He narrowed his eyes at me, but he was still smiling. Then, without answering, he shrugged and turned back to the computer to type the codes in.
“I dunno,” he said after a while, “some smart chick I used to know told me that it was a bad idea.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “Really? Really. I tell you it’s a bad idea and you fight with me, but some ‘smart chick’ says it and now all of a sudden—”
He looked at me pointedly and sighed. “Daisy. Damn, you are in a crap mood.” He slid his chair back and stood up, opening his arms for a hug. “Come here, honey.”
“No, this isn’t—wait, who was the smart girl?”
He let his arms fall and chuckled. “You, dummy.”
I balled my hands into fists and plopped them on my hips. “Dummy? So first I’m smart, now I’m dumb, how ‘bout you pick—”
I couldn’t finish my argument because he kissed me, pressed his lips so tightly against mine that nothing, not even air, could pass between us. All the tension I’d felt for the last few days melted away under the warmth of his mouth, no matter how much I fought to keep it.
I was still mad at him, damn it. Okay, maybe I wasn’t that mad. At least he admitted that I was right. He didn’t apologize, though. But he did call me smart, and his mouth was very good and very warm and very—
“Excuse me! Daisy, would you like us to close down the library so you can continue your tryst in private, or would you rather take it home without pay?” Mary’s voice was as steely as her eyes and I jumped away from Kash as if he were made of lava.
“I’m sorry,” Kash said before I could say anything. “That was my fault. She was just doing her job, I promise. I got so excited that she solved my problem that I just couldn’t help myself. I’ll be good now, scout’s honor.”
I looked away before I could crack up or break down. Kash was never any kind of scout, for one thing. And where did he get off apologizing to my boss for kissing me before he’d even apologized to me for being an idiot?
“See that you do,” Mary said icily. “Daisy, if you’ve solved his…problem…I suggest you get back to the stacks. This place is a mess.” She stalked away without so much as a backward glance, letting the memory of her icy glare of shame do the dirty work for her.
“Meet me outside after work,” Kash whispered. “I need to talk to you, and it can’t wait.”
It better be an apology that can’t wait, I thought. But the butterflies in my belly undermined my attempt at maintaining my irritation, and I found myself anxiously awaiting the moment the doors locked so I could throw myself into his arms again. Two days apart was two days too long, as I was reminded every weekend. Somehow, I’d convinced myself that it would be easier if it was something I’d chosen.
I waited until the parking lot was empty of all but one battered green truck. Heart in my throat, I tidied up all the things that needed tidying up before reaching for the keys to lock up the library.
Kash was waiting for me in the little alcove by the door, hidden from the road by a big overgrown shrub. He had one leg kicked back on the wall and a sultry smile on his sinfully gorgeous face. I turned my nose up and regarded him icily because that was exactly what he deserved. For kissing me the way he did. For not apologizing. For making it so damn easy to fall for him all over again. So hard and so fast and way too effortlessly.
“What did you need to say to me?”
The smile on Kash’s face faded and he opened his hands toward me, gesturing me into his arms. I walked over to him stiffly and stood between his arms with my own arms crossed. He nudged my cheek with his nose and dropped a quick kiss on it. Damn him and his adorableness.
“Two things,” he said. “First, I’m sorry. Very sorry. So, so, so, very sorry. It was a stupid idea, Daisy. Okay? I was in my head and frustrated and all that. I know, I should have never even entertained the idea. Should have shut it out before it rooted - faster than I’ve ever shut anything out.”
I slid a sideways glance at him. Jesus, he was infuriating. In all the good ways and the bad ways. “Are you just saying that so I’ll kiss you again? Or do you really mean it?”
“What? No!” But he was nodding, his eyes twinkling mischievously. “Both. The last one. I mean, I am sorry, but-”
I was seconds away from reminding him that the worst kinds of apologies were the ones followed by a ‘but’. Instead, I pursed my lips. “Then save it.”
Kash stopped screwing around, his expression earnest now as he caught me around my waist and pulled me close to him.
“No, really. I am sorry,” he said. “Even if you never kissed me again, I’d still be sorry, and my idea still would have been stupid. You were right, I was wrong.”
I cocked my head at him, watching him suppress little sparks of impatience. I was waiting for it—the eye-roll, the C’mon Daisy, the extra-sensual embrace and neck nuzzle—his signature “stop being mad at me” moves I remembered so clearly. But none of it happened. The impatience slowly faded, and he just watched me, not begging or pleading, just waiting. He’d said his piece.
I smiled and nodded once. “Then all is forgiven.”
His eyes lit up, but his mouth didn’t have a chance to smile as I buried it under mine. With each second that went by, Kash melted more and more into me, holding
