Blame it on the Kiss

by Robin Bielman

  “Maybe. Eventually. But right now I can only concentrate on one thing. And that one thing should be me.”

  He stared at her profile. She wouldn’t even look him in the eye when she blew him off. The one thing he hadn’t pegged her for was selfish, which proved he didn’t know her at all.

  “I wish you could see yourself through my eyes,” he said. Despite the beating she flung at him, his heart still wanted her.

  She tossed her napkin onto her untouched meal and stood. “Cooper deserves you more than I ever could. I hope this doesn’t mean he’s lost you.” Her eyes met his and he nearly broke seeing her unshed tears. “Let him know I’m waiting outside while you two finish up.”

  Bryce forced himself to stay in his chair, rather than run after her. He watched her walk away because that’s what she wanted.

  …

  Honor turned on the shower. While the water heated she brushed her teeth, her attention on the sink bowl. She knew what she’d find if she looked in the mirror—the same sad Sandy face that had stared back at her all week. She hated that face.

  Her nose twitched as she wiped her mouth on a towel. Steam billowed around the ceiling and she closed her eyes as she shut the shower door and stood under the warm spray of—

  “What the!” She stepped to the side and studied the water spilling from the showerhead. The smell she’d gotten a faint whiff of intensified. Was that chicken soup?

  She stomped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and threw open the bathroom door.

  “April Fools!” Coop shouted.

  “What in the world did you do?”

  “I put a chicken bouillon cube inside the shower head so you could—”he laughed“—marinate.”

  Honor watched him crack himself up. “I hate you.” But to be fair, she pretty much hated everything nowadays.

  He stopped laughing and pulled a small gift box from behind his back. “No you don’t. Happy birthday.”

  She snagged the gift. “Thank you. Now you take this shower and I’ll take the next one.”

  “Open it,” he said blocking the hallway so she couldn’t get by.

  “You’re wasting water.”

  “I’m not getting in there until the cube has dissolved. Give it a few minutes. Now open.” He nodded to the gift.

  “Nice wrap job.” She tore off the pretty paper and opened a plain white box.

  “I had some help,” he said shamelessly.

  Tears pricked the back of her eyes when she saw business cards inside. She pulled one out and stared at the perfect font and perfect amount of information regarding Driftwood.

  “Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

  “Whoa.” He stepped back. “Put some clothes on first.”

  “If only someone hadn’t ruined my shower.” She bopped him on the head.

  He brushed off his sleeve with a boyish simper that would have been annoying had the prank not been pretty brilliant. “Had to keep the tradition alive.”

  Since he was five years old he’d played tricks on her. Some worked. Some didn’t. It annoyed her growing up, but her mom would always say, “He plays jokes on you because he loves you and wants your attention.”

  Emotion clogged the back of the throat. Today was probably the last prank he’d pull on her. He’d decided to move to LA and live with a couple of other professional skateboarders. His career was about to kick into high gear and she couldn’t be happier for him.

  “You all right?” he asked.

  She nodded. What else was she going to do? Tell him she missed Bryce so much it physically hurt to think about him?

  No. Ending their relationship was for the best. Just because she loved Bryce didn’t mean she deserved a happily ever after. She eventually failed people. This time she’d been saved from inflicting harm as well. She’d done Bryce a favor.

  “You’re full of shit,” Coop said.

  “What?” Who said he could call her out? And on her birthday.

  “There’s something bothering you,” Coop said quietly. “And you don’t usually shut me out.”

  The tall, skinny kid in front of her was way too smart. And so damn sincere she wanted to cry. She did normally tell him things, but she couldn’t this time. What was best for her brother was Bryce and she’d gladly suffer so they had a strong relationship.

  “It’s nothing. I think I’m just missing mom and dad. Plus, I’m worried about opening Driftwood and being behind on things for the Spring Fair.”

  He squinted like he didn’t totally buy it. “I can help with whatever you need.”

  She wished that were true. “I know.”

