “I…” She took his face in her hands. “Okay.”

  His new favorite word. He grinned. From somewhere over his shoulder, he heard his name being called. They broke apart, and he led her toward their table.

  Danny, Zane, Liv, and Sophie were already sitting. His parents walked up at the same time as he and Honor. Bryce made introductions, his mom gushing over the Roseville pottery Honor had helped select. His father cornered him about work, asking questions Bryce didn’t have all the answers to yet, but that felt strangely okay.

  During dinner he and the guys talked sports while Honor and the girls talked other stuff. They ate, laughed, shared stories.

  And whenever possible, Bryce held Honor’s hand under the table.

  …

  Honor couldn’t ever remember feeling so much a part of something. Sitting with Bryce and his family and friends—her friends too—a sense of belonging filled her. These people didn’t know about her past, they knew her present, and their interest and kindness made her feel good. Made her feel like she was good.

  As everyone finished their flourless chocolate cake, her stolen conversation with Sophie after dinner last night flitted through her mind.

  “I’m so far from mastering who I am, Soph. How can I possibly be good to someone else?” Honor had said.

  “You’re good to everyone,” Sophie answered.

  “Not all the time. I eventually screw up.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Yes you do.”

  Silence, then Honor said, “How do you know?”

  “How do I know you know or how do you know?”

  “This is one of those moments where you’ve gone way over my head, Ms. Smarty Pants.”

  “I know you know because we can all answer the question, why? It’s just a matter of being honest with yourself.”

  “Bryce deserves someone who doesn’t have to ask why.”

  “You should let Bryce decide what he deserves. I personally think it’s you.”

  “I’m terrified that I’ll hurt him.”

  “So don’t.”

  “He wants babies.”

  “He told you that?

  “Did you see him tonight?”

  “You don’t want kids one day?”

  “I don’t know,” Honor said frustrated. “I don’t know anything right now.”

  “Mr. Bryce Bishop,” said a disembodied voice over a microphone. Honor let her recollection go.

  Bryce gave her hand a squeeze and flashed that amazing smile of his before standing. Applause filled the ballroom.

  He stood at the podium so handsome and confident. Sincerity sounded in his every word. Compassion. Gratitude. Honor couldn’t take her eyes off him. All night he’d been carefully attentive with subtle touches and whispers in her ear. He’d included her in conversations, asked her opinion on things, praised her.

  His gaze landed on hers once again, and she imagined starting every day looking into those gorgeous dark pools.

  I love you.

  No, no, no.

  Yes, yes, yes.

  She did. She loved him.

  In all honesty, she’d loved him the second she’d laid eyes on him. But getting stuck in a closet with him had sealed her ultimate fate. She blamed his kiss. One touch of his lips on hers and he’d cast a spell she couldn’t break.

  He ended his speech and returned to the table. Pride overflowed inside her like a living, breathing thing. She couldn’t help but lean over and kiss his cheek, which freaked her out. Because his family and friends watched them.

  Sophie touched her arm. “I’m not feeling very well so Zane and I are going to head out. I’m assuming Bryce will bring you home?”

  All of a sudden the weight of Honor’s realization brought her blood flow to a crashing halt. Her palms got sweaty, her face burned. Her breath came at an abnormally rapid rate. She needed air and time to think.

  “Actually, I’m not feeling that great either. Would you mind if I caught a ride with you guys?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Hey,” Bryce said softly. “Everything okay?”

  She turned to face him. “Yes, but I’m feeling a little out of sorts so I’m going to head home with Sophie and Zane.”

  “I’ll take you.”

  “No.” She put her hand on his thigh. “You should stay.”

  Disappointment marred his handsome features and she felt horrible for lying. But if she didn’t hurry and leave there was a good chance she’d blurt out her affection for him and she didn’t want to do that.

  She wasn’t sure she’d ever have the courage to do it.

  …

  Bryce watched Honor walk away with Zane and Sophie and his heart hurtled to the back of his throat. She had made his evening better. She made every minute of every day better. And even though he wasn’t sure he could trust her not to break his heart, he didn’t care.

  She’d kissed him in front of everyone. That had to mean something.

  So she’d run.

  He understood her fear. Hell, he felt it, too. His self control took a nosedive when he stood anywhere near her.

  His parents and grandmother wrapped him in compliments and said their good-byes. “She’s a keeper,” his grandma whispered in his ear. The Bishop matriarch held the best judge of character of anyone he knew and he murmured back, “Thanks.”

  Not “I think so, too,” because he didn’t want to get his grandma’s hopes up. Or his own.

  “Bar,” Danny said. “We’re not through with you.”

  “Now,” Olivia said, hooking his arm.

  The two of them had always teamed up. He could say no, but they wouldn’t listen.

  They sat at a tall, round cocktail table in the dimly lit bar. A waitress stopped to take their order. “Three vodka tonics,” Danny said.

