Kissing Lessons (Kissing Creek)

by Stefanie London

  Audrey paused and turned. Her olive-green eyes narrowed at him, as though suspicious. Ronan already felt like a complete tool. Why did he keep doing this to himself? He should forget about Audrey and her delectable curves and her sweet smile and curious mind and the goodness that poured out of her like molten sunshine.

  He should forget about all of it.

  Only…he couldn’t.

  “I appreciate you giving up your afternoon,” he said. The sun was getting lower on the horizon, and Ronan’s stomach grumbled. He’d skipped lunch to deal with a student who was freaking out about a grade, and now he was paying for it. “And the start of your evening.”

  His stomach rumbled again, this time even more aggressively than the last. The sound made Audrey laugh.

  “Maybe next time there’s an event like this, we should bring snacks,” she said.

  We.

  Ronan nodded. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting it to go on quite so long. They’re a chatty bunch.”

  “I think it’s good they want to hear from students. I had an…interesting time,” she said. “But it would definitely have been better with snacks.”

  “Would you like to come with me? Uh…for food, I mean.”

  Can’t you leave it alone?

  “I thought you had somewhere to be.” Her eyes were luminous, and her lips were softly parted, plush and full. “After we get my phone, that is.”

  For someone who was supposed to be so adept at reading people and situations, he sure was acting like an idiot today.

  “Truth be told, I…” Shit. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

  “Must be hard being the new guy in town.” There was something strange about Audrey’s tone—but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

  For all Ronan’s research and experience, he was still better with data about people than people themselves. Not that he didn’t have social skills—he did. But there was something about the nuance of personal relationships that eluded him. He could read people, but putting those readings into action…

  Well, that didn’t always pan out.

  Remote, his ex had called him. A workaholic and an enigma. It had hurt, because they were all things he associated with his mother.

  “I’m not good with networking,” he admitted. “I’m more a working-quietly-in-a-dusty-library kind of guy.”

  A genuine smile drifted across her lips. “That sounds wonderful.”

  “So…food? Do you want some?”

  Audrey sucked on the inside of her cheek as if weighing up the pros and cons. Maybe she had to get back to her siblings and ensure they were fed. Or maybe she was going to visit her aunt. Maybe she wasn’t interested in—

  “I’d love to,” she said with a nod. “But I have one tiny, little request.”

  “Name it.”

  “Let’s get out of Kissing Creek.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Flamingos turn pink from eating shrimp.

  Audrey felt all the tension leave her body the second Kissing Creek was in the rearview window. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d seen the thank you for visiting Kissing Creek sign, which meant she hadn’t made it to the edge of town in months.

  Or was it years?

  Despite the awkward moment at the end of the meet and greet, Audrey found herself biting back a giddy grin as she sat in the passenger seat of Ronan’s car. The roads were quiet, and they zipped along the highway toward a town that was perched along the coast, closer to the New Hampshire border. Forever Falls was the only other town in Massachusetts that came close to rivaling Kissing Creek for silliest town name…and that was saying a lot, since their great state was home to such gems as a town called Sandwich.

  But while Kissing Creek leaned into gimmicks to differentiate their town, Forever Falls didn’t need anything like that. Audrey had been there several times as a kid, and it was one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen. They had a boardwalk along the beach strung with fairy lights and dotted with ice-cream stands. The quaint old buildings had a storybook look about them, and there was all the natural wonder you could cram into a single town. It wasn’t surprising that tourists flocked to the small town every summer, swelling their population for three months of the year.

  “Apparently the pub in this place is really good,” Ronan said as they navigated the roads. The sun was fat and low on the horizon, bathing everything in red and gold. “I’ve been itching for a good pub meal since I got back.”

  “Not the same as England, is it?”

  “Unfortunately, no. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there are some things that we do way better here, but nobody does pub food like the British. I’m pretty sure I existed solely on fish and chips and Guinness the entire time I lived there.”

  Audrey glanced at Ronan’s cut physique and rolled her eyes. “Only a man could do something like that and not put on a pound. All I have to do is look at a pint of beer and I feel my pants getting tight.”

  “I do have a fast metabolism,” Ronan admitted. “I hated it when I was a kid.”

  “Really?” It felt like a real treat having Ronan all to herself, and getting to learn about him—even mundane things like his metabolism—felt special. The warmth of joy wound slowly through her system, loosening her. Uncoiling her.

  “Oh yeah, I was that skinny kid who was all elbows and knees until I hit my teenage years. Even then, it took a while to get going. I was never really into sports much.” He turned to her and shot her a grin. It was hard to imagine Ronan as anything but the roguishly handsome man with the panty-searing grin he was now.

  “Me neither.” Audrey wrinkled her nose. “I can’t even tell you how many times I faked being sick to get out of swimming. I was pretty sure the teachers thought I was a hypochondriac.”

  “You didn’t like swimming?”

  “I didn’t like being in a bathing suit in front of my peers.” Back then, Audrey had been self-conscious of her body, even if she wasn’t as curvy as she was now. “I was the only thirteen-year-old wearing a D-cup bra with booty before booty was cool.”

