“How’d she take the news?”
“She was cool. It upset her but she was a rock.”
“Well, that’s my sister. She’s got a backbone of steel.”
I pull back the phone and stare at it. Who is this guy? “What? What about her being fragile?”
“Buddy, that was four years ago when I was an asshole and seeing everything through the lens of my parents. Growing up in a house where a kid had cancer is different and all I remembered was the tubes and drugs and my sister lying in a bed barely hanging on. It fucks you up.”
“We talked about it.” I remembered what she said and how she’d carried all of the weight of it on her very young shoulders. “Her illness, we talked about it.”
“My parents were great and strong and did everything you are supposed to do but she was the one who carried all of us. Don’t get me wrong, she had her moments where the shit hit the fan and she fell apart but her attitude and the way she faced it head on set the tone for the rest of the family. I didn’t get it until later.” He laughed. “My sister is anything but fragile.”
Oh Jesus. I scrub my hand over my face and try to wipe away the confusion. I have no idea what he’s trying to tell me.
“Landon, spit it out.”
“Fine Jonas, here it is. I know that you guys have had something going on since I caught you with your tongue down her throat freshman year.”
I open my mouth to protest but he’s right. Not much to argue about there.
He continues. “And I know she spent the night with you on New Year’s Eve.”
“How?”
“I’m not blind. You guys have been doing the ‘I slept with you and it rocked my world but I’m going to avoid you’ dance for the last two months. It’s exhausting.”
Well, shit.
“And I’m not saying that you’ve got to marry her or anything but the two of you are good together and she can’t do any worse than Brian-the-shitface.”
“Well, thanks for the endorsement.”
“I know you better than anyone else and although you can be a douche, you’re honest and a good guy.” He laughed to himself. “And it’s really none of my fucking business but since you asked...”
“I didn’t.”
“Yes. You did.” He cuts me off before I can protest any more. “I get that you need to see the world before you lose your vision and I think you should. It’s a shitty thing that’s happened to you and I don’t blame you at all for doing what you need to do.”
“But?”
“But you need to come back and graduate and figure this shit out with Leighton and then make your plans to see the world and paint every fucking sunset on the planet.” He huffs out a laugh of sorts and I can picture him in my mind, pushing his glasses up on his nose and making his hair stand up all over his head like an electrocuted Einstein. “Fuck Jonas, even Mother Nature was telling the two of you to get your shit together and figure it out.”
“You're telling me that the Universe made this blizzard to force Leighton and I together?” I shake my head even though he can’t see it. “That’s not very logical Mr.-Math-Major.”
“This isn’t about numbers. It's about the heart and I’m smart enough to know the difference.”
That shuts me up. I take a few moments to process all these pearls of wisdom and he waits patiently as I figure out what feels like my whole future.
“I don't have any idea what is going to happen. No idea how I’m going to handle the changes or anything.”
“Well if you did I’d tell you to go buy some lottery tickets for me because the thought of graduating and living on a starting salary for a math teacher is starting to give me the shakes.” We both laugh and then when we quiet down he adds, “Nobody can guarantee anything. Her cancer might come back or my turn might be next. You could get hit by a bus in Rome. Nothing is guaranteed except that it will be shitty at times but I think she’s strong enough to handle it.”
I freeze. It’s exactly what Gabe said last night. I then realize that I’ve done exactly what her family did—underestimated Leighton. She is strong enough to handle it. Not that she won’t have challenges or be scared for me but she can push on through.
And I need her.
I don’t know if I’m strong enough to get through it all. I just know I have a better shot at it if Leighton is with me.
And I still want to see the world, store up the memories but I want her to be part of that. I can’t imagine looking back and not seeing Leighton in the movie reel of my life in a starring role.
“I’ve got to go,” I say into the phone, grabbing my backpack and looking for the closest ticket counter. I don't have much time if I’m going to fix this.
“Yeah. You do.” Landon laughs into the phone. “Have a pint for me in Dublin and tell my sister to call mom.”