  “You got it, sugar.” Her southern drawl drew a smile from his friend. Danny was a sucker for a girl with an accent.

  “Damn.” Danny watched her walk away.

  Olivia rolled her eyes. And that’s all it took to get the competition on. They’d played the accent game countless times before, and Bryce was grateful for the distraction. Danny started with his best attempt at an Irish brogue. It sounded like he needed to be put out of his misery. Liv laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes. She nailed a Bronx accent next. Bryce did his Crocodile Dundee. They kept at it until a guy sitting at the next table ambled over and declared Liv the winner. He also asked for her phone number. Danny told him to get lost. Serious American accent.

  An hour later they were home. Liv took Danny’s room, Danny the couch. Bryce thrashed around in bed as sleep eluded him. He couldn’t get Honor out of his head. He sat up and lifted his phone from the b
edside table.

  Legend says when you can’t sleep at night it’s because you’re awake in someone else’s dream, he texted to Honor. She probably wouldn’t see it since it was well after midnight. But she’d wake in the morning and know he’d been thinking of her.

  Shame we’re both awake then, she texted right back.

  He smiled at the phone. Something had shifted in her eyes tonight while he’d stood up on stage and he’d wondered if she’d changed her mind about them dating. If it was emotions she wanted to hide from, then fine. He’d stick to their physical connection. Anything to keep her close for as long as possible.

  A damn shame since I know exactly what I’d be doing to you in dreamland.

  Oh? What’s that?

  Bryce’s pulse picked up. Other parts of him tightened as he pictured Honor naked in her bed. How about you pretend your hands are my hands and I describe in detail what to do with them?

  Only if you play too.

  He pushed the covers off his overheated body, more than ready to play. Two seconds later she answered her phone practically before it rang.

  “Honor’s Hidden Pleasures. How may I serve you?” His smile grew impossibly wide. Her soft sexy voice made him ache. Her playfulness relieved his worry about the two of them.

  “Take off everything you have on,” he instructed, his tone gruff.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Bryce had no idea how much time passed, so absorbed in Honor and their dirty talk that it did feel like a dream. They were in perfect sync, hit the mark and came at the same time. Her gasps of pleasure kept him semi-hard.

  “Best dream ever,” she said in a soft, sexy voice.

  If only they didn’t have to wake up.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The traffic on Tuesday afternoon sucked. He should have taken Wilshire instead of Santa Monica. Or better yet, a helicopter. After sitting bumper to bumper for almost an hour, Bryce wanted to tear the steering wheel out. Instead, he let his thoughts wander to the peace and quiet of White Strand Cove. And to a certain blonde. On his way to meet Cooper for lunch, dread and eagerness filled him. The kid had requested the meeting and Bryce hoped it was good news. But he didn’t want to give up Honor. Could he have that conversation with her brother? Bryce wanted the win-win.

  A horn blared as Bryce pressed on the brakes to avoid the car that suddenly veered into his lane. A motorcyclist almost took out his side view mirror. Catching the next left, he pulled into an underground parking structure. He’d walk a couple of extra blocks.

  His heart skidded to a stop when he got to the burger joint and found Cooper and Honor sitting at a table waiting for him. What was she doing here?

  “Sorry, I’m late,” he said, taking the seat next to Honor and across from Cooper. “Hi, Honor. I didn’t know you’d be joining us.” He tried to gauge her reaction to his appearance, but she remained neutral.

  Cooper didn’t know about them.

  “It was a last minute thing. I hope you don’t mind,” she said.

  “Honor helped me figure some stuff out and I wanted her to be here. She’s not happy about me going pro, so I thought she might feel better hearing us talk.” Cooper lifted his glass and took a sip of what looked like lemonade.

  Bryce forced himself to keep his eyes on Cooper and not his beautiful sister. “I take it you’ve made a decision about representation?” Jake Harrington had been bad mouthing Bryce and Danny all week. Bryce had no idea if Coop believed trash talk like that, but he was prepared to defend himself if need be.

  “I want you to be my agent.”

  Relief and an insane amount of happiness filled Bryce’s chest. “Fantastic.” He extended his arm across the table to shake Coop’s hand. “Welcome to Bishop-Ellis. We’re really excited to have you.”

  “Thanks. I’m happy to join your team. I think you’re the kind of person I need on my side.”

  Bryce put his forearms on the table. “What kind of person is that?”

  “The kind of agent who doesn’t put dollar signs before a client’s health and safety.”

  The waitress stopped at their table and asked what they’d like to eat. While placing their orders his knee bumped Honor’s. The innocent touch scorched like a silent command he stake his claim on Honor now. They exchanged glances. His body ached to get closer, to cover hers skin to skin.