  “I’ve got to head out, but I’ll be home by six to go to dinner. And I’m getting you drunk if your attitude hasn’t changed.”

  “We’ll see,” she said to his retreating back. “Wait, what about a shower?”

  “I already took one,” he sang out. Jerk.

  She took a cold, but clean shower, dressed in one of her favorite T-shirt dresses, made her bed, folded clothes that didn’t need to be folded, cleaned up the mess on her nightstand, blow dried her hair, made Coop’s bed, and picked his dirty clothes up off the floor and threw them in his hamper. Basically, she did everything she could to keep her mind occupied until Sophie arrived.

  Someone pounded on her door. She hurried to answer it.

  “Your doorbell squirted me in the face,” Sophie said, wiping at her eye.

  “I’m going to kill my brother. Sorry about that.” Honor pulled the gag doorbell off the door. “Coop gets a little carried away on April Fool’s day.”

  Sophie grinned as she eyed the real doorbell off to the side. “I don’t think I’ve ever been pranked before. That was a good one.”

  “We’ll plot our revenge on our way. Let’s go.” Honor shut the door behind her. “You look good today.”

  “Thanks. I told myself it was mind over matter. No way was I letting this little one interfere with our plans.” Sophie absently rubbed her stomach before putting an arm around Honor. “Happy birthday!”

  They arrived at Pretty in Pink a few minutes later. Being inside the nail salon was like walking into a decked out cotton candy cloud with crystal chandeliers. “The birthday girl is here!” Maggie announced.

  “Hi, Mags.” Honor hugged her friend and shop owner.

  “Hi, Maggie,” Sophie said.

  Maggie gave Sophie a wide smile and wrapped her in a gentle hug. “How is our mommy-to-be?”

  “She’s great.”

  “Good. Let’s get you guys started.” Maggie put them next to each other in spa chairs for the full mani/pedi treatment.

  Conversation flowed and for the first time in days, Honor’s thoughts quieted. When Maggie brought out a birthday cake with candles and had everyone in the salon sing, Honor put on a happy face for real.

  The shop quieted down and two twenty-something girls walked in. They sat across the room from her and Sophie. Honor didn’t recognize them and they kept talking to each other with barely a glance to anyone else.

  “So, yeah, she really messed him up,” the shorter of the girls said.

  “Sounds like. What kind of person does that to a guy?” the taller girl said.

  Short Girl shrugged. “A selfish one, I guess? He knows I love him, but I’m afraid after what he’s been through, he’ll never fully commit. I’m wondering if I should break things off.

  Tall girl put a hand on her friend’s arm. “I’m sorry, Hannah, but maybe give Lance a little more time?”

  Honor’s breath caught. Her foot slipped off its perch and made a splash in the tub of warm water. Lance had left for college in San Diego and stayed there after graduation. Honor had heard he was seeing someone. Someone named Hannah.

  “Maybe,” Hannah said. Her gaze connected with Honor’s and for a split second Honor wondered if Hannah knew she was the selfish girl who had messed Lance up.

  The room shrank and Honor had to concentrate to keep her disposition even
.

  “Honor?”

  She turned her head to Maggie. “Looks yummy. Thanks.” She took the piece of offered cake and dug in. With each bite her head swam.

  She’d thought she’d turned the corner on her past, but here it was, dragging her back down.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next morning Honor put on her running shoes and hit the beach. The early morning surf rolled gently onto shore, clouds hid the sun. She started off slowly, leaving deep footprints in the hard, wet sand. A few surfers floated in the mellow tide. A guy waved a metal detector back and forth. In the distance she saw another jogger heading toward her.

  For a moment she almost dropped to her knees, fatigue and lack of sleep telling her body to stop moving. But that wouldn’t do. Stopping meant her heart would have nothing else to do but ache.

  She’d woken at the crack of dawn with a killer hangover and one thought: It was time to concentrate on herself and ditch the pain eating her up inside. And the best start? A run. A run until her lungs burned and her heart pounded and the suffocating feeling of loss and loneliness was sweated out of her. She picked up her pace.

