His thumb pauses, then resumes its gentle stroke. “I promise I’m never this blunt, but I think I might go crazy if I don’t ask…”

Without thinking, I blurt, “If you could kiss me?”

His mouth falls open slightly. “Uh… I wasn’t expecting that.”

Suddenly, I realize I suck at reading signals, let alone the damn room. I’m mortified by my forwardness, feeling exposed in the back of this truck, my emotions raw and unfiltered.

“I was actually going to ask about your ex,” he continues, his voice soft but unreadable. “Your marriage. But…uh…do you want me to kiss you?”

Oh my goodness, I’m so embarrassed, and there’s nowhere for me to hide. He’s going to think I’m a gold digger for real! We’re in the back of a truck with my hoo-haw practically screaming for him to take me, and he asks about my ex. I need to get out of here…now!

“Kerry, you okay? I didn’t mean to throw you off. I was just wondering how someone so…how you could fall for someone like that? You’re just…”

With my confidence completely depleted, I roll my eyes and interrupt, “A fool? Weak? A pushover? I’ve been called everything in the book, Vic. Gimme your best shot…” My voice trails off, searching for the right words.

Victor gently sets my foot down. His fingers brush against my skin like a farewell, but his intensely focused gaze pins me in place, like he’s trying to read every thought I’ve ever had.

“You’re just…so beautiful. Radiant. Vibrant. Mesmerizing. And clearly too damn good for him.”

His words don’t just fill the space between us; they create a new atmosphere, one that’s sweet, sensual, and filled with desire. As his affirmations enfold me like a warm blanket, soothing the raw edges of my vulnerability, we find ourselves inexplicably drawing closer to one another. In this bizarre, unexpected moment, his hands rest respectfully on my leg, and our lips become perilously close.

He whispers, his voice rough with desire, “Do you want me to kiss you, Kerry Kind?”

His question hangs suspended, our breath mingling, and our intentions clear yet unacted upon. But just as the distance between us nearly closes, promising what I think would be the most magnetic kiss of my life, an unexpected interruption slices through the air.

Ahem.

Gary loudly clears his throat. “Ms. Kind, we’ve arrived at your home.”

The moment shatters like glass. No, no, no, no! I’m not ready for this night to end, not like this, not with a cascade of unsaid words and the tantalizing promise of unexplored acts of passion between strangers.

In mutual frustration, my head thuds against the window with a soft groan, and Vic sharply exhales beside me.

“Do you need assistance, Ms. Kind?” Gary asks, barely suppressing a laugh.