Swipe Right for Romance (A Love Bug Novel Book 1) by Kelly Collins

Author:Kelly Collins [Collins, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book Nook Press
Published: 2024-01-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

AJ

As I lock eyes with Junie, the air between us sizzles, each second stretching into a tantalizing eternity. Her lips part, a silent invitation. A rush of warmth floods my cheeks. We’re on the precipice of something amazing. Just a sliver of distance, a shared breath away from crossing that line, and⁠—

A loud knock sounds at the door. I move to open it, and my mother walks in, a whirlwind of Chanel No. 5 and unyielding determination.

“Darlings, look what I’ve brought!” Her eyes sparkle with an intoxicating blend of mischief and delight, but I notice the tightness around her smile, the telltale sign that she’s up to something. My gut churns—part relief, part disappointment, a paradox of gratitude and regret. Mom's entrance is like a wrecking ball to our moment, leaving behind a rubble of unsaid words and unfulfilled desires.

Mixed emotions surge through me. A reluctant sigh of relief escapes me, as if dodging a bullet I'm not sure I wanted to avoid.

Mom parades in with Junie’s forgotten purse dangling from her arm, three champagne flutes hanging from her fingers like ornaments, and a bottle of champagne cradled like a newborn. “Ah, Junie, you left this at the wedding,” Mom says, dangling the purse like a lure. “And I thought, why not toast to love? Especially since you caught the bouquet.”

She plops the champagne bottle on the coffee table, its label flaunting cursive promises of vintage elegance. Then she pries the cork out. A jubilant pop resounds, and she pours the effervescent liquid into crystal flutes with a chemist’s precision. “Since you’re obviously next in line to get hitched,” she beams at Junie, “there’s no time like the present to start planning your dream wedding.”

Junie’s eyes widen, her brows leaping toward her hairline as if they want to escape the room. I glance at her, and our eyes lock in a silent conversation only we can understand. A cascade of emotions rushes over her features—panic, disbelief, and a twinge of curiosity. She’s a book whose pages I’ve skimmed but never deeply read, yet in this moment, the message is crystal clear. This isn’t where we are headed.

“Mom,” I start, rubbing the back of my neck, “we were just⁠—”

“Hanging out,” Junie chimes in, finishing my sentence as she clutches her purse like a life preserver. “We don’t get to spend this kind of time with each other, so we’re using it to get to know each other better.”

“That’s the thing about love,” Mom interjects, swirling her champagne. “You never really know one another until you’re sharing a closet and arguing about which way the toilet paper should hang.”

The atmosphere thickens with awkwardness, a viscous soup of what-ifs and not-yets, stirred by my mother’s indomitable enthusiasm. “Mom, hold on,” I say, my eyes tracing the delicate bubbles rising in the champagne flute. “Junie and I, we’re not ... we’re not at a point where we’re discussing weddings.”

“Exactly,” Junie adds, her voice a little shaky, as if she’s walking a tightrope of diplomacy.

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