A Kiss Is Just a Kiss

by Melinda Curtis

  “No.”

  There was shock in his brown eyes, so like her own and yet, so different. “Why not?”

  “Because Maggie deserves the best.” Kitty left him to his cell phone.

  She found Maggie standing on the back porch. There was a red streak in her brown hair. She wore Army boots, black leggings and a zebra striped blouse. Maggie was back. “You’re a day late.” And mad at Kitty if her tone was any indication.

  The threat of tears and the smell of the ocean filled Kitty’s nose. “Grandma Dotty…” She didn’t want to blame every delay on her grandmother. “Beck tried to catch you at the airport and there was a fender bender with a shuttle bus. Then yesterday Grandma bumped her head. He tried to get here as soon as he could.”

  Maggie’s gaze was cool and assessing. “You kissed my fiancé.”

  “He’s a good man, Maggie.” But Kitty couldn’t look at her sister when she said it. Instead, she stared out at the dark horizon and the ocean.

  “He was only marrying me for a horse.” There was bravado in her tone.

  “I’m pretty sure that was part of Beck’s decision process.” Kitty wasn’t going to deny it. “But he loves you.”

  Maggie hugged a porch post, half the defiant Maggie of old, half the fragile woman whose wedding had been ruined.

  “I know you have doubts,” Kitty said evenly, thinking about job prospects in Alaska. “You didn’t want to admit them before the wedding. But I’m here to tell you, if you’re not sure, it’s okay. But if you’re ready to settle down, he’s a great guy.”

  “So you keep saying.” Maggie twirled a lock of red hair and continued to scrutinize Kitty.

  Kitty sighed and sat in a white rocker, not daring to remember the look of love in Beck’s eyes. “And yet, you don’t believe me.”

  “Maybe because he kissed you back.”

  Kitty flinched at the hurt in Maggie’s voice. “Chalk it up to his nerves.”

  “You ruined my wedding.” Maggie’s face contorted, but in anger, not a battle against tears. “Everyone’s talking about it.”

  That sounded like Dad, not Maggie. “Since when did you care what people think?”

  Maggie looked away.

  “I ruined a wedding, Maggie,” Kitty said softly. “Not your wedding. That dress…That church…I bet your pictures even look like Mom and Dad’s wedding. What were you thinking?”

  “They do,” Maggie said miserably. She came to sit in the rocker next to Kitty’s.

  “What happened to the Maggie Summer who wore Army boots beneath her debutante gown?” Kitty took her hand and squeezed. “What happened to the Maggie Summer who couldn’t stand country club stiffs?”

  “You left me.” Maggie’s chin went up. “You all did. You moved on with your lives. And Dad…We argued…And afterward, I overheard him tell Mom that he wished I was more like you.” She sagged in the rocker. “So I thought I’d give him what he wanted. You know, be careful what you wish for, and all that. Except, just like that, I landed a normal, decent guy and became Dad’s favorite daughter.”

  “What do you want to do?” Kitty tried to keep her voice neutral and supportive. When her sister remained silent, she urged, “Take him back. He’ll love you in a cotton dress or camo sweats.” Or Kitty would crucify him.

  Maggie gripped the arms of the rocker.

  “He’s waiting out by the driveway. He’s going to meet you in the boathouse so you can talk in private.” Kitty stood and opened her arms. “Come here.”

  Maggie stood, accepting her hug, but didn’t hug her back. “You’re leaving?”

  “You don’t need the woman who ruined a wedding hanging around the house.” Kitty tugged on her Big Al T-shirt. “As soon as I get Grandma’s purse and my things, I’m outta here.” She didn’t miss the look of relief in Maggie’s eyes. There were extra cars in the garage. “I can backtrack to Atlanta and spend the night at Great Aunt Rebecca’s with Grandma.”

  “You really think I should take him back?”

  Kitty’s heart panged a protest. “I think you should do what your heart says is right.” Kitty turned to go, and then hesitated at the door. She looked back at her sister. “Just…Don’t hurt him.”

  *

  A figure was huddled at the end of the dock. For a moment, Beck thought it was Kitty.

