Page 11 of Broken Dream

“The jury’s still out on that,” I reply, leaning back into my chair.

“Oh,” she says softly, her face falling.

Silence stretches on uncomfortably long.

Until I can’t help myself.

I stand, close the distance between us, pull her to me, and crush my lips to hers.

The world around us seems to fade as I lose myself in the taste and feel of her. Her lips are surprisingly soft. They melt against mine with a slight hesitation.

But only slight.

Within a few seconds, she’s kissing me back with a fiery passion. She wraps an arm around my neck.

Heat rushes through my veins, burning away the icy wall I’ve built around myself. My heart hammers.

How long has it been since I felt this alive?

I inhale. She smells of something sweet. Apples. Blossoms. Simply Angie.

I’m dizzy with longing.

But as quickly as the kiss started, reality comes crashing down.

What the hell am I doing?

I pull away from her and break the kiss.

Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s breathing just as heavily as I am.

“Oh, God,” she whispers, her eyes wide and stunned as she takes a step back and shakes her head. “We… We shouldn’t have done that.”

“I know.” My words come out in a rough rasp.

My stomach is knotted with guilt.

But damn…

Her taste lingers on my lips. I reach up to touch my mouth.

She looks at me, her eyes wide and confused, the notebook clutched in her hand. She takes a deep breath, composes herself, and without another word, she turns and marches out of the room.

What the fuck have I done?

Three years earlier…

“Jay,” Lindsay yells to me, “don’t forget the frog!”

Of course. Julia just turned three, and Lindsay’s mother got her this ridiculous stuffed frog. She takes it everywhere. Calls it Fwoggie.

“Where’s Fwoggie, sweetie?” I ask my daughter, holding her on one hip.

She points.

I follow her finger and find Fwoggie stuffed underneath a pillow on the couch. Julia’s not a big talker yet, but she’s the most observant kid in the universe. She knows where she leaves everything.

I grab the frog. “Daddy’s got a big surgery, and he’s going to be late.” I push the frog into Julia’s hands. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”