Night Whispers - Leslie Kelly [28]
Kelsey realized she wasn’t being friendly. So much for her conversation with Celia about how to attract or, more accurately, seduce, Mitch. Right now she just wanted to shove him back down the stairs, get a little more sleep and face him later in the day, after she’d at least had a chance to brush her teeth.
“I came to apologize.”
Kelsey opened her eyes and sat up straight. “So…apologize.”
“I’m trying to,” Mitch said ruefully. “It’s not easy.”
“I’m sure you’re not in the habit of having to admit you were wrong.”
Mitch helped himself to a powdered sugar doughnut. “That’s not why I’m having a problem. I wasn’t wrong. I still believe everything I said to you last night. I’m just apologizing for ambushing you and for taking advantage of the situation.”
“You mean kissing me?”
“Yeah. Kissing you. It was out of line.”
“Right,” she said in a steely tone. “Kissing me was a crime against the nation. Are you finished?”
Mitch could tell Kelsey was getting upset as she leaned forward and started tapping her fingers on her knee. She wore her little green robe and looked all rumpled, with her hair puffy and wild, and no makeup. Mitch knew if he closed his eyes he would imagine her lying in her bed, without the robe, beckoning to him.
He forced himself to stop his wandering thoughts. Taking a big bite out of the messy doughnut, he glanced around for a napkin to stall for time.
He was going about this all wrong. His plan was to come up and smooth things over, to start their conversation again, and to try to talk some sense into her. Instead he found himself hip deep in the topic he most wanted to avoid: their kiss. Thinking of that kiss, and of her all sleepy and seductive, had already caused him enough trouble. After he had gotten over his anger at their argument, he’d been able to think of nothing else the previous night.
Mitch had never imagined that one kiss, a first kiss, could start such a flame. He’d burned. Long after she went upstairs, he’d sat in his apartment and done a slow, agonizing burn for her. But he’d mentally doused that fire and decided on a course of action. He would go right back to treating Kelsey like a kid sister, and would never let on that the kiss meant a thing. He’d ignore the fact that he got hard just remembering it.
“Look, let’s chalk it up to the heat of the moment and forget about it, okay?” He tried very hard to keep his voice steady and noncommittal. “It was a kiss. Big deal.”
To Kelsey, it had been a big deal. But Mitch obviously didn’t view it the same way. Kelsey wished she was still in bed and this was all a dream. The day was going from bad to worse, and she’d only been awake for five minutes. Having Mitch angry at himself for kissing her had been bad enough. But having him blow off the whole event as no big deal just plain hurt.
“Fine. Right,” she replied, determined not to let him see how his words affected her. “As the song goes…’a kiss is just a kiss.’ And, hey, look who you’re talking to…Lady Love. I should know.”
Mitch’s jaw stiffened. “You wanna explain that?”
“No, Mitch. As I told you last night, I don’t have to explain a thing to you,” Kelsey said. “I am an adult. You are an adult. We happen to live in the same building. What I do for a living has nothing to do with you.”
Mitch nodded slowly. “I know.”
Kelsey ran a weary hand over her eyes, trying to follow his logic. “You know? Then why are you here?”
“Just because I know you’re right that it’s none of my business doesn’t mean I like it, or that I won’t try to talk you out of it, Kelsey. It simply means I acknowledge the fact that my opinion really doesn’t matter to you.”
Mitch wouldn’t meet her eye, and Kelsey felt a moment’s remorse for some of the things she’d said to him the night before. Mitch did matter…she was beginning to suspect he mattered too much!
“That’s not true. Mitch, I respect you. I think you’re a very intelligent man and I value your opinion. But, in this case, I don’t know that you’ve formed your thoughts rationally. You heard one show. Give me a chance, please.