bend forward to sniff the fragrance again.
"What are you doing?" Laila's tone was angry, but she was smiling. "Hi, Bubbe!"
Hal turned and saw Esther and Saul on the porch's far side. They waved but didn't come over. Esther pointed inside and Hal nodded. "We'll be there in a minute!"
As soon as Laila's grandparents disappeared into the house, her smile turned down. "Hal?"
"You smell good."
"Oh." His answer seemed to unnerve her. "So you had to sniff me?"
Before he could answer, she'd grabbed him around the neck and pressed her mouth to his. Hal didn't question...he just reacted. Her body against his was solid but curvy beneath her heavy clothes. Her lips were softer even than he'd imagined.
Then, just like that, she pulled away. For another moment, Hal mouthed the air before realizing she was no longer there. "Laila?"
"Sorry to interrupt." Ruth grinned and looked completely unapologetic. "I just wanted to know if you two were coming in."
"We'll be there in just a minute," Laila said.
How had a kiss so brief turned her mouth so red and her hair so mussed?
Ruth nodded and winked at Hal. "We'll be waiting for you. Don't be late."
Laila's sister went into the house. Laila sighed. "Sorry."
He didn't want her to be sorry. He wanted her to kiss him again. Hal understood she'd only kissed him to impress her sister. "Hey, that's what--"
"What you're paid for." Laila frowned. "I know."
He stepped closer to her, pulling her in next to him. She had to tilt her head to look up at him. "Maybe we should practice a little bit more before we go in. You know, just to make it look a little more--realistic."
Hal thought for sure she'd see right through his obvious suggestion. He hadn't overstepped the LoveMatch rules of propriety, but if she said no, he wouldn't be able to ask again, unless she initiated contact. She stared at him so long and with such an expression of concentration he knew she was going to say no and probably fire him in the bargain.
Instead, Laila stepped further into Hal's embrace. "That sounds like a good idea," she said, and offered up her mouth to him again.
Laila had only kissed him because she'd spotted Ruth heading toward them. The way they stood, with Hal leaning so close to her, looked awkward. Ruth had eyes like a hawk and Laila didn't want her sister to suspect anything, so she kissed him.
The kiss had lasted only a few moments, barely enough time for her to register any sensation. Besides, she'd been so consumed with making it look natural to Ruth there had been no room for anything else. Hal did have a point, though. If they were going to pass for an engaged couple, and one sharing a room no less, they'd better make it look real enough to fool her family.
"You mean it?" he asked her, then seemed to recover. "I mean, yeah. Right."
Why wasn't he kissing her? Why was he just--looking at her? Sudden self-consciousness flooded her and Laila took a step back. She didn't want to think about this, for Heaven's sakes! Just do it!
Hal's face took on an expression of determination, and he stepped in to cover the distance she'd created between them. He bent to kiss her. Hesitated. She leaned up as he leaned down. Both of them wavered this time. It was just like being back in junior high, only they were on the front porch of a Victorian mansion instead of somebody's rec room closet.
This close, she could see his green eyes were really hazel, tiny sparkles of gold in them. His broad mouth, which looked much handsomer with a smile on it, had thinned with concentration. He looked like he was going to bite her, not kiss her.
The longer they danced around this, the worse it was going to be. And what if someone saw them? Even worse...was watching them now? They probably both looked like a couple of idiots.
Laila took a deep breath, grabbed Hal by the front of his thick sweater and stood on her toes to reach his mouth. This time they came together in a spectacular crash of teeth against teeth, gums against gums. Laila felt Hal's lips squash on hers. She'd heard of bells ringing during a kiss, but she'd always imagined them sounding like celestial fairy chimes. Not ambulance sirens.
"Er." Hal grimaced. "Whoa."
"Well, that won't do at all," Laila said angrily. She put her hands on her hips and glanced around the porch to make