Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,114
went out specifically to celebrate your freedom, remember?”
She scrunched up her nose. “Oh yeah.”
“You’re hopeless.” But his words were softened with humor again, and she knew she was in the clear. “But I forgive you. Unless you think we should try once more in a few years? Maybe the third time’s a charm?”
“Doubt it. Besides, it would be awful if we ever hooked up. If we had a fight, who would I call? It couldn’t be you.”
“Your sisters?”
“Ugh, I never tell them anything. I love them, but they chose lifestyles I despise. Bella’s having a baby, and she’s so young! And Avery is going for her PhD, which is boring as hell. No, thanks.”
“Okay, how about this? We make one of those marriage pacts. If we turn thirty and we still haven’t married, we marry each other.”
“I’m not getting married at thirty!”
“So we’ll make it thirty-five.”
She pulled lightly at the crisp hairs on his arm. “Nah, that’s so tropey. Like that movie—My Best Friend’s Wedding? Best friends always vow to marry when they get super old. We should do the opposite.”
“What do you mean?”
The idea hit her and she nodded with satisfaction. “We make a blood vow to each other that no matter how old we are, and how tempting it is to have sex, we never hook up. We swear to be best friends till the end—nothing more, nothing less. What do you think?”
He shifted his weight and gave her a funny look. “What if we change our minds? Hell, what if we want to have sex one day or decide to become fuck buddies?”
She shot him a glare. “We won’t—we’re better than that crap! We tested it twice already and know we’re safe from the spark thing. It will be a way to protect our relationship forever. What do you think?”
He cocked his head. His long dark hair had escaped from its tie and fell loose against his cheeks. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Never thought about it like that.”
“Let’s do it. Make it official.” She jumped up and grabbed a safety pin from her desk. “Stick out your hand so we can do a blood pact.”
“We’re not the kids from IT. I don’t want a scar on my hand.”
She grabbed his hand impatiently. “I’m just going to prick your finger.”
He lifted both heavy, dark brows that gave him an adorable, surprised look. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Because you’re important to me, Pierce. You’re my best friend. My ride or die. I never want us to get tempted to jump into bed on impulse and ruin the best relationship I ever had. Are you with me?”
His features softened. “You’re such a dork,” he said with pure affection. “Be gentle.”
She made the strike short and quick, then repeated the move on herself. They lifted their index fingers in the air, pausing a few inches away.
Their gazes met and locked.
The air shimmered with a current of energy.
They recited the words, their voices melding in perfect harmony.
Then touched their fingers together.
A hot bolt of fire shot through her body, crackling into a shock that exploded like she’d just touched a wet electrical outlet. She gasped and jerked back, her finger throbbing.
He yanked his hand away, glaring at her. “Hey, I told you not to hurt me!”
“I didn’t.” She stared at him, cradling her wounded finger, but when she shook it out, there was just the tiniest prick of blood from the needle. The air in the room eased, and she breathed deep. Probably the alcohol. She was imagining things. “Sorry, I must have pressed harder than I thought. I’m still tipsy.”
His face relaxed, and he grasped her wrist loosely. “Come on, let’s sleep it off.”
They cuddled together on the bed, fully clothed, her head tucked in her favorite spot in the crook of his shoulder. “Pierce?”
“Yeah?”
“Where are you going after graduation?”
His heart beat steadily against her ear. “Not sure. I want to do photography. Maybe I’ll take on an assistant position. Learn some stuff before I branch out and do my own work. What about you?”
“Paint and live anywhere but Cape May,” she murmured sleepily. “I want to travel. London, Paris, New York. I feel like the entire world is out there ready for me to explore and conquer. Do you feel that way?”
He was quiet for a while. “I like Cape May; it’s my home. I wouldn’t mind settling back there if I had a place and work that was all mine.”
“Not me. I’m never going back.”
She drifted off to sleep with big dreams swimming in her head, the future mapped out like an adventure with buried treasure at the end of every path.
Until her mother called a few months before graduation.
Bella’s husband had been killed in an accident, leaving her sister alone with a newborn baby. Things had fallen apart, and Taylor was needed.
So she went home and learned that some dreams weren’t meant to be.
Jennifer Probst is the New York Times bestselling author of the Billionaire Builders series, the Searching For series, the Marriage to a Billionaire series, the Steele Brothers series, the Stay series, and the Sunshine Sisters series. Like some of her characters, Probst, along with her husband and two sons, calls New York’s Hudson Valley home. When she isn’t traveling to meet readers, she enjoys reading, watching “shameful reality television,” and visiting a local animal shelter. For more information, visit her at www.jenniferprobst.com.