Page 27 of Your Last First Kiss

A lump forms in my throat. Like recalling the good things about the family that both kept me sane and showed me what I was missing in my childhood smooths the ragged edges of my memories.

“Yeah.” He nods and opens the door. “Ashton and Nova have always been good to us. They’ve been good to my mom.”

The warmth of their home engulfs me like an embrace. It’s so different from the constant cold that seeps into my bones at my apartment, and my body heats instantly. The starchy scent of pasta cooking makes my mouth water. I’m not sure where to look first, but Kaiser drops his bag on a bench to the left and slips out of his shoes, so I do the same.

He bends down, tucks a smaller pair of shoes onto a shoe rack, and picks up the crumpled sweatshirt on the floor beside it. “My brother Gage can’t quite reach the hooks yet,” he explains.

I place my snowy dress shoes neatly on the welcome mat and inhale sharply. Seeing my shoes next to Penny’s and three mini versions of mine makes my chest feel like the blades of a helicopter about to take off.

Kaiser walks farther into the house while I’m mesmerized by the little shoes next to mine. A pair of worn duck boots. A pair of tiny red Converse sneakers. And her high heels. Penny’s high heels. The ones I’ve seen carrying shapely legs around the office, and once again, it’s shoes that threaten the walls I’ve carefully constructed around my heart.

CHAPTER8

PENNY

Exhaustion is a funny thing. I never feel it until I stop moving, so on days like this, I make it my mission to never stop moving.

I stir the cheese sauce and check the clock one more time. I really do try not to be a helicopter mom, but it’s harder than you’d think, especially after all my boys have been through. It’s also tough to acknowledge that Kai is growing up and deserves alittlefreedom. Twenty more minutes. Then I start blowing up his cell phone.

And there will be a conversation about turning his location setting off. That won’t fly. Not with the ticking time bomb that is my ex. Goddamn Eddy—

A voice behind me makes me jump a foot high.

Holding a hand to my heart, I turn to face Kai and smile. He’s so handsome and kind. It’s moments like these that I want to pat myself on the back. It’s hard work raising good humans, but my oldest proves I’m doing my job right.

“Sorry, Kai. What did you say?”

“Mr. Dillon is here for—for…” he mumbles and looks down at the floor.

My brain is foggier than I thought because those words are English, but they make no sense.

“Mr. Dillon, Mom?” Kai finally repeats with a nod of his head toward the front door.

“What?” I whisper-yell and race to the edge of the doorway, where I poke my head through just enough to see my front door.

Nope. I didn’t hear him wrong. Dillon Freaking Henry offers a shy little smile, and a strange “eep” escapes my lips as I duck back out of view.

“Kai! I’m not even dressed. I don’t have a bra on, and I’m in…I’m in. Oh, crap.” Staring down at my chest, the letters UNC smile up at me, mocking me, and my entire body goes up in flames.

Dillon’s footsteps echo in my head, and I spin in a circle, desperately trying to find something to put on, but it’s too late.

“Penny.” His throaty voice with that gravelly tone makes my core spasm. I drop my chin to my chest in resignation. He’s going to find me in his t-shirt and my dancing bear pajama pants, and there’s not a damned thing I can do about it.

Slowly I turn to him. His sharp intake of air is like jumping into the deep end of a pool. It engulfs me. He engulfs me, and he hasn’t even moved.

His gaze is intense and heated in a way I’ve only ever read about as he does a slow sweep of my body.

A full-body tremor works its way from my head down to my toes. I fight it, trying not to let it show, but then he goes and licks his lips, and my breath seizes in my lungs like the first blast of sub-zero air. It singes down my throat and into my chest.

Dillon wipes his palms on the thighs of his pants before lifting one arm and scratching at the back of his head. He mutters something under his breath that I can’t make out, but I feel it everywhere.

I watch him intently as he takes in my world around him. Landon sits at the corner table, working on a history project while my mac and cheese sauce bubbles on the stove. I move quickly to turn it off before it burns, ridiculously thankful for the distraction.

Finally, I turn back to him and force my words to come. “D—Dillon. Sorry. I, ah, I wasn’t expecting company.” His eyes darken when they land on his shirt. Damn it, no bra. I quickly cross my arms over my chest. He has a way of making me forget myself.

He looks down at the floor with flushed cheeks.

“I’m sorry to interrupt. I—uh…” He scans the room again, but I have no idea what he’s searching for.