The Kiss That Launched 1,000 Gifs

by Sheralyn Pratt

  Well, okay then.

  Grace’s heart started pounding, and she was beginning to feel a little lightheaded.

  “But Jess is with Abe now ,” Megan said with a shrug. “They’ve lived together for like six months.”

  “Then why is she taking pictures like this with Ash?” Grace asked, trying not to sound jealous.

  “A pity selfie?” Megan offered. “I mean, you totally dissed my uncle after that kiss you two had on that stage. I think Jess picked up on the fact that you’d lit a match on his hopes and dreams and did what she did to see if you would do something stupid like show up here and confront her.”

  Esme was laughing. No sound was coming out of her, but Grace could see her shoulders shaking as she held it in. Here they were, sitting in Esme’s SUV, getting schooled by a teenager who seemed to have 20/20 goggles on the whole situation. But how could a teenager Grace had never met have sensed that Grace would show up here tonight when Grace hadn’t even known herself?

  “I can save you that confrontation, though,” Megan said. “If you talk to Jess, she’ll tell you that my uncle is awesome and you’re an idiot if you don’t give him a shot. And that really is the truth. He’s not perfect—trust me, I know that better than anyone—but he is awesome.”

  “Megan?” Esme said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you want to replace Grace as my new best friend? You’re kind of my favorite person right now.”

  “Hey,” Grace said, giving Esme’s arm a playful hit.

  “What?” Esme said playfully. “She is. And if Ash helped raise this ball of sass, then I’m going to date him if you don’t.”

  “You will not be dating Ash,” Grace said with force.

  “Then you’d better step up, Grace,” Megan said, her expression serious for the first time. “Because there isn’t a person on this planet who isn’t telling my uncle to move on. And he’s starting to listen.”

  “Including you?” Grace asked. “Are you telling him to move on?”

  Megan pursed her lips, clearly choosing her response carefully. “I’ve been quiet on the matter. You just barely broke up with Phillip. I get that. But I also get that my uncle has a lot to give, and he shouldn’t waste that on someone who doesn’t want him.”

  “I want him,” Grace said before she could stop the words from flying out of her mouth. To her left, she saw Esme’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise at her frankness.

  “I know,” Megan said as if Grace hadn’t just made the most terrifying confession of her life. “And you’d be good for him. So what do you need from me?”

  Friday

  Grace had been smiling all day.

  Ash liked her. He’d liked her from day one—with an intensity that had sabotaged other potential relationships for him.

  How was that not awesome?

  Almost as awesome as that little firecracker he called a niece. Holy cow, where had she come from? Precocious was an understatement. The girl was a tour de force. Megan was everything that was right about feminism in Grace’s opinion, and Grace wanted to see where a kid like her ended up in life.

  But to do that, she needed to finish this last show and get Ash alone. It was time the two of them had a little chat.

  Grace glanced up at the clock, noting it was 3:57 pm… three minutes until news and traffic took over the airwaves for the last time. She glanced at Ash across the table from her, like she had countless time before, and felt her chest tighten.

  He looked the way he always looked. Casual, moderately ruffled, and happy. His blue eyes met hers across the table and he gave her a small smile of encouragement.

  “It feels so weird to say this, but this is it,” Grace said into her mic. “These are the last few minutes of our last show. I’m going to miss spending my afternoons like this.”

  She’d been trying to play it cool… trying to keep their shared looks and exchanged barbs the same as they’d always been, but the closer it got to 4:00, the more Grace’s heart pounded.

  In her mind, she had it all planned out. The station was having an informal goodbye party for the show in the conference room at 4:15. Once the show was over, everyone would head there, but Grace would hold Ash back in the booth for a minute. And when it was just them, she would walk toward him slowly and kiss him. No words, not at first. Just a kiss. She’d wait until they pulled apart to say what she wanted to say, which would hopefully be something along the lines of Ash, I really like you and want to date you.

