Page 12 of Sugar and Spice (Glitter and Sparkle #3)

I turn my head to look at him, which puts our lips inches apart. At some point—either at Thanksgiving, every day since then, or seconds ago he lied to me. And the thought of that finally draws up the anger I should have felt moments ago.

In fact, I’m angry enough, shoving him away seems like a good idea now, but first…

“You’re not dating Sadie…or anyone else?” I ask, just for clarification.

“No,” Brandon breathes. And then, as if testing the waters, his hand moves from my arm to my neck. It feels good. Maybe a little scary.

But mostly good.

I suck in a breath, overwhelmed with the sensation. Then I come to my senses and finally shove him back. “You lied to me.”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “I did, and I’m sorry.”

I step forward, grabbing his T-shirt in my hand, livid. “ Brandon! ”

With his hands still in the air, he says, “I couldn’t do it again.

I couldn’t sit next to you at another family holiday, pretending it didn’t destroy me that after all this time, after adoring you for years— years , Harper—you still felt nothing.

I couldn’t play the game, not again. So I asked Sadie to come so I could save face one time.

You weren’t supposed to CARE.” Growing angry himself, he steps forward, moving into my space.

“You’ve never cared before. I don’t even know if you like me—or if you just don’t like me with her. ”

My hand is still wrapped in his shirt, and my breathing is fast and shallow. I’m two seconds from either kicking him out the door or throwing myself at him.

“Stop,” I demand when he’s too close. I push on his chest. “Just…stay back.”

The anger in his eyes flickers, and then it morphs to dark amusement. “Why?”

He takes another step in.

I step back.

“Brandon,” I warn when my shoulders bump the wall.

“You hate this, don’t you?” His mood completely changes, like the anger was a cloak he simply slipped off. A smile plays at his lips—lips which are darn close to mine. “You can’t stand the fact that you can’t control this.”

I make a scoffing noise because it’s all I’m capable of at the moment.

“In your head, you probably have our first kiss all planned out, don’t you? Tell me, Harper. How was it supposed to go? Knowing you, I expect it wasn’t with you cornered in a hotel room.”

Excitement swirls in my stomach, mixed with a classic case of nerves.

“It changed depending on what grade we were in.”

He sucks in a breath and says a word his mother would not approve of. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

“You were always dating someone!” I all but snarl.

Brandon matches my snarl with a growl of his own. “I’m not dating anyone now.”

And then, as if to prove the point, he kisses me. It takes several moments for my mind to catch up.

I’m kissing Brandon.

He tastes like cinnamon gum, and his hands are soft, almost hesitant. After a moment, he pulls back.

I stare at him, stunned.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, stepping back. “I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s all right.” I wrap my arms around myself, confused.

All I’ve ever wanted was Brandon to kiss me. And now he has. And it was…nice. Really nice.

Maybe not as nice as I expected, but still…

You know…nice.

I feel a little lost, not understanding what my problem is. Not until a pair of gray eyes flash in my mind.

No.

I am not going to think of Mason right now. Absolutely not. I refuse.

It makes sense that something I’ve built up in my mind for years wasn’t exactly what I hoped it would be. Besides, it was a first kiss. Those are always awkward. We’ll get better.

It’ll get better.

Brandon looks just as disconcerted as me, which I’m not honestly sure is a good sign.

“If you’re not dating Sadie, then what’s going on?” I demand, trying to distract myself from the unwanted thoughts swirling in my head.

And I need to know, because I’m pretty sure Sadie’s head-over-heels for Brandon. A fact that makes me feel a tiny bit guilty now.

Brandon draws in a long breath. “We’ve been friends for a few years. She dated a guy on my soccer team—he was a real jerk. They broke up when he graduated.”

“Okay…?”

“We had some classes together, and we started hanging out. She volunteered to come with me on Thanksgiving so I wouldn’t have to face you alone.”

“ Face me? ” I hiss.

He raises an eyebrow as if to say I just proved I can be intimidating.

“She likes you, Brandon,” I say quietly.

He winces and rubs a hand over his face. “I know.”

“How could you string her along like that?”

Because that’s a nasty thing to do, and Brandon’s not nasty.

“I didn’t mean to. I figured it out too late.”

Well, that explains it. He’s just a man, and no matter how brilliant they are, they can be somewhat dense when it comes to women.

I rub my arms and walk to the window, pulling back the drape so I can stare at the snowy landscape in the dark night. “But she knows you aren’t dating, right? That you’re only friends?”

“She knows, but I think she’s in denial—like if we keep pretending around you, then maybe one day, it will be real.”

“What are you going to do?”

He shrugs, helpless. “If I tell her now, it will destroy her. You have no idea how much this competition means to her, Harper. I can’t do that to her while you guys are competing.”

“You’re going to keep playing the game? Even though I know?”

“I don’t know what to do.” Brandon steps forward, his eyes searching mine. “What should I do?”

It’s not an idle question—he really wants an answer.

I shake my head and look back at the window. “Our timing is always wrong, isn’t it?”

“Harper—”

I turn back. “Let’s just…not do this . Right now. All right?”

“I have waited for you for years, and we’re finally in the same place. I don’t want to walk away.”

His words sound incredibly sincere, so sweet. So what if our first kiss was a little bit of a letdown? We should give this a chance. But Brandon’s right—if we were to get together right now, it would devastate Sadie, and we’d lose the competition. And it just seems wrong to take that from her too.

And let’s be honest; I’m not completely selfless. I want to win the bake-off.

“I won’t go behind her back, Brandon. It’s not right.”

He nods. “I know.”

I glance at the clock on the nightstand. “I have to go. I was supposed to meet Mason fifteen minutes ago.”

Brandon looks taken aback. “You’re still going to see him tonight?”

I give him a wry look.

“Fine,” he says, shaking his head.

“We’re just friends,” I assure him, though that feels like a little white lie. I’m not sure Mason wants to be friends with me any more than Sadie wants to be friends with Brandon.