Read Online The Last First Kiss (Harlequin Special Edition) by Marie Ferrarella - Free Book Online Page A

mini-Napoleon. Obviously, she still was.
    “No, not really,” he conceded. And then a thought struck him. “This isn’t going to involve one of us getting left at the altar, is it?” Because if it did, he had a sinking feeling it would be him. He saw no reason for him to have to endure any sort of humiliation in this little charade of hers.
    She stopped abruptly and looked at him. She hadn’t thought of that before. “No, but that’s not a bad idea,” she said as she turned it over in her head.
    “Yes, it is,” he contradicted firmly. “A very bad idea.”
    “Okay, I’ll shelve it,” she said agreeably as she resumed walking. “Temporarily.” She sidestepped another couple, flashing an absent smile at them even though she had no idea who they were.
    Dave nodded at the couple. “You’ll shelve it permanently,” he snarled between clenched teeth, “or this stops right here.”
    “Down, boy,” she soothed, placing a calming hand on his chest—which only irritated him further. “We’re not up to the part where we have public tiffs yet.” He made no response but his glare was boring a hole right through her. “Okay, you win,” she surrendered. “No getting left at the altar.” Kara cocked her head, giving it one last try. “Not even if it’s me?”
    Dave’s one-word answer came quickly and firmly. “No.”
    She thought that her being the one would have changed everything in his eyes. She was convinced the man would have enjoyed having a front-row seat to her humiliation, especially if it was in public. “Just curious. Why?”
    “Because bailing out at the last minute and leaving you standing alone at the altar just isn’t something I’d do, and everyone knows it.” Because there were people within earshot, he lowered his head and his voice, talking into her ear. “Besides, that would put people in a really awkward position—not to mention there’s also the expense of getting a sitter for the afternoon, buying a wedding gift, maybe buying new clothes for the occasion, all for ultimately no reason.” There was more but he stopped abruptly because she was staring at him in amazement. “What?” he demanded.
    It was a struggle for her to ignore the effect of his warm breath along not just her neck but other parts of her body, as well. Instead, she forced herself to focus on what he’d just said. “I forgot how you could overthink things.”
    “The other side of that is that you under- think them,” he pointed out.
    “There’s no such word,” she pointed out, the wide smile on her lips for everyone else’s benefit so that the people at the party would think they were just indulging in lovers’ talk.
    Dave snorted. “Maybe not, but in your world, there should be.”
    Reaching the kitchen, she crossed to the refrigerator and opened it. The beverages she was interested in—diet soda—were lined up on the bottom shelf. She bent over to look at the various labels.
    “What’s your pleasure?” she asked, turning around various cans and bottles to examine their names.
    Dave watched, almost against his will, as the back of the narrow skirt of her sundress hiked up to a new, mesmerizing height, stopping just at the tops of the back of her thighs and managing to tantalize him.
    You.
    The word flashed through his mind in response to her question, surprising him probably more than it would her had he said it out loud.
    Dave smothered both the word and the feeling as quickly as if it were a sudden spark in a tinder-dry forest.
    Hearing no answer, Kara, still bent over the shelf, looked at him over her shoulder. “Dave?” she prodded.
    “Anything,” he said quickly, looking away as if someone had called to him. “I don’t care.”
    “Okay.” Taking a can of a popular brand of diet cola in each hand, she stood up, turned around and handed one to him. “Anything, it is.”
    The paper cups were on the counter directly behind Dave, and Kara brushed against him as she reached for one for