  “That’s a pretty big deal to my family,” Coop continued, drawing Bryce’s attention away from Honor. Stay focused, dude. “Honor and I talked on Sunday and she mentioned you’d been in a serious accident when you were younger.”

  The familiar lump that always lodged in Bryce’s throat when he thought about his accident prevented him from speaking. He nodded.

  Honor’s hand squeezed his thigh. The gentle pressure excited and soothed him at the same time. His eyes cut to hers for a brief moment.

  “You know what it feels like to fight back to being whole again. A lot of people still look at me with sympathy and I hate that. Like I’m not ever gonna be the same as I was. Did that happen to you?”

  “It did. Even my doctors thought I’d always walk with a limp.”

  Coop smiled. “You showed them.”

  “Yup.”

  “Zane also told me I’d be an idiot to go with anyone but you. He said you weren’t the most cutthroat, but you were the most dedicated.”

  Bryce settled back in his chair. “I agree with that.”

  “So what happens next?” Coop asked.

  “I’ll have Danny write up the contract and we’ll get a copy to you to sign. If you’ve got concerns let me know and we can talk about them.”

  “Cool.”

  “You’ll keep him safe,” Honor said. Question? Statement? It was hard to tell which one.

  Bryce met those passionate, earnest blue eyes of hers again and he couldn’t help himself. He reached across the table and took her hand. “I can’t promise he’ll never get hurt. Accidents happen. But I can promise to do everything in my power to keep him out of harm’s way.”

  “Thank you.” She rolled her lips together like they were parched and the urge to kiss her overwhelmed him.

  Cooper cleared his throat, disapproval in his eyes. “Is there something going on with you two? I thought we understood each other where my sister’s concerned.”

  “What?” Honor said.

  “We did, but—”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Honor interrupted before Bryce could come clean to Cooper.

  “I told Bryce you were off limits. My career and my family don’t mix.”

  Honor looked back and forth between him and Cooper. “You can’t butt into my life like that, Coop. Who I see is none of your business.”

  “It is if it affects me.”

  “How would my seeing Bryce affect you?”

  Cooper canted his head down as if to say really? “I love you H, but you’ve got like a two date rule. It would be really uncomfortable for me when things didn’t work out with you two because I’d have to take your side. And that would suck for my partnership with him.”

  “I can keep my personal and professional life separate,” Bryce said. “As far as I’m concerned, whatever happens between your sister and I has no bearing on what happens between us. As my client, you’ve got me 100 percent.”

  “I appreciate that,” Cooper said. He put his arms on the table. “But I can’t separate things so easily. And if you broke my sister’s heart, I’d have to find a new agent.”

  Bryce let that sink in. He got it. He thought about his sister and imagined her dating one of his clients. Cooper even. If the relationship ended, Bryce would be in a tough spot. He’d defend and honor his sister until his last breath, and he’d be in the uncomfortable position of having to remain professional with the douche that caused her pain.

  The unsettling truth set in. He couldn’t have Cooper and Honor.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you and Coop had talked about this?” Honor asked, her irritated tone breaking into his th
oughts.

  “Things are that serious?” Cooper said.

  Shit.

  Think, Bishop, think. Right here, right now, what was he willing to risk? What did he want?

  The answer came quickly and easily.

  “Could I have a few minutes alone with your sister?” he said to Coop.

  Cooper looked at Honor. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll just eat my burger over at the bar,” he said, taking the plate out of the waitress’s arms as he stood. Bryce and Honor were served their meals.

  A few seconds ticked by, both of them still, the wild beat of Bryce’s heart pounding in his ears. He’d known the truth for a while now, but had been too chicken to acknowledge it. Not until he’d been forced to make a decision.

  “I can’t do this,” Honor blurted out.

  “What?” He hadn’t heard her right.

  “Whatever we’ve been doing, it’s over.”

  Bryce’s clothes felt two sizes too small. His throat burned hotter than the Mojave Desert. “It’s not over.”

  “It is.”

  “Because of Cooper? Because of how he feels?” He took her hand. She pulled it away.

  “No. Not because of Coop.” Her words came out in a rush, her breathing uneven. “Or not just because of him. I’m not the right girl for you, Bryce.”

  “What are you talking about? You’re—”

  “Don’t say perfect. Please don’t say anything. I can’t deal with all these feelings. I’m not capable of handling them without hurting you.” She blinked, her eyes darted to the table, the floor, his chest, her lap, everywhere but at his face. “What happened with Lance, it would destroy me if I caused someone pain like that again.”

  “Honor.” It killed him to see her so upset. She was capable. If she’d just believe in herself like he did.

  “I’m not a white picket fence kind of girl. You want babies and commitment.” She let out another shaky breath.

  His chest squeezed. He did want those things. And he knew she didn’t. Had he been fooling himself into believing their casual affair meant as much to her as it did to him? That he could change her?

  “And someone who will follow through on her promises.”

  “You follow—”