  If she worked her muscles until they protested, revved her pulse as high as it could go, and let the wind rushing past her take her stupid thoughts with it, then she could start fresh. Rediscover the Honor Payton had hoped she would.

  And, she would.

  Forget a juice cleanse. This was going to work way faster.

  It had to.

  Not that she had any delusions of falling out of love with Bryce in the next hour. Which really sucked. There should be a love switch. Or a clapper! Clap on—I love you. Clap off—Not anymore!

  But maybe she could forgive herself for her mistakes.

  She pumped her arms faster and concentrated on her stride. The beach stretched for miles. She could—would—make this happen. Her sanity obviously depended on it. Who in their twenties knew what the heck a clapper was?

  She increased her pace. Her feet slapped the sand. She wiped her forehead, the first beads of sweat finally wetting her skin. With every deliberate stride, she blanked her mind and focused on the shoreline. Nothing else.

  “Honor?”

  Her gaze flew to the jogger about to pass her by. She stopped. He stopped. A weight plunged from the back of her throat to the pit of her stomach.

  “Lance?”

  “Yeah.”

  They looked awkwardly at one another as if they had no idea how to act. “Hi,” she finally said, catching her breath with her hands on her thighs.

  “It’s good to see you,” Lance said.

  “It is?” she asked surprised.

  He palmed the back of his neck. “I was actually hoping I’d run into you while I was here. I wanted to apologize,” he said.

  “What?” she squeaked out, lifting her torso.

  “I said some pretty awful things to you the last time we saw each other and …” His gaze dropped to the sand. He toed the granules with his shoe.

  “I deserved what you said,” she whispered.

  He looked up, his kind blue eyes just like she remembered them. “No, you didn’t. I was hurt, yeah. But I wasn’t an idiot. I knew I was pushing you for something you weren’t ready for. What I did?” He took a deep breath. “I did to hurt you more than myself.”

  She shivered, from the cool breeze or his admission, she didn’t know for sure. “What do you mean?”

  “I wanted to punish you. I wanted everyone to hate you. That night at prom, all the guys teased me and wouldn’t let up on the jokes. I snapped.”

  “Lance—”

  “I was the guy who had it all. My first choice college, the cool car, the best girlfriend. What I wasn’t, was as mature as I thought I was. The stunt I pulled proved that.”

  “I still hurt you. Messed you up.”

  “You didn’t mess me up. That was my college girlfriend. She cheated on me.”

  Wait. What?

  “I was pissed at you, Honor. Even hated you for a while. But what happened is on me, not you, and I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

  Honor’s balance wobbled. “I’m sorry, too.”

  “I know. You told me that day, but I didn’t want to hear it.” He took a breath. “I, uh, proposed to my girlfriend last night. She said yes. She’s amazing and she loves me. Faults and all.”

  “That’s…” Goosebumps broke out on Honor’s arms. “That’s great. Congratulations. I’m really happy for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Does she know what happened with us?”

  “No. Not yet. I didn’t want to keep drudging up the past. So, anyway, I’m glad we ran into each other.”

  Honor chuckled. “Ran being the operative word.”

  He smiled. “Yeah. Take care of yourself.”

  “I will. You, too.” She smiled back, nothing big, but more genuine than she’d felt in the last week.

  She resumed her run, but a funny thing happened as she picked up her pace. She felt light on her feet, like the weight of her biggest mistake had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

  It had.

  Her breath hitched. Perfect didn’t exist, not even close, but forgiving herself once and for all, was a big step toward a better tomorrow. She made a sharp right and ran up the beach toward the boardwalk. Cut through an alleyway, headed up Ocean, and landed on Main Street. The smell of coffee and cinnamon wafting through the air like vapor from a genie’s bottle tried to lure her toward the Beach Café.

  She fought the temptation, telling herself she risked running into the Street Team if she didn’t hightail it. Those pesky ladies hadn’t let up one bit this past week, asking where Bryce was and commenting on how “hunky” they found him and what a great catch.