  Who knew how well her brain would be working after kissing him, but she was hoping she would be coherent enough to pull off something along those lines. According to Megan, these words would be the beginning of a summer romance that would never truly end. Sure, the kid was only fifteen. There was no way Megan could know what the outcome of anything would be; yet something about the look in Megan’s eyes as she’d made the promise had made Grace a believer.

  And she couldn’t wait.

  Across from her, Ash was talking into his mic. Probably because they were still broadcasting, and according to the clock Grace had been daydreaming for at least the last sixty seconds.

  “If you’ve learned nothing else from Grace and me,” he was saying, his blue eyes looking at her like she was the only woman in the room… which she was, but details shmee-tails. “It’s that maybe both people can be right, even when it seems like you’re disagreeing on the surface.”

  “But mostly the woman’s right,” Grace added, ruining his thoughtful moment.

  “Yes,” he said with a courtesy smile. “Men should learn that no matter what they say the woman will always assume that she is right.”

  “And a woman is also wise to remember that men aren’t always as dumb as they look,” she said playfully.

  “Just as a man is wise to remember that just because a woman changes her mind, that doesn’t change the fact that she’s right.”

  Grace threw her head back and laughed. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

  When she looked back at Ash, he was watching her with a smile on his face that got her heart kicking and her palms sweating. She was minutes, if not seconds, away from kissing that beautiful face.

  Ash glanced at the clock and let out a sigh. “We’re down to twenty-seven seconds, Grace. Any final words?”

  “We love you,” Grace said, without hesitation. “We’re going to miss you more than you know, and want to thank you for your support and for letting us be a part of your lives. It was an honor and a pleasure, and we hope your life is better for it.”

  “Ditto,” Ash said in his Clooney voice. “Grace and I will miss this chance to spend time with you. But we won’t be far. You can catch me on The Morning Show starting Monday, and start seeing more of Grace on your afternoon and evening news, where she will bring you the day’s biggest stories.”

  “So until then,” Grace said, her heart pounding so hard that she was starting to worry the mic would pick it up. “This is Grace—”

  “—and Ashton—”

  “Signing off one last time. News and traffic is up next. But first, here are some of our greatest hits.”

  Frank took her cue at the sound board and played a mashup of fan favorite moments from the past two years. It was oddly emotional to watch her mic light blink off for the last time.

  The Battle of the Sexes was over. Grace would never sit in this seat and argue with Ash again. But if things went as planned, she would still be—

  The sound of clapping interrupted Grace’s thoughts as Frank walked into their recording space, followed by Jan and Emily.

  What were they doing here?

  Everyone was supposed to be gathering in the conference room in fifteen minutes. In Grace’s mind, this show had ended like every other show she and Ash had—with them, alone. But people were appearing and they were clapping and smiling like they thought their appearance was a good thing. Grace knew she was supposed to be smiling back. She hoped she was succeeding, because every part of her wanted to shoo the
m out.

  This was the part where she was supposed to kiss Ash and lure him onto a date. But she couldn’t do that when people kept filtering into the room. Like Erik. Why was he there? And Layla. Didn’t she get off work two hours ago? And why did Layla have a plate of cupcakes? Did she not listen to the show at all, or was she being ironic?

  “Great show, you two,” Jan said, giving Ash a hug. “I’ll honestly miss it.”

  “Me, too,” Ash said, looking as confused at their sudden entourage as Grace felt.

  Frank walked up to Grace and pulled her into a side hug. “I’m going to miss working with you, kid. You really made this show fly.”

  “It was a good ride,” Grace said, leaning into him as she watched Layla present the cupcakes to Ash.

  “From The Morning Show,” Layla said brightly. “We’re excited to have you.”

  “Thanks,” Ash beamed, his smile a bit plastic looking as he eyed the cupcakes. “But I don’t eat desserts.”

  “Oh, they’re vegan,” Layla said. “You’re safe.”

  Next to her, Frank laughed. “I can see Ash is going to have fun on The Morning Show.”

