Her laughter died away, causing his mother’s gaze to shift to him.

“I’m setting up the music. I promise.”

“Good. Let me see if Devon got enough ice. I swear, just because I didn’t give him a precise headcount, he’s trippin’ over how many bags to get.”

As soon as his mother breezed out of the kitchen, Keiran demanded, “What are you doing here?”

“Your mother invited us.”

“I didn’t think you’d come, considering.”

Her cheeks reddened. Her hand kept plucking at the skirt of her maxi dress. It was sleeveless and yellow, with little blue flowers. Cute. She was always cute. And sexy. And bossy. Especially when grabbing the back of his head to kiss him harder. He needed to redirect his thoughts right now.

“Look, you know your mother. I couldn’t refuse her invitation. My mother would also think it weird if I did.”

“You’ve been avoiding me, and then you just what? Expected to show up like nothing happened?” No point in wasting time on small talk. He was addressing this now.

“Yes. With good reason. I know I said what I said.”

Do it. The challenge had been clear.

“Ask, and ye shall receive,” he said calmly as if the very notion of her being here didn’t have him on edge. Any one of his family members could walk in. It wasn’t the best place to have this talk, but she’d stepped into his domain. He wasn’t letting this chance slip by. He leaned against the counter, letting his gym bag slip to the floor so he could fold his arms and wait.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d be here?” he asked the same time as she blurted, “It was a mistake.”

And there it was, just like clockwork. “Your mouth’s saying one thing, but, Cherry, the way you’re staring at my mouth is singing a different tune.”

Her eyes snapped up to his. She opened her mouth, clamped it shut, chewed her lip as she glared at him, then finally said, “Don’t call me that. We’re definitely not at nickname tier yet. Look, I got caught up in the moment. That’s it. What’s your excuse for wanting to kiss me?”

He shrugged. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like. Kissing you.” He let his voice go low. “Gotta say, my imagination didn’t prepare me for any of it. Don’t think I’ll look at red velvet cake the same again.”

Her eyes shifted to the dessert box, resting next to her on the counter. He hadn’t even noticed it. Cherisse was all he saw the minute he’d entered the kitchen.

“I didn’t think this through,” she muttered.

“Neither did I,” he admitted. He’d seen a moment, felt the tension swirling between them. He was certain he hadn’t imagined it, so he’d taken a leap. The kiss would change their dynamic, had already done that. So much for that truce. He hadn’t given a second thought to what came after the kiss.

Cherisse huffed out a breath. “Let’s just forget it happened, okay?”