Page 120 of With a Cherry On Top

Why did we just run away from . . . Amelie, apparently?

“Isn’t she married to yourboss?” Charlotte asks, eyes widening like I’m missing something obvious.

“Oh.” She’s worried about the two of us being seen together. “He’s here too, but everyone’s drunk, Charlotte. And in this darkness, I doubt they’d recognize you if they saw you again.”

My hands find her waist, pulling her closer, and with her body flush against mine, I trace the length of her neck with my fingers, down the slope of her shoulder. I press a kiss on her skin, then another, then another, rising up her neck. I love the way being drunk around her makes me daring. Because fuck, do I want to dare.

“We should kiss, baby,” I say into her ear. When she watches me, eyes hooded, I continue. “It won’t change a thing about how we feel.”

She seems irked. “Really?”

“Really. You’re the most complicated, impossible thing that’s ever happened to me. Not a mistake, not a regret, not something I can walk away from and pretend it never happened. You’ve wrapped yourself around every part of me, and I don’t know how to untangle it. So,really, kissing you won’t change a thing.”

Her sharp inhale is lost in the music, but I feel her breath against my lips, like I’ve just unraveled something inside her. Her hand slides up, fingers threading through my hair, nails scraping just enough to make me shudder.

“That was good,” she says, her lips curving, but I see her throat bob, betraying her.

I smirk. “I have my moments.”

She hesitates, her gaze flickering between me and the half-empty glass in her hand. Then, she leans back slightly. “But you know I have my rule against kissing. I’m afraid I can’t say yes.”

Oh. I nod, trying to keep my expression neutral. The last thing I want is for her to feel pressured, but I’m pretty sure she can see the disappointment flicker across my face. Ireallythought that things were different between us. That I’d be her exception.

She lifts her glass to her lips and finishes the rest of her drink in one smooth motion. “So I guess if you want thisCherry, you’ll just have to come and get it.”

With that, she flashes a smile at me, the maraschino cherry from her drink trapped between her front teeth.

I burst out laughing, a sound I couldn’t have held back even if I tried. She joins in, the joyful noise spilling into the air and making her shoulders shake.

She’s so fucking amazing.

The playful challenge in her eyes shifts to something darker as the space between us disappears entirely. She tugs me down, pressing her lips to mine, testing at first, a slow drag of warmth. But the moment I respond, her fingers tighten in my hair, her body molding against mine. She tastes like sweet, tart cherry, and the music, the crowd, the flashing lights—they all fade into the background. It’s just her, the way she tilts her head to deepen the kiss, her tongue brushing against mine until she’s stolen the last of my restraint.

I grip her waist, fingers sliding beneath the fabric of her dress, tracing the dip of her back. Her tongue pushes the cherry in my mouth, and with a grunt, I swallow it, the taste as intoxicating as hers.

When my hand presses her closer so she can feel what she’s doing to me, she gasps against my mouth.

“I knew it.” She nips my bottom lip. “I knew you’d kiss me like this, Chef.”

I press my forehead to hers, catching my breath. “I’m not done kissing you yet.”

Her fingers toy with the hem of my shirt. “Then don’t stop.”

CHAPTER 23

She’s a Knockout

My hand slides down to cup her ass, and finding nothing but bare skin, I pull back from our kiss. “No underwear?” Her lipstick is smeared, a tantalizing stain on her swollen lips—proof of how long we’ve been tangled up, devouring one another through the pulse of several songs. “Is it to torture me?”

Her dark eyes gleam with mischief. “This dress requires full nude. I told you I was thinking about you when I made it. You’re just lucky you get to see me wearing it for the first time.”

Jesus fucking Christ.

I claim her mouth again, kissing her harder, deeper, like I might be able to drown in the taste of her. “Let’s get out of here.”

She hums against my lips. “You’re at your brother’s bachelor party.”

Right. “Let’s go to the bathroom then.”