CHAPTER TEN
Leighton
I keep telling myself that this is the right way to end things.
Quick. Just like pulling off a Band-Aid. And I will be spared the shit-tastic, “Groundhog Day” version of seeing Jonas all over campus. With Landon. In the student quad. With other women. Nope, he’ll be in Rome and then anywhere else the wind will take him and I’ll strain a muscle listening for any clue from my brother about where Jonas is and how he is doing.
It will not be enough. It is not enough.
I want to be with him. Asking him was easy once I'd started, the words falling out of my mouth like the notes singing out from my instrument. It was like...breathing. Wanting him is part of me. My DNA has shifted to incorporate him into my cellular structure, my soul. To not ask him would have caused me physical pain.
But his rejection hurts like a bitch too. I understand his reason, I really do. I can't imagine what he is going through and what he is feeling. I just want to be with him. To help him. To love him.
He needs space to figure stuff out in his head without having to worry about me and how I’m handling it. I might be the one person in his life, besides Grandpa Sutton, who gets it. I remember the burden of worrying about my parents and Landon when I was sick. You have no control over your body but you still feel like you’ll let them down if you don’t get better.
The last thing I want to do is be a burden for Jonas.
I shove the stupid airline magazine into the pocket on the back of the seat in front of me, smiling in apology when the person occupying it turns around with a glare. Apparently I was trying to shove my heartbreak into the pocket along with it.
I shift in the seat, itching to pull out Wonder Woman and soothe myself by playing her for a while but I can’t. This is going to be a long flight.
The flight attendant who greeted me at the door enters the coach section of the cabin with purpose and stops at my row. She is still smiling, every hair in place and nails buffed to a high sheen but it’s the weird gleam in her eyes that has me wondering if I’m headed for a cavity search.
“Leighton Greer?” she asks in greeting, using that vocal uplift at the end of it to indicate a question.
“Yes? Is something wrong?”
“No. Not all,” she replies, glancing up into the open overhead compartment and then back to me. “I just need you to gather your things and come with me.”
“What? Why?” Panic rises in my gut as I contemplate the possibility that I might actually be headed to a meeting with a woman with a latex glove and K-Y jelly inside the terminal. “Is there something wrong?”
She laughs because it’s not her ass in jeopardy and my irritation spikes a little higher.
“No. You are fine. You’ve been upgraded to first class for your flight.”
I get up out of my seat on auto-pilot when she reaches up and pulls my violin out of the bin and hands it to me. I’m following her lead but my brain does not compute what she is saying. We walk three or four more steps down the aisle before my mouth catches up with my feet.
“Was it my mother?” It would be just like her to do it too. She’d put me in a bubbl
e if they offered that option. I love her but we’re going to have a talk about her worrying so much when I get home. Upgrades aren’t cheap and while my folks aren’t destitute they can’t throw around money like the Kardashians.
The flight attendant ignores my question, leading me past the flimsy curtain that separates the two parts of the cabin. She stops in front of one of the double-wide, comfortable leather seats and points to an empty spot.
“Here’s your seat.” She takes Wonder Woman out of my hands and smiles. “I’ll store this up front for you and be back in a few moments to get your drink order. Have a great flight.”
She turns without any further explanation and I stare after her, still unsure about what is happening here. I edge forward to sit down and finally notice the person occupying the window seat next to mine.
When he turns and smiles up at me my legs give out and I land in the seat in a heap, mouth hanging open.
Jonas grins even wider and leans forward to whisper in my ear, “Hey Red.”
***
Jonas
I’m not sure if she’s going to hit me or kiss me so I make a command decision.
I lift my hand, ignoring the way it shakes, and slide it along her jaw until I can cup the back of her neck. I tug lightly, she resists for a moment and panic spikes my body temperature. I look up quickly to make eye contact, expecting to see a fight but what I get is an open vulnerable longing that tells me that this was the best decision I ever made.