  He was that and more. And even if it was too late, it was time she told him how she really felt.

  …

  Bryce sat at his desk getting absolutely nothing done. He could not wrap his head around a damn thing. Correction. He had laser sharp focus when it came to Honor and driving himself crazy with memories of her laugh, the softness of her skin, the texture of her hair. Her kiss.

  He’d set out to shed his good guy image. Have some fun without getting serious. Save his heart from another break. Idiot.

  Pressing a hand to his temple to stop the throbbing, he wished like hell he wasn’t still so conscious of her smell, her taste, the way her eyes smiled before her lips followed. The way she walked and the sweet, sexy sound of her voice. Without being near, she surrounded him.

  He… he loved her.

  Despite her fear of love and commitment, he’d fallen completely in love and never should have let her walk away. That was on him and he hated himself for it.

  She challenged him. Made his life worthwhile. She’d saved him from believing he didn’t have a heart left to give. He ran his hand across his chest. She owned his heart and it was time to fight to win hers.

  “Cooper’s here,” Danny said, walking through the door of Bryce’s office with Coop trailing behind him.

  “Hey, Cooper,” Bryce said. “Thanks for coming in on such short notice.”

  Danny took one of the two chairs on the other side of Bryce’s desk and motioned for Coop to take the other. Once seated, his newest client looked around the room before saying, “No problem. If this is about the contract, my dad said he had one minor change and you should have it in your email later today.”

  “Great. Thanks. But I asked you here to talk about your sister.”

  Danny glanced at him, then Coop, then back to Bryce again. “What’s going on?”

  “I was about to ask the same thing,” Coop said.

  Bryce looked straight at Cooper. “I wasn’t exactly honest with you about Honor. The truth is I’m in love with your sister and if that means you sign with another agent, then that’s the way it goes. Because I can’t let her go.

  Coop scratched the side of his head.

  Danny raised his eyebrows.

  “It’s been a h
ell of a week and I haven’t stopped thinking about her. She’s the one for me. I’ll never do anything to hurt her so if you decide to stay with me, you’ll never have to pick sides.”

  “That’s it,” Cooper said with dawning recollection.

  Bryce leaned his arms on his desk. “What’s it?”

  “Why she’s been a total sad case this past week and wouldn’t tell me why. It’s you. But the past couple months make sense now, too. It was like she’d swallowed a happy pill and I think you’re the reason. She’s been broken for a really long time and you fixed her.” He brushed at the corner of his eye, and Bryce kind of fell in love with the kid.

  “I’m not sure I deserve—”

  “I think you do. So even though I’m still worried about my sister and my agent being together, I don’t want to be the reason she doesn’t get a chance with you.”

  Bryce wanted nothing less than to give Honor everything. “I appreciate that.”

  “And I don’t want to give you up either.”

  “I’m happy to hear you say that, too. I’ve got big plans for you.”

  Cooper smiled. “Awesome.”

  “It sounds like I’ve got a good chance of making things right with your sister, but you in if I need some help?”

  “For sure. But don’t worry. Everything’s gonna work out.” He stood and put out his hand. Bryce did the same and they shook. “As far as any details about you and my sister, though. You can keep those to yourself.”

  Bryce chuckled. “I’ll let Honor keep you posted.”

  “Cool. See you guys.” He lifted his chin in good-bye to Danny and Bryce sat back down.

  Danny put his hands behind his head. “Well, well, well. So that’s been the reason for that sad bonehead face of yours.”

  “How do you know it’s not because of you?”

  “You’re not getting rid of me altogether, dude.” His best friend had finally shared what had been on his mind—he wanted out of the agent world so he could focus on what he really loved: woodworking. Over the past couple of weeks they’d worked to make that happen. Hired someone new. They’d always be friends, just not partners.

  “You know I’m not surprised,” Danny said with a smug look on his face.

  “I know.”