  Grace shook her head in disbelief. “You’d think a hipster would be the first to wrap her head around the difference between vegan and paleo diets.”

  “Or she’s looking to convert him,” Frank offered. “Vegans are always recruiting.”

  Grace let herself laugh as her dreams of kissing Ash in the booth faded. Clearly kissing Ash was just as likely as Ash eating one of those cupcakes—

  Grace froze, not believing her eyes. Layla was shoving one of her cupcakes in Ash’s face and he was taking a bite. There was no reason for this small act to infuriate her, and yet it did. She should have been standing where Layla was standing and kissing Ash, but instead, Layla was standing there feeding him a cupcake.

  “It’s good, right?” Layla said after Ash had chewed a few times.

  “Mmmm,” Ash said, raising his eyebrows even as he eyes glanced at the garbage can.

  Spit it out, Grace urged him and felt a pang of disappointment when he swallowed. “That was tasty,” she heard him say.

  Layla beamed. “See? I told you.”

  “Are you okay?” Frank asked from next to her.

  Grace shrugged and decided there was no reason not to be honest. “I would like it better if it was just you, me, and Ash in here. This is our show… our moment. Layla can welcome Ash to The Morning Show on Monday.”

  “Agreed,” Frank said as Emily went in for a hug from Ash.

  “Congrats on a great last show,” Erik said, coming up on the other side of Grace. She did her best to send him a smile.

  “Thanks, Erik. Although I’m looking forward to working with you full time.”

  He laughed. “You have to say that.”

  “True,” she agreed. “But I don’t have to mean it. But, in this case, I do.”

  They both laughed then, and Grace used the moment to glance across the room where Layla was still monopolizing Ash in conversation. Grace’s world came to a sudden halt when she heard Layla say, “I was thinking that we could meet up for dinner tonight and talk about it.”

  “Sure,” Ash replied without hesitation. “I’m pretty sure I could make that work.”

  In an instant, Grace’s smile disappeared. But before she could react further, Frank clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

  “Hey, how about we move this party to the conference room?” he said in a loud voice. “Everyone is expecting us there.”

  A moment later, they were all headed for the door.

  It was just after 5:00 p.m. when Ash headed back to his desk. Alone. For the past hour, he’d spoken to everyone in the conference room—except Grace. He’d gotten a hug or a congratulatory handshake from everyone. Except Grace. It had been like a conspiracy to keep them on opposite sides of the room. Grace had been annoyed, too. Ash had seen it in her eyes, but in the end she’d left without a word to him.

  It was the last day of their last show, and he hadn’t even gotten a goodbye from the only person that really mattered.

  Ash had tried to keep his expectations low for the day, but they hadn’t been this low. He had definitely thought he’d get another hug out of her, but no dice. In the end, Grace had simply ducked out and left him with the stragglers.

  She could have stayed until it was just the two of them. It wouldn’t have killed her. And didn’t they owe each other at least that much?

  Ash thought so, but apparently he was wrong. Grace could leave an unofficial company party at any time, and she had. Thus ended their two-year stint as cohosts. It didn’t make for a good story, but it was what it was. Ash might as well gather his stuff at his desk and get ready for his dinner date with—

  A hand reached out and yanked him inside Frank’s office as he walked past it.

  “Can I borrow you for a second?” Grace’s voice said a moment before Ash’s eyes landed on her.

  She did not look happy, but it didn’t matter. She hadn’t ditched him. She’d just found a different venue where they could talk. Good. Because Ash had a few things he wanted to say.

  “Sure,” he said, not fighting Grace as she pulled him into the empty office and shut the door behind them. The first thing he noticed was that they were standing too close to each other. He could feel Grace’s body heat through his clothes, a fact that had him stepping back and clearing his throat. “What’s up?”

  To his surprise, Grace looked flustered.

  “What’s up?” she echoed, her tone much less friendly. “How about we start with your new girlfriend hijacking our goodbye party. Did you invite her?”

