Kiss and Makeup Read Online Free Page A

if you’ll recall. To avoid just such a situation. You know winter weather is completely unpredictable. Never mind the fact that you’ve missed your sister’s stagette, her bridal shower, her lingerie party, the family brunch, the luncheon for out-of-town guests, the—”
    â€œI told you I couldn’t get that much time off work. I’m really sorry I missed...all those things, but it’s not as if I’m a bridesmaid or anything.”
Thank God
.
    Some people might have felt slighted by the oversight, but Chloe had been all kinds of relieved. Standing up at the altar in front of all those people... Just the thought of it was enough to give her PTSD. “And I’ll be there for the wedding. I promise. Even if I have to hitchhike, I’ll be there.”
    Her mother sighed, and Chloe hoped she’d sounded much less melodramatic when Ben had called her out for the same thing on the plane earlier.
    â€œSo help me, Chloe Marie, if you do not arrive in time for your sister’s wedding...”
    â€œMom, I gotta go. I’ll be there tomorrow around ten.”
    Chloe disconnected the call and sat heavily on the side of the bed.
    What was it about talking to her mother that made her feel like she was sixteen years old again? She’d moved across the country to escape the phenomenon. Yet all it took was a phone call to bring back all the feelings of being
less than
.
    The tears caught her by surprise. They were followed closely by sobs that made her shoulders lurch. The more she cursed and fought the show of weakness, the more torrentially it manifested itself. After a while, she just gave in.
    The sound of the door opening couldn’t have startled her more if it had been a gunshot.
    Shit
. She wiped desperately at her puffy, tear-swollen face, trying to erase the evidence of her breakdown. The man had the worst timing of anyone she’d ever met.
    â€œChloe? You should have seen the lineup for the restaurant. It’s a madhouse down there, so I had to improvise. Also, I added my name to the cot waiting list. Which is hilarious because— Hey, what’s wrong?”
    â€œI’m fine,” she lied, willing him to turn around and give her a minute so she could pull it together.
    He came closer. Chloe kept her eyes down and her body still, but he wasn’t deterred by her attempts to ignore him. She hiccupped as he set an ice bucket on the nightstand and then sat on the bed beside her.
    â€œI’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She shot him a watery smile, with every intention of leaving it at that. But when she saw the genuine concern on his face, felt the warmth of the reassuring hand he’d placed on her back, she spilled her guts.
    â€œIt’s just, today has sucked,” she said with a sniffle. “I’m talking
monumental
amounts of suckage, and I’m tired, and moody, and people have really been getting on my nerves. All I want is to go home, but I’m stuck sharing a hotel room with a complete stranger who must think I’m mentally unbalanced. And you’ve been really nice to me anyway. And now I’m crying again. I
hate
crying,” she finished on a shaky sob.
    Ben reached past her to the nightstand and snagged a tissue, handing it to her.
    â€œYou see? You barely know me, you have every reason to believe I’m deranged, and
still
you have the decency to hand me a Kleenex.”
    â€œIt’s really not that big a deal.”
    â€œYes, it is, Ben. You’re nice. And you’re tall. You’re very tall.” She wiped her nose with the tissue. “How tall are you, anyway?”
    â€œSix-three.”
    â€œThat is very tall.” Chloe shook her head, looking down at her hands. She picked resolutely at the flaking black nail polish on her right thumbnail. She must have been chewing on it—she did that when she was stressed.
    She expected him to bail then, distance