Page 43 of On the Rocks

My cheeks heated, a rush of blood flowing through me at the memory of my hands in his shirt, his in my hair, our lips touching just long enough to send a zip of desire through me.

I’d nearly cheated on my fiancé.

I shook my head, letting out another frustrated growl as I took the turn into my driveway.

“It wasn’t even a kiss,” I reminded myself out loud. “We got a little too close, but that was it. It was a mistake. We were just caught up in the moment.”

It would never happen again.

And I promised myself I’d stay far away from Noah Becker to ensure it.

By the time I put my car in park, punching the buttons on the consul to put the convertible top back in place, I’d made my decision. Noah was nothing more than the guy who showed me the barrel I purchased forAnthony. He wasn’t my friend, and he wasn’t someone I should lean on the way I had been.

It didn’t matter how I felt around him, or how I found myself already caring about him and his family.

He was a lightning storm, fun to watch from afar but dangerous to dance with.

I wasn’t going to toy with that line of danger.

I dragged myself out of the car, exhausted and ready for a hot shower and my bed, but the sight of a familiar car next to my dad’s truck in the driveway made me pause.

Before I could even register what that car meant, the voice that belonged to it spoke in the darkness.

“There she is.”

Anthony trotted down the steps of the front porch, his wide and brilliantly white smile visible even in the dim light of the night. He held his arms open, but my feet remained glued to the spot I stood.

“Come here, beautiful,” he said, taking my hesitance for shock as he chuckled and pulled me into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, swaying me in a hug before he pulled back and framed my face with his hands. “God,I’ve missed you.”

His lips were on me in the next second, kissing me with the longing of the last few weeks we’d been apart. I didn’t come to until halfway through it, and when I did, I wrapped my arms around his waist, kissing him in return as my mind reeled.

And I couldn’t figure out why when his lips were on me, I was still thinking about Noah.

When Anthony pulled back, he wrapped me in his arms again, threading his hands on the small of my back as he smiled down at me. He was tall, body built like a brick wall from playing lacrosse his entire life. His bicep muscles were the size of my thighs, and with them encompassing me like that, I felt an equal measure of warmth and confinement.

“Shocked?” he asked with an amused smile when I still didn’t say anything. His blond hair was styled in a neat wave, his hazel eyes matching the hue of mine. He reminded me a little of a Ken doll, or Superman, or a combination of the two with his cleft chin and strong jaw line, his face freshly shaved and smooth, his skin a perfect shade of bronze.

I nodded, forcing a smile.

He chuckled. “I thought you’d be. Where have you been? I’ve been waiting all night to see this look on your face.”

Panic zipped through me, but I swallowed it down, running my hands over his chest. “Oh, just at the nursing home. I didn’t know I had such a surprise waiting for me.”

Warmth touched his eyes. “My girl, always the giving heart.” He shook his head, leaning down to peck my lips before he pulled back again. “One of the things I love most about you.”

My smile was genuine this time, and I mentally slapped the guilt I felt away. I hadn’t done anything wrong with Noah. We hadn’t actually kissed. It was a mistake, a weak moment where I was too close to him, too close to my feelings of anxiety surrounding the wedding.

It could happen to anyone.

But it wouldn’t happen again.

I pulled Anthony in for another kiss to seal that promise to myself, and when I pulled back, he threaded his hand in mine, tugging me toward the house.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” I asked. “And how long are you here?”

“Well…” he said, and before he could answer, he swung the door open and Mama bounded toward me, wrapping me in her arms in an excited hug.

“Oh, Ruby Grace! You’re home!” She squeezed me tight before pulling back and framing my arms in her hands. “Can you believe it? Anthony surprised us all this afternoon. And he’s staying until the wedding! I’m just so thrilled!”