Page 37 of Not Part of the Plan

“And then what happened?” Amina leaned forward.

“We needed a plan to make Michelle leave, and I told Eliza we should pretend to be together to ward her off. That we should kiss. She looked weirded out at first, but then she kissed me.”

Amina’s eyes widened. “Just like that? No persuasion or preamble?”

I shook my head. “It was spontaneous.”

“What kind of kiss are we talking about here? Peck on the lips? Friendly smooch? Or full-on tonsil hockey?”

Blood rushed to my cheeks. “It was... comprehensive.”

“Comprehensive?”

“There was tongue involved.”

“Poppy!”

I knew I was blushing. “And her hands might have been in my hair, and I may have made some sort of noise that was definitely audible over the music.”

Amina’s grin was wide. “Well, well. Isn’t this quite the story.”

“It’s a disaster because the kiss was good.Morethan good. But Eliza was my enemy but now is my sort-of friend. Plus, I have to work with her, so this can’t go anywhere. The business depends on us being able to function together professionally.”

Amina gave me a look that told me she understood that, but also knew it wasn’t what I was feeling.

“But you like her.”

It wasn’t a question. I dropped her gaze and stared at the floor.

Did I like Eliza?

Of course I bloody did.

“Yes, I like her. Ireallylike her. But that’s exactly the problem.”

Amina put her chin in the palm of her hand, and leaned her elbow on the table. “How good was the kiss, on a scale of one to ten?”

I closed my eyes and was transported back. Suddenly, I could smell Eliza’s perfume, feel the weight of her pressing into me.

I could already feel myself getting wet.

“Twenty-two,” I replied.

She let out a low whistle. “Oh my. That is a very big number. Did you fuck?”

I shook my head. “We just kissed.”

“But you wanted to fuck her?”

Amina had always been blunt. I shook my head, but then changed it to a nod, then back to a shake.

Amina grinned a little wider. “How is liking someone you kissed a problem?”

“Because…” I struggled to put into words the complicated mess of feelings that had been churning around in my head since we got back from New York. “Because kissing often leads to more, which leads to feelings, which leads to everything going wrong, and ultimately, them leaving and me never seeing them again.”

I was on a roll now. “Plus, what if we try something and it spirals and then we can’t even be in the same room together? I have to focus right now, you know that.”

Amina was quiet for a moment. “I know you’ve had a rough few years, but not everything ends in people leaving, for whatever reason. I know your mum and dad both did, but it’s not the default.”