  His heart eased. Maggie didn’t want him. He’d convince Kitty they had a future together. He’d tell her he’d take it slow.

  Beck hurried forward, only to stop when the figure turned, and a face came into focus–Maggie’s. His soles flattened on the dock. “I’m sorry.”

  Maggie still wanted him. His breath caught in his throat.

  His fiancée stomped to her feet in clunky boots and crossed her arms over her chest. Her eyes were heavily lined and there was a mutinous set to her mouth. She looked nothing like the sweet young woman he’d asked to marry him.

  Honor raged against love. He had to stand and hear her out. Kitty was right. He had to stand by his commitment. But simultaneously, he wondered if Kitty was near. If she was listening. If her chest felt as hollow as his.

  Maggie marched toward him. “Do you remember the day we met?”

  He nodded, bracing himself for whatever Maggie was going to dish out.

  She stopped a few feet away, so familiar, yet so different in both appearance and attitude. “My dad was hosting a big house party. He’d invited all kinds of single men. Most of them were like Dad. Corporate suits, interested in making the right connections and the right impressions. But not you.”

  Beck cleared his throat. “To be honest, I was there to find an investor.”

  “And Dad conveniently appeared.” Maggie waved his comment aside. “I knew you were different. You smelled like hay, not expensive cologne. You listened when people spoke to you, without checking your phone or scoping out the room to find someone better to network with.”

  “We talked on the porch stairs for hours.” He’d been relieved, because talking to Maggie took the pressure off trying to ask people for money.

  “You were nice. And you thought I fit in.” Her hands speared through her hair.

  Was that a glint of red?

  “I haven’t been honest with you.” Defiance leaked from her voice, and then disappeared altogether. “Do you know why it always takes me so long to get dressed?”

  He shook his head, feeling the pitch of the waves rock the dock beneath his feet.

  “Because I can’t stand the clothes you seem to like. I try stuff on. I take it off. I try something else. I mean…”

  “You’re not you when you’re with me.”

  “No.” She sounded as relieved as he felt. “I was trying to be…well…I was trying to be Kitty.”

  Who Beck was now convinced he loved with an intensity as deep and sudden as a Florida thunderstorm. “You don’t want to marry me,” Beck said, trying to sound as if he wasn’t about to drop to his knees and thank her.

  She shook her head, stepping closer. “Are you heartbroken?”

  “It would be impolite to say no.” He tried to wear his poker face, not wanting to hurt her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle hug, and laid her head on his shoulder. “I know I shouldn’t say this. I know I might regret it someday, but…”

  *

  Kitty hadn’t slept a wink on Great Aunt Rebecca’s chintz sofa. Between a broken heart, the overly-happy birds and cicadas, she’d been up since a rooster should have been crowing.

  There was a knock on the front door. It wasn’t even five a.m.

  Kitty padded to the door in a tank top and blue checked boxers. It felt good to wear her own clothes again. She turned on the foyer light and opened the door, not worrying about crime since Great Aunt Rebecca had a condo in a gated retirement community.

  A man lurked in the shadows just outside of the porch light.

  Kitty’s heart banged into overdrive before the man stepped into the light. “Beck? What are you doing here?” She didn’t g
ive him a chance to answer. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Did you ruin things with Maggie? If you dumped her, I never want to see you again.” Despite the strongest urge to wrap her arms around him.

  “No.” He stood in the doorway, staring at her the way he had in the restaurant hotel, as if he couldn’t live without her. “She dumped me.”

  “You were honest with her, weren’t you?” Maggie tossed her arms and circled back to the living room, turning on lights as she passed. “Why did you have to tell her anything? You know you’ll forget me once you get back to the rhythm of your life.” That thought had torn her apart all night.

  “Kitty–”

  “No. I can’t talk to you until I’ve had coffee. And a shower.” Or maybe after a shower while she had coffee. “I need to figure this out. Where’s Maggie?”

  “Kitty.” Beck hooked her arm and gently guided her to a seat on the couch on the blanket. “Maggie doesn’t want to see you–”

  “Oh?” Kitty thought she might cry.