  Maybe don’t talk about your tits and ass, weirdo.

  “I guess all teenagers are self-conscious,” she barreled on, heat filling her cheeks. “Kids can be cruel.”

  “Were you teased?” He frowned so seriously and yet so comically that Audrey had to laugh.

  “Uh, yeah. I’ve always been on the, uh…chubby side.” Audrey had probably left chubby behind twenty pounds ago, but these days she was comfortable with her body. “Took me a long time to accept myself for how I was. I used to wear really baggy clothes to try and hide myself, and I would never let anyone take my picture.”

  Ronan’s eyes were trained on the road as they approached the welcome sign for Forever Falls, but she could see the concern in his eyes.

  “Raising my little sisters is actually what made me learn to love myself,” she said. “Especially Deanna. She would hang on to every word I said and observe every little thing I did, and one day I realized that if I kept hating my body, then there was a good chance I’d teach her to do the same. I wanted to be better for them, so I decided to change how I viewed myself. It wasn’t instant, by any means, but I worked really hard at it.”

  “I imagine you work hard at absolutely everything,” Ronan said softly.

  “I try.”

  They followed the signs directing them to the Forever Falls main strip. Although not as busy as during peak season, the main strip was still bustling. People walked hand in hand, some eating ice cream from cones or cups. The patios of several restaurants were full, lit with glowing lanterns and twinkling fairy lights, and neat rows of cars lined the curb.

  They continued past it all, with Audrey glued to the window like she was a child seeing another country for the first time. Was it a little pathetic? Definitely. But who knew how
long it would be before she had a night out again?

  A thought flickered in the back of her mind, a worry whispering that her dad would be pissed. But he was out tonight. It was his monthly poker game with his friends, and he never came home before one or two in the morning, often drunk. Always smelling of cigars. All she had to do was return before midnight; then she’d have a buffer to get into bed, and he’d be none the wiser. The kids were elated to have the house to themselves.

  It was almost like fate had engineered what Audrey needed most—a night without responsibility, without duty. A night when she needed no more reason to do something than simply that she wanted to do it.

  “Looks like you can park around the back,” Audrey said as they approached the town’s popular Falls Inn & Pub. The building was old, rumored haunted, and perched on a slight hill so that it overlooked the boardwalk and beach.

  Ronan followed Audrey’s advice and pulled into a small driveway that cut between the pub and the building next door, leading out to a small parking lot at the back. They grabbed one of the only available spots and made their way inside.

  That’s when Audrey spotted a chalkboard propped up against the wall near where staff waited to greet them. In pretty chalk lettering, the night’s events were spelled out: Pub Trivia—test your general knowledge skills and win big!

  “Bar or bistro?” asked an older woman with curly hair and big earrings.

  Audrey’s eyes lingered on the chalkboard, and Ronan placed a hand at the small of her back. “Where’s the trivia being held?” he asked.

  “At the end of the bar. It’s almost full, but I’m sure we can squeeze you in.” She smiled and plucked two menus from a holder. “Follow me.”

  Audrey beamed as she followed the woman into the crowded bar area. It was full of people young and old, families and couples and groups of friends. There were casual tables dotted around the room and people seated at a long, curved bar that ran the length of the room. At the other end, the space opened up somewhat, and Audrey could already hear the trivia host getting the night started.

  “You got here just in time,” the woman said, setting the menus down at a small table jammed into a corner. There wasn’t even space for them to sit across from each other, so Audrey had to wedge herself into the side of the table, and her knees brushed Ronan’s as they sat.

  “Latecomers!” The trivia host waved to them from the front of the room. He was a young hipster guy with circular glasses and a thick ginger beard. “Welcome, folks. My trusty assistant will get you some pens and paper to write your answers down. Make sure you put your names at the top.”

  “Oh my gosh.” Audrey clapped her hands together. “This is going to be so fun.”

  “Damn straight, and you’re my cash cow, okay?” Ronan nudged her with his elbow. “I expect that big brain of yours to help us take home the grand prize.”

  “You don’t even know what the grand prize is,” she said.

  “Don’t care; I just like to win.”

  “Oh, you’re one of those guys,” she teased. “Win at any cost, huh? Who would have thought you were hiding a ruthless personality under those elbow patches.”

  “You have no idea.” He leaned forward, and Audrey caught a whiff of his cologne. It was crisp and manly, like wood and lemons and a hint of something musky. “You don’t make it to Harvard without having a ruthless streak.”

  Hmm, maybe Audrey needed a little more ruthlessness in her life. It wasn’t a quality she’d ever considered to be a positive trait, but right now—staring into Ronan’s clear blue eyes, the heat of his body drawing her closer, their limbs brushing—she thought it might be the most perfect trait ever. Ronan went after what he wanted. He got what he wanted.

  She wanted that for herself. “I like to win, too.”

  “Good,” he said as the trivia assistant came past the table and set down some printed-out sheets with spaces for each answer and a few pens. “We’ve totally got this.”

  “All right, everyone, are we ready?” The trivia host paused to let the crowd cheer for a minute.

