“So it was easier to just forget about me.”
“No,” he says firmly, turning to look at me. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you. No matter where I was stationed, I’d lie awake wondering what you were doing. Who you were with. If you were…” He pauses. “Kissing another man.”
His gaze drops.
“Brendan,” I say, waiting for him to look at me. “I wasn’t kissing anyone.”
He lets out a rough laugh. “Yeah, I find that hard to believe. You’re beautiful, Scarlett.”
I reach up and turn his face back to mine. “If I’m so beautiful—” I hold his gaze. “—why couldn’t I kiss anyone else after you?”
He stares at me. “What? How is that possible?”
“It’s pretty hard to kiss anyone else when you made my first kiss so memorable.”
Heat burns across my cheeks, but I don’t try to hide it.
“You were my first.” I swallow, nervous about being this vulnerable. “After that, I couldn’t imagine any other man could measure up.”
“Maybe you haven’t met the right man?”
My eyes level with his. “I have.”
“Then how do you know it was good?” he says. “Maybe it’s only because I was the first.”
I shake my head slowly. “I got a hint of it again when you kissed me at the wedding shower.”
The corner of his mouth curves into that half-smile I’velearned I can’t trust. “If you think my pretend kisses are good, wait until you experience a real one.”
My chest heats. “What are you suggesting, Marco? That you want to prove you’re still the best kisser?”
I laugh like it’s a joke—not some kind of challenge he’s tossing on the table between us. It would be easy to say yes. Nobody would have to know. We’re alone up here, suspended in the night sky, and none of it feels real, like that moment before you wake up from a dream, caught between sleep and reality.
“I’m saying…” He takes my chin gently, tipping my face up to his. His thumb brushes across my jaw. “I’d like the chance to prove it to you.”
Ready and waiting, Marco.But I know better than to jump at the first opportunity I get to really kiss him in over a decade. I should make himworkfor it.
“If we’re friends, why would I need you to prove it to me?” I cross my arms, hoping he doesn’t see how much it’s killing me not to.
Something blazes behind his eyes. For a moment, it feels like there’s so much heat between us we might combust right here at the top of the Ferris wheel. He leans forward, gaze dropping to my mouth andwhoosh—my stomach drops off a cliff.
Something is shifting between us, and it’s not just me getting all in my head.
He’s chasing this.
“I’ve known you a long time, Scarlett Rossi.” He tips toward me. “I know how you like to be kissed. And I wouldn’t be afraid of showing you right now.”
I suck in a breath, everythingachingfor him to show me.
He leans forward, but instead of dipping his mouth to mine, he presses a kiss to my forehead, lingering long enough to give me a taste of what he could show me.
When I’m ready.
And that’s when it hits me. This isn’t just about kissing him. If it were, I wouldn’t have hesitated. It’s about whether I’m braveenough to take a chance on someone who’s already walked away once before.
The Ferris wheel jerks to a start, and I let out a sharp breath. Brendan’s hand falls to my side. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I blink and nod. “Yeah, I’m fine.” But my heart is still racing from the heat of his touch and the shock of my realization.