I kiss her. I need to taste her, to experience her surrender and acceptance as she opens to my request. I need it because I am completely, utterly, totally hers and I can’t stand the idea of swinging out here alone without her there to catch me.
I break off the kiss, only taking a moment to push up the armrest divider and then I grab her and haul her into my lap. The lady behind us murmurs a startled “oh my” but I ignore her, choosing instead to kiss the shit out of the woman I love.
Leighton wraps her arms around my neck and gives me as good as she gets. She’s not holding back and I go along for the wild ride. I expect to be called out by the flight attendant any minute now for trying to join the mile high club while still parked at the gate but I really don't care. Any U.S. Marshall would take one look at Red and wish me luck.
We finally break it off to catch our breath and I steel myself to tell her all the stuff she deserves to hear, but one thing must be done first.
“Forgive me. I’m sorry I was such a stubborn asshole and I can’t promise you that I won't pull another dick move at some time in the future but I’m sorry for making you cry and for rejecting you. I’m scared and I don’t know how this is going to end up for me but I don’t want to push you away. In fact, I don’t know how I’ll get through this if I don't have you by my side. So don’t make me get off this plane, please.”
“What are you doing here?” she asks on a laugh, her fingers tracing my face like she’s afraid I’ll disappear. “Are you real?”
“Yeah. I’m real and not going anywhere.”
“What?”
“I’m going to Dublin with you.”
She shakes her head in confusion. “What? What about Rome?”
“I’ll get there.” I smooth a stray curl back from her face. “I’ll go when you go there with the philharmonic or we can plan another trip.”
“Jonas. I don’t want you to miss anything. What about your paintings? The memories you want to save for later?” She tears up and even though she tries to blink them away, I see them. When one escapes and trails down her cheek I catch it with my finger and sweep it away.
“Oh, Red,” I say, smiling down at her. The words come easy because I can’t have her thinking for one minute that she’s making me miss anything. “I don't want to paint a picture of those places without you in it. I want every memory to be of you and me, loving each other every second of our lives.”
“Love?” she asks on a whisper, her eyes huge and a tremble in her voice.
“Oh yeah. I love you. So much it hurts. And more than anything, the last thing I want to see is your face. You okay with that?”
She nods. “I’m really okay with that.”
“And you love me?” I can see it written all over her face but I want to hear the words.
“Oh yeah. I love you.”
We lean in for another kiss but the flight attendant announces that we need to be in our seats to prepare for takeoff. Leighton slides off my lap and with goofy grins plastered on our faces we fasten our seatbelts and settle in for our flight. I reach over to take her hand and she leans to the side to rest against my shoulder. I hear her giggle and look down to see what’s so funny.
“What are we going to tell Landon? He’s going to freak.”
I lean over and nuzzle her hair, pressing my lips to the soft spot just behind her ear before I whisper, “We’ll tell him it started with one little kiss.”
Dear Reader –
Thanks so much for reading my book. If you enjoyed this novella you can find out the latest info on my next release and enter for the monthly giveaway by signing up for my newsletter. You can also drop me a line at [email protected]. I’d love to hear from you.
And if you are so inclined, please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, or Goodreads.
I love to explore the theme of fooling around and falling in love in my books and I adore a hero who falls hard. When I’m not writing sexy, sizzling romance, I collect tasty man candy pics, indulge in a little comic book geek love, collect red nail polish, and obsess over Dean Winchester. Don’t send chocolate . . . send eye-candy!
There are so many great books out there and I’m grateful that you spent your money and time to read my book.
Xx,
Robin
****
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If you enjoyed ONE LITTLE KISS, check out my other books:
A NIGHT OF SOUTHERN COMFORT
HIS SOUTHERN TEMPTATION
SWEET SOUTHERN BETRAYAL
PLAYING THE PART
SEX & THE SINGLE VAMP
PLAYING WITH THE DRUMMER
DARING THE PLAYER
TEMPTATION
SECRET SANTA BABY
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Dear Reader
One Little Kiss Page 6