  He was quite the showman, and it was clear the trivia was a staple for the pub. There seemed to be lots of people who knew one another, some good-natured smack talk flowing between tables. Most of the groups appeared to be in their twenties through forties, clusters of beers and other drinks clogging the tables. One woman bounced a little girl of about five on her lap, and she high-fived a man sitting on the other side of the table.

  Is this what Friday nights looked like for people? Friendship, fun, frivolity. For a moment, her chest ached. It wasn’t often she got to see exactly what she’d sacrificed staring her right in the face.

  “Okay,” the host said, snapping Audrey out of her reverie. “Question number one…flamingos are born with gray feathers. So what do they consume that turns them pink?”

  “Oh, I know this one.” Audrey reached for the piece of paper and grabbed one of the pens. Ronan leaned forward to see what she was writing, his arm pressing against hers in a way that made it hard to breathe. “Flamingos eat mainly shrimp, larvae, and a type of algae that are full of carotenoids that turn into pink and orange molecules in the digestive tract. They literally turn into the color of what they eat.”

  Ronan shook his head, laughing. “I knew you’d kick ass at this.”

  Feeling a little high on the power of being her own woman for an evening, she shot Ronan a saucy look. “I’m sure I’ll perform better if I have a beer in my hand.”

  “Whatever the lady wants.” He signaled for a waitress to come over and quickly ordered them some drinks while the other tables were arguing over the answer to question one.

  It was amazing what being outside Kissing Creek did for Audrey’s confidence. She found herself sitting up straighter, leaning in closer to Ronan without worrying that she shouldn’t be doing it. She felt like she could tease and flirt and be a young woman in her prime. Tonight, the world was her oyster, and she intended to grab the opportunity with both hands.

  Consequences were a problem for tomorrow.

  …

  Audrey was magnificent. Hell, she knew everything about everything. Sabermetrics, Welsh folklore, rock and roll history, anatomy, pop culture. Everything.

  “You have rendered me utterly useless,” he said, leaning back as they paused before the final round of questions. “I think I’ve answered two whole questions, and I’m pretty sure you let me have one of those.”

  A flirty smile flitted across her lips. “I might have.”

  “I am going to find a question that stumps you,” he said. “Eventually.”

  “I won’t hold my breath,” she teased back.

  “Why do I feel like I need to beat my chest or hoist a table above my head to make up for it?” He frowned and picked up his beer. “I don’t often feel like I need to prove myself.”

  “I have that effect on you?” She blinked. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m…” Something dark flickered across her face, or maybe it was a trick of the light. “You’re the one with the Harvard education and the list of accolades a mile long.”

  “Education doesn’t make someone smart, you know. It’s simply a way to guide that intelligence toward something purposeful. But not having an education can’t take intellect away from you. Plenty of influential people in history never finished school.”

  Fresh drinks arrived at the table, and Audrey sipped her beer before setting it down on the table and looking into the clear amber depths. “Then why did you interrupt me today, when that professor was asking me about which degree I was taking?”

  “I…” Why did he do that? It was none of his business. “You looked uncomfortable.”

  “I was, but I can take care of myself.”

  “I have no doubt.” He nodded. “It was…instinct, I guess. I didn’t
want you to feel bad. But that wasn’t my place. I’m sorry.”

  She smiled at him, but this time there was something utterly, heartbreakingly vulnerable about it. Audrey had a lot of smiles, he’d come to realize. Some were real and some were armor and some were a diversion. It was like her parents had taught her that there was only one acceptable facial expression. Not that he could judge her—Ronan wasn’t exactly forthcoming with his emotions, either.

  Except tonight. Tonight, he felt like he could say anything.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

  “You have this incredible, perfect life, and, honestly, I’m a little jealous. I can’t imagine what it would be like to see the world and study things that interest me and have people want to listen to what I have to say.” She swirled her beer, watching the liquid shift and the foam cling stubbornly to the inside of the glass.

  “My life is not perfect—trust me.” Ronan took a swig of his own beer. “I had a…messed-up childhood.”

  Audrey leaned forward. “Really?”

  People were still coming and going from the bar and restroom while the trivia host walked between the tables, chatting with people. He could give Audrey the short version; they had a few minutes.

  “My mother is a very creative person. She’s done everything from painting to poetry to live performance art. She’s very…internal. Living in her own world, I guess you could say.” He sucked in a breath. “When I was eleven, she bought a cabin about an hour or so outside Boston and decided that she needed to go into a ‘lockdown’ to complete her latest project. But she seemed to forget that an eleven-year-old and a four-year-old can’t look after themselves.”

  He remembered that feeling of hopelessness, when his mother still wasn’t home. Keira had been hungry and crying, the fridge bare because Merrin regularly forgot to shop for groceries. She’d often order pizza and leave it on the table for the kids while she worked—never eating with them. He’d found a dusty can of baked beans in the cupboard and heated it up in the microwave for Keira—but there was no bread to go with it. She’d slept in his bed that night, her little shoulders heaving with sobs as she repeatedly asked where their mother was.