  Layla? His girlfriend? Ash didn’t have enough energy for this. Not today. “Uh, I’m pretty sure the email blast went out to everyone in the company.”

  Grace did not look placated. “And yet Layla chose to start the party in the booth with a tray of freshly baked cupcakes that Mr. Eats-No-Sugar actually ate. What’s that about?”

  Ash shrugged. “Being polite, I guess?”

  “Polite?” Grace said, as if the word tasted bad to her. “Is that why you accepted her date, too?”

  Okay, now he was getting mad. This was what Grace wanted to talk about? Since when?

  “It’s a dinner, not a date. And why in the world should you care either way?”

  “So now you eat cupcakes and date girls from work?” Grace said, stepping back into his personal space. “Is that how things are going to be now?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, leaning in to give Grace a sense of how close she was getting to him. “Maybe.”

  Leaning in totally backfired on Ash. The heat rising off of Grace seemed to surround him as he gazed into her dark, furious eyes. His skin felt electrified and he was having a little trouble breathing as their eyes locked while he inhaled her perfume.

  “And it’s Layla you want to take to dinner tonight?” Grace asked, her words barely registering in Ash’s consciousness. He was staring at her lips now… the way they moved when she ranted. It was adorable… and provocative. The way her chin tilted up, her lips parting as she gazed up into his eyes. For a moment, Ash couldn’t breathe. It took everything in him to hold position right where he was and not lean in and take the conversation in an entirely new direction.

  “Or would you rather be with me?” she whispered, the meaning of her words not registering until Ash felt her hand slide up his neck and into his hair. Then she stepped in and pulled his lips down to hers.

  Time stopped. Everything stopped as Ash’s mind did a reality check. They were in Frank’s office—check. He was kissing a woman—check. The woman was Grace—check. And the moment Ash realized that he wasn’t kissing her back his body finally snapped into the moment.

  Ash wasn’t sure what he did next. He should have thought it out—maybe. But maybe whatever he did that led them across the room and ended up with Grace’s back pressed into the wall was just fine. He’d started out cradling her f
ace in his hands. He knew that much. But his hands were now tracing along the flair of her hip and itching to reach around the back and pick her up to go… where? They were in Frank’s office, but at the moment Ash totally didn’t care.

  Everyone else they worked with would care, though.

  Ash gripped Grace’s hips in an effort to keep his hands in one spot while he dialed things back. Only then did he realize where Grace’s hands were—one hand still threaded through his hair, pushing his mouth to hers, and the other firmly gripping his left butt cheek and pulling them flush.

  If Ash had a prayer at dialing all this back, he really needed to Grace to let go of… everywhere. She needed to let go and stand still while he stepped back. It was a move only he could make since she was the one backed up against the wall. Grace had nowhere to go, and that was just how he liked it.

  Ash spent a few more moments exploring the feeling of his mouth on hers. It was a different kind of kiss that wasn’t trying to impress or seduce. It was more vulnerable than that, and the invitation was so much bigger—at least for him. But what he got out of the moment was the sense that he wasn’t the only one who had feelings between them.

  He wasn’t the only one who wanted more.

  “Grace,” he whispered against her lips, his hands sliding up her sides, memorizing the shape by feel. Instinct urged him to keep on mapping out his territory until he knew every inch of it by feel alone, but it was the wrong place and the wrong time. There would be time to learn all the tells she had yet to show him and all the curves she had yet to reveal, but for the moment he really needed to put space between them.

  “Grace, I love you, but I need you to let go of me so I can step back, okay?”

  She froze in his arms, and not in a good way.

  Great. What had he done this time?

  When Ash played his words back in his head, he heard it: I love you.

  Whoops. Saying it that way had been pretty graceless, but he’d also meant it. He loved Grace. If a preacher appeared before them that very moment, Ash would marry Grace without a moment’s hesitation and figure everything out later. Sure, it would be a bumpy ride. Sure, they were bound to argue like all-out brawlers, but that was just par for the course. And if all that meant kissing these lips every day of his life, well then, sign him up.