Page 33 of Knotty Nights
“I’ve since given her a lecture on online safety,” Rosie continued.
I rolled my eyes, regretting the decision to tell my daughter the truth of how Atlas and I met. For someone who spent more time on dating apps than her homework, Rosie had been surprisingly judgemental about AlphaNet. Apparently, the heat-matching service had developed a bit of a reputation for being a ‘wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’-type service.
“I constantly have to watch what my mom’s doing online,” she said to Atlas. “One wrong move and she’s going to lose my inheritance to a love scam.”
I tried to swallow an annoyed scoff.
“What inheritance?” I asked, tearing open a bag of chocolate almonds to give myself something to do. “Keep talking shit about me and I’ll leave it all to SPCA.”
“Very funny,” Rosie muttered under her breath before turning to Atlas. “I thought we should get to know each other a little, you know, if you intend to stick around.”
Atlas’ eyes went wide behind her glasses.
“Is this a test?” she asked. “It feels like a test.”
“It’s not,” I assured her. “My daughter has just picked an inconvenient time to be overprotective.”
“Protective,” Rosie corrected. “Overis an exaggeration.”
“Whatever.” Since when had our roles been reversed? I was usually the one to advise caution.
“I do intend to stick around, Rosie,” Atlas said, casually slinging an arm down my back and touching my waist. “Sure, your mom and I met under… unusual… circumstances, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get butterflies whenever she’s near.”
I tilted my chin to study her face. “You get butterflies around me?”
“All the time,” she confessed, looking sheepish. “I thought they would disappear after a month, but they’re here to stay, I think.”
Rosie gave me a meaningful stare.
“You happy now?” I asked. “She’s not going to kill us in our sleep.”
“I’ll try to stifle the urge,” Atlas quipped with a quirk of her lips.
“We’ll just see about that,” Rosie said, turning on her heel to lead us toward the theater.
“Sorry,” I murmured when she was out of earshot. “She can be dramatic sometimes.”
“I don’t mind,” Atlas smiled. “She’s funny.”
She leaned close to brush her lips along my forehead.
“You smell so good,” she whispered for my ears only.
“I smell like I always do,” I returned with a little laugh.
Atlas made a little noise of agreement. “Like a little cream puff.”
Heat crept across my cheeks.
“I’m going to kiss you. I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment I walked into the cinema but…” She trailed off, her fingers digging into my waist. “It’s going to be a big kiss.”
Her lips were a fraction away from mine.
“Bring it on, Alpha,” I said with a little laugh. I’d barely finished the sentence before my world tilted. Atlas’ hand was firm at my waist as she dipped me low into a Hollywood kiss I’d only ever seen on the big screen. I clutched at her shouldersnot because I was worried about her dropping me, but because I needed to anchor myself before I floated away on a cloud of loved-up pheromones. The box of popcorn crunched between us.
My stomach did that little swoop it usually did, but this time, it was ten timesworse.Her lips were deliciously soft, and I could taste the apple-flavored gum she liked to chew at her desk.
When she finally let me up again, I was breathless and grinning and acutely aware that my knees were unsteady under my dress.
“You’ve officially ruined normal kisses forever,” I said, uncaring that people were staring at us.
“Good,” she nodded, looking pleased with herself. My gloss was smeared across her lips like a brand. “Mission accomplished.”