  “–or anyone else in the family.” He smoothed back her hair. “I dropped her off at the airport.”

  “But…Was she angry? Was she crying?”

  His arms came around her tenderly. “After years of pretending to be someone she wasn’t, Maggie was relieved. She loves me about as much as I love her. She just wants time to find herself.”

  “Where?”

  “She didn’t want anyone to know.”

  Kitty tried to shift out of Beck’s arms, because she still couldn’t be with him. It would hurt Maggie. “Thank you for telling me.”

  “What is your prom date doing here so early in the morning?” Dotty appeared in the doorway. She wore a pink silk kimono. Had a bad case of bed-head and a pillow crease in her cheek.

  “He’s trying to profess his deep love and undying affection to Kitty.” Beck smile was as sweet as a newborn’s face. “If she’ll let me get a word in edgewise.”

  For once, Kitty had no words.

  “That seems inappropriate.” Dotty dropped into a chair. “Given you’re in high school. How many dates have you been on?”

  “Three,” he said without hesitation. “Make that four because I’m here to take her to breakfast.”

  “Hey.” Dotty sat up taller. “Nice.”

  “Beck, get out.” Kitty could barely get the words past her thick throat. She pushed him away. “I can’t do this to Maggie.”

  Beck didn’t budge. “Do you know what Maggie said to me after she dumped me?”

  Kitty cringed. “I don’t want to know…do I?” Was it painful? Could Maggie find it in her heart to forgive her?

  Beck brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “She said, ‘Don’t hurt her.’”

  “Don’t…” The same words Kitty had said to Maggie when she left. She didn’t dare breathe or look at Beck or believe it. “She gave us her blessing?”

  Beck nodded.

  Kitty should have felt better. She should have felt as if she was blossoming like a rose beneath his gaze. But she didn’t, because she’d never been in love before. There were too many pitfalls. Too many places for her to screw this up. Or Beck–

  “Don’t even think I’d ever stray,” Beck said, reading her mind. “What I feel for you won’t let me look at another woman. In those fifteen minutes you gave me to think, I decided I’d listen to whatever Maggie had to say, but I’d have to tell her I couldn’t marry her. I’d have to tell her I didn’t love her the way she deserved to be loved. I may be a good man, but I’m not the man that could make her happy.”

  “I should warn you.” Dotty interrupted Beck’s beautiful speech. “Summer girls are a handful. Your affection might be tested.”

  Kitty rolled her eyes, feeling the tension ebb, feeling the confidence in she and Beck and what they could be together fill up the broken, hollow places inside of her.

  “Thunderstorms, fender-benders, gator close calls. This Summer girl has already been challenging.” Beck stood, claimed Kitty’s hands, and brought her to her feet. “I didn’t follow my intuition with Maggie. Correction…” He tapped his chest. “I didn’t follow my heart. I viewed her with a logical lens. Checks and balances. Pluses and minuses.”

  “Men,” Dotty huffed.

  Kitty was content to let him continue.

  “But with you…Every breath, every heartbeat, every instinct I have is telling me to be with you.” He raised her hand and kissed the back of it. “We can take it slow. We can go at a traditional pace. Dates. Meeting the parents.” He tilted his head from side to side. “Re-meeting the parents. But I know for certain I want you in my life. If we don’t mess this up, this could be the deep kind of love your grandparents had. Just tell me–”

  Kitty was done listening. She tugged his lips to hers and kissed him.

  THE END

  Keep Reading for Your Special Thank You (Free Reads)

  And a Sneak Peek at Taste of Tara (the next sweet romance in Magnolias & Moonshine)

  Thank you!

  Thank you for reading the first installment of The Summer Bridesmaids sweet romantic comedy novella series, my second Bridesmaid series. The original Bridesmaids Series began with The Wedding Promise and has five installments. Each book in the Summer Bridesmaid series begins with an unfortunate kiss.

  Would you like to know when my next book is coming out? Follow me on Twitter at @MelCurtisAuthor, or like my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MelindaCurtisAuthor. If you sign up for my book release email list at www.MelindaCurtis.com you’ll receive a Free Read.

