Page 19 of Good Girl’s Guide to Love (Guide to Love #4)

“Why not?” I’m still dancing in his hold, and the smirk on his face is enough to make me want to do this all night.

“I’m not much of a dancer,” he says. “I feel like this is a safer bet.”

I swat away his words, and sway a little myself with the motion. “You don’t even have to move your feet. It’s all in the hips.”

He laughs. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Out of nowhere, Mia grabs my free hand and pulls me from Linc. “Well, if you aren’t going to dance with her, I am!”

He sends me a wink. “Please do. I’m going to head to the bathroom. You okay? If you need anything, just grab Wyatt or any of the guys.”

“I’m fine,” I say with a smile as Mia and I make a dance floor in the roped-off area of the VIP section. We’re right by the entrance, so this is as close to the other bar-goers as we can get.

“I had a feeling this night was going to be epic, but I had no idea it was going to be like this.”

“Right?” I yell, probably a little too loudly, but because I’m drunk I don’t care. “Thank you for making me come here!”

“Believe me, if I knew that bringing you here would mean partying with Fury players lead to you drinking, I would’ve dragged you here sooner.”

I realize I’ve been in such a Linc bubble I have no idea what she’s been up to. “Oh! Is something happening with Wyatt?”

Mia shrugs in that nonchalant way she does. “He’s going to be fun for tonight. But that’s it.”

I swear she’s the most hard-headed woman on the planet. I think he’s perfect for her, at least from the five minutes I’ve talked to him. “Oh! I love this song!”

We start jumping and singing, and even some of the other Fury players and guests inside our VIP area join us. I’m so in the moment, and not paying a lick of attention to my surroundings, when I lose my footing and stumble back.

Oh no! I’m falling. Backward. Between the tight area, and the fact that I’m pretty drunk, I can’t get my balance. Though I do take a second to congratulate myself that I haven’t dropped my drink.

God, I’m good.

My side thought doesn’t last long when I feel me starting to go down. I have no idea what to do except just brace myself for the fall and hope I’m drunk enough to bounce. Just as I’m sure I’m about to hit the floor, I feel arms underneath me, bracing me from my fall.

“I told you I’d always be here for you.”

The voice sends shivers down my spine as I scramble to stand up and break out of Jonathan’s hold.

“What were you doing so close? Just waiting for me to fall? Freaking creep!”

His eyes narrow. “Well your boyfriend wasn’t here, so someone had to.”

I might have double vision right now, but I did notice that he said boyfriend with air quotes. But in between the two versions of Jonathan standing in front of me, I see my fake boyfriend standing behind him.

Not just standing. Looking murderous.

And I have a feeling if I don’t do something right now, Linc is going to do something really, really stupid.

“Baby!” I yell, pushing past Jonathan, and without thinking, I jump into Linc’s arms. He catches me, and I mask his shocked face by kissing him.

Holy molasses, I’m kissing Linc.

And I kissed him first.

And he’s kissing me back.

The heat I just felt coming from his look? It’s now being channeled into what is, without a doubt, the best kiss of my life.

Linc adjusts his arms, holding me underneath my butt, as if I weigh nothing. I’m not plus size, but I’m not tiny either. But the way I feel at ease in his arms as I wrap my legs around his waist, I have a feeling he’s not even breaking a sweat.

But I am. I’m sweating. Because this kiss is hot. I don’t know if it’s because it’s in public, or because I know it has to be making Jonathan angry. Or that Linc’s tongue is the perfect combination of giving and taking. But I do know that I could kiss him all night.

And maybe even other things.

Oh damn, I am drunk…

I don’t know how long we stand here like this, and I’m going to bet my booty that everyone is watching us.

The best part? I don’t care.

And that feels good. Darn good.

Eventually we pull back from each other, and Linc slowly puts me down. I wobble a little when my feet hit the floor, but my eyes stay trained on his to make sure that the murder-y looks have gone away.

He gives my hands a squeeze, letting me know he’s okay.

I think. Again, drunk.

“Thanks for catching her man,” he says as he brings me into his side. “But as you can tell, our time here is coming to a close. I need to get this girl home. But you remember what that’s like, right?”

Jonathan doesn’t—in the years we were together, never once did we kiss in public kiss, let alone be so into each other that we needed to leave the bar immediately.

“Whatever,” Jonathan huffs before training his eyes on me. “Hope you had fun tonight, Ainsley. When you’re done playing pretend with this guy, let me know.”

“I won’t!” I yell as Jonathan walks off. When he’s far enough away, I spin back to Linc and jump into his arms again. But no kiss this time.

Drat.

“We did it!”

“Damn right we did,” he says, and I don’t know if he’s doing it for good measure, but his words come with a kiss to the cheek. I’m not going to complain about it. “But we should get you home. I think you’ve had enough for tonight.”

I shake my head, because I want to do one more thing. If I don’t do it now, I’m never going to have the courage, or liquor level, to do again.

“Ainsley…”

“Linc…please? Just one more thing. Pretty-pleeeeeeese…”

The tiny grin on his face is freaking adorable. Kissable. Oh! I just kissed him, so I can kiss him again!

And I do. I kiss at the corner of his mouth, where the tiniest dimple is peeking out. I let my lips linger for a second, and I can’t see, but I could swear that this man—my hero for the night—is now in a full-wattage grin.

And when I pull back? That theory is confirmed.

“Well, if you’re going to keep kissing me, I don’t know how I can say no.”

“Good,” I say with a wink. “Because I want to sing.”