And she was mumbling something to herself.

Jack frowned.

Mumbling something that sounded like…not again?

Guilt hit him squarely in the gut. The poor kid was in shock. He swore softly beneath his breath.

“Niki—” he began, as he carefully moved toward her.

Her eyes widened. She clutched the necklace tighter. “Don’t touch me.”

He stopped, stared at her. It was worse than he first thought. The poor kid had gone off the deep end. She looked panic-stricken. “Niki, honey. It’s me, Jack. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Ha!” Fool that he was, he’d misread the emotion. Anger—not fear—flashed in her eyes. Her gaze narrowed. “And don’t you dare call me honey.”

When Niki had been in eighth grade, she’d become the object of a young boy’s desire, much to her consternation. Tommy Brogan was a smart-alec punk who’d thought he was God’s gift to the female population. When Tommy’s advances became more insistent, Jack thought he’d have to step in and have a talk with the young lothario. But his assistance had proved unnecessary.

Young Tommy made the fatal mistake of kissing Niki without permission. Jack, watching the scene from afar, had nearly fallen out of his bedroom window in surprise. His protective instincts kicking in, he’d been prepared to come to Niki’s rescue and toss the little punk out of her yard.

Niki beat him to the punch, literally. With a sharp right hook, she’d made her position clear. She wasn’t a helpless lass who would stand still for an unwanted pass.

Recalling Tommy and the shiner Niki had awarded him, Jack now took a wary stance. “Can we talk about this?”

“No.”

“Niki, be reasonable—”

“I am being reasonable, finally.”

“Niki, we have to discuss this.” Impatience edged his tone. “The kiss—”

“Should never have happened.”

“But it did,” he persisted. Despite warning signs to the contrary, Jack raised a gentle hand, cupping her chin and forcing her to look at him. “Niki, don’t you see? This changes everything.”

“It changes nothing.”

She stepped out of his embrace.

He shook his head slowly. “If that’s what you want to believe—”

“It’s what I know. I’m engaged to Greg.”

“Greg?” His jaw clenched reflexively. His patience vanished in a haze of jealous heat. “You can’t seriously be considering marrying him. Not after what just happened—”

“Nothing happened, Jack. It was just a kiss.”

“Just a kiss?” The kiss had been special. He knew she’d felt it, too. Anger overrode his common sense. “Tell me, Niki. Do you kiss all of your old friends this way or did I just get lucky tonight?”

He wished he could take back the hurtful words as soon as he spoke them. He was being deliberately crude, lashing out against a wounded pride. Simply because he’d wanted her to feel as bad as he did.

He saw her hand rising. Shared the anger spurring her actions. But felt an air of unreality surround him. For just a moment, he wondered if this was how Tommy Brogan had felt before Niki had knocked him for a loop.

She slapped him.

His face stung from the impact of the blow. But he didn’t move. He simply looked at her, regret washing over him.

Niki turned on her heel, spinning away from him. This time he didn’t try to stop her.

Jack stared after her, feeling stunned and unbalanced. Not by the smack on the cheek. He’d probably deserved the blow.

He brought a hand to his face and rubbed a knuckle over the throbbing spot. No, it wasn’t a physical pain that had thrown him off kilter. It was an emotional one.

He’d enjoyed the kiss, pure and simple.

Hell, he’d more than enjoyed it. He wanted to risk another reprimand, just to sample her sweet lips again.

Jack released a low growl of frustration. Until tonight, Niki had been like a sister to him. She was also engaged to another man. But neither of those things had deterred him. He’d sought and found a pleasure with her that he’d never felt with any other woman.

Niki was the impulsive one.

He thrived on caution and reason.

The last thing he needed to do was to make any snap decisions. The stakes were too high. He had too much to lose if he made a mistake in judgment. He needed to keep his head on straight, and not let his hormones rule his actions.

But it wasn’t going to be easy.

His body still thrummed with an unresolved tension. A sensual tension that Niki had created. Jack raked his hand through his hair.

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