Page 10 of Hidden Vows (Love in Ashford Falls #3)

Do you remember our first kiss? Nothing was the same after that, but it’s a moment I wouldn’t change for anything.

You felt left out because all your other friends already had their first kiss, and you thought they were leaving you behind.

We were still just friends, but we were best friends, and you trusted me not to judge you.

You thought it was an experience we could share, just like everything else in life up to that point.

We were at your fourteenth birthday party, and we’d just blown out your candles. It was your party, but you knew my dad couldn’t throw me one for my birthday a few days later.

You’d always been so adamant about sharing your birthday with me, no matter how much it upset your dad.

You came up to me in the hallway and pushed me into the bathroom, demanding I kiss you. I remember being so nervous. I had the biggest crush on you—I don’t know if you ever knew that.

It may have been your birthday wish to have your first kiss, but it was my wish to have my first kiss with you. I tried to talk you out of it, telling you that you should experience it with someone special, but you told me there was no one more special than me.

Even then, I knew I wasn’t good enough for you but I couldn’t say no. You were—and still are—my greatest wish, Abbey.

I cupped your cheeks in my hands and pulled you in close. You closed your eyes immediately, but I watched you until the moment our lips touched. It wasn’t anything more than a press of our lips, but I still felt it in my soul. I knew in that moment you were the only one for me.

I saw it in your eyes when we pulled away—the shock you felt. I was relieved I wasn’t the only one who felt the shift. We didn’t talk about it right away, but it wasn’t long after that we officially started dating. Your dad was pissed, but we ignored him.

Maybe we should have paid more attention to it. Maybe there was something more we should have done. Maybe…