  Reviews help readers find books. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

  I also write sweet romances with a lighthearted twist for Harlequin Heartwarming. Just a few short years ago, Harmony Valley was on the brink of extinction with only those over the age of 60 in residence. Now, the influx of a younger generation is making life in Harmony Valley more fun than afternoon television for its gray-haired residents. The Harmony Valley series launched with Dandelion Wishes. Brenda Novak says of Season of Change (book 3): “Reading Slade and Christine’s story reminded me of why I enjoy romance. SEASON OF CHANGE has found a place on my keeper shelf!”

  If you like my humor and enjoy sexier romances, Playing by the Rules, a full-length novel launched the Breaking the Rules series, which features siblings who inherit a life coaching business in Hollywood, but know nothing about life coaching! Jayne Anne Krentz says of Fool for Love: “Sharp, sassy, modern version of a screwball comedy from Hollywood’s Golden Age except a lot hotter.”

  Acknowledgements

  I couldn’t have finished this novella without the love and support of my family and friends. As always, Mr. Curtis was patient during the completion of this project. My undying thanks to my writing group – the Tiny Killer Bees! I’d like to acknowledge and thank the fans of the Bridesmaid series who sent me notes on Facebook asking when the next installment was coming out. And thank you, dear reader, for reading.

  Preview - Taste of Tara

  A Magnolias and Moonshine Novella Book #19 by Shanna Hatfield

  “I got the job,” Tara Tarleton whispered, staring at her laptop screen in disbelief. “I got the job?” she questioned, reading the email a second time.

  Realization settled over her in a burst of unbridled enthusiasm. She jumped to her feet and pumped both fists into the air. “I got the job! Woo-hoo!”

  In the midst of her victory dance around the bedroom, her roommate raced in, armed with a rolled up newspaper and prepared to do battle.

  “If your yelling means there’s another spider as big as the last one in here, you have to kill it yourself,” Ellen Meade said, waving the newspaper Tara’s direction.

  “Who cares about spiders,” Tara declared, embracing her friend in a jubilant hug. “I got the job!”

  Ellen pulled away with a surprised look. “The job? As in the job on a southern plantation that you’ve not stopped talking about since you got back from your interview a month ago. That job?”


  Tara grinned. “That’s the one!” She spread her arms wide and spun around her room, deliriously happy. “Oh, I can’t believe I’m actually going to be the pastry chef at Magnolia Rose Plantation for this year’s living history event.” The euphoric spinning came to an abrupt halt and her smile morphed into a look of panic. “I have so much to do! I need to let my boss know I’m taking a month off, and I’ve got to pack. I’ll need my spice collection and my knives. Maybe I should plan to ship some stuff ahead. Do you think I should…?”

  Ellen laughed and gave Tara another hug. “I think you need to take a moment to let it all sink in, my friend. It’s not every day a dream comes true. You’ve always wanted to visit the South. Once you finished culinary school, you dreamed of cooking there. It’s so awesome you have this opportunity.”

  “It is awesome.” Tara sank down on the corner of her bed. “I feel like I should pinch myself to make sure I didn’t make this whole thing up.”

  Ellen playfully smacked Tara’s arm with the newspaper still in her hand. “It’s real, Tara. When do you leave?”

  “Day after tomorrow,” she said, pointing to the laptop on her small desk.

  Ellen read the message then turned back to Tara. “What can I do to help?”

  “Go with me to tell my mother?” Tara asked with a knowing smile.

  Ellen shook her head and backed toward the door. “You are on your own with that one. The shrieks of excitement when you tell her might shatter glass, or at least break a few eardrums. I’ll find some boxes to ship your baking stuff while you tell her.”

  “Coward,” Tara teased. She grabbed her purse and hurried out the door. Her parents lived a few miles from the apartment she and Ellen shared. The two girls met when they were eleven and bumped into each other on the first day of school. They made a pact to battle the harrowing halls of junior high together and remained best friends, even fourteen years later.