Free Not For Me by Laura Jardine

rendered Kristy speechless. Truly an amazing feat. But as she sat on the stool recovering—it was the kind of kiss that required time for recovery—she realized he’d behaved horribly to Maya. So as much as she wished to tell him how thrilling the kiss had been and could they do it again, in private this time, she couldn’t because she was outraged on her friend’s behalf.
    She returned to the table. “I can’t believe he did that to you.”
    “But—” Maya began.
    “He was on a date with you, and he kissed me . In front of you, in front of everyone. Like you didn’t exist, like he hadn’t asked you out, bought you a drink—”
    “Kristy, you—”
    “What’s wrong with him? And here I thought he was well mannered.” Hell, and shy. But what he’d done, that hadn’t been shy. Kristy wished they’d been alone, because then…
    Focus .
    “I’m so sorry,” she continued. “I’m so sorry. After Justin, I wanted you to date a nice, decent man. But then Grant made out with me .” She wouldn’t blush. No, she wouldn’t.
    “So this has nothing to do with Brady?”
    “Of course not.”
    “And everything to do with you thinking he wronged me.”
    “He did wrong you.”
    Maya was…grinning. That couldn’t be right.
    “Grant never lied to me,” Maya said. “It’s no problem if you like him. And I think you do. You’re blushing, you know.”
    “Am not!”
    “Just listen to me for a minute. No interrupting. I’ll put my hand over your mouth if I need to. You know I will. I’ve done it before.”
    Kristy ran a finger across her lips to zip them shut.
    “When Grant called, he said he couldn’t go on a date with me because he liked you. Which, quite honestly, was a bit of a relief and not at all a surprise. But you were completely convinced he should go out with me. So our plan was to pretend we had a date tonight, and afterward I’d call you to say it wasn’t going to work. Then he’d be free to ask you out, and you wouldn’t feel guilty. But when you insisted on playing third wheel, we had to actually go on a fake date.”
    That was… Wow . “Can I talk?”
    “Not yet. I thought you might be encouraging Brady just to make Grant jealous, but—”
    “I don’t care. I’m talking now. You can’t shut me up.”
    “Are you sure about that?” Maya started to reach across the table, and Kristy swatted her hand away.
    “I wasn’t trying to make Grant jealous. I was feeling down because I was sure he didn’t want me, and there Brady was, so…” She shrugged. Where was Brady? “Are you saying that when Grant put his hand on your shoulder, he was just trying to make me jealous?”
    “Yes.”
    So he’d been perfectly honest with Maya. Kristy ran a hand through her tangled hair. Tangled because of Grant, whom she’d run after in just a moment. She got up.
    “When did you realize you wanted him for yourself?” Maya asked.
    “Yesterday, I guess.” That’s when Kristy had finally been able to admit it. But she’d been in denial for a while. “He came over to help me change a lightbulb.”
    Maya snickered. “I knew he went to your apartment yesterday, but I didn’t know why. What an excuse.”
    “I…The fixture. It was complicated.”
    “I’m sure it was.” Maya’s lips twitched. “How many—”
    “Shut it.” Kristy would never live this down. There would be lightbulb jokes for years to come.
    “So he came all that way to help you with a lightbulb.”
    “The cover on the light fixture.”
    “Whatever. All the way to your apartment. Yet it didn’t occur to you last night that he—”
    “It did, briefly,” Kristy said. “He didn’t try to stop me when I almost kissed him.”
    “You’re a dunce.”
    “But I knew he had a date with you, so I figured it was just my imagination. You’re right, though. I’m a dunce. A dunce who is going to desert you now. Apologies.”
    Maya waved her hand away from her body. “Go. He took transit here, so maybe you can catch him at