© 2026 by Ashley Chapman. Vampires Love Garlic. All rights reserved.

29

Afterglow

Heather

Oh my gosh.

I kissed McKenzie Bristol.

I still can’t get over it. It’s been a whole morning, and I’m still smiling.

I woke up to find sunlight streaming across my face and Narcissa sitting next to my bed in the guest room. For a minute, I wondered if I had just dreamed the whole thing. She pointed out my wrist, made me drink a whole lot of water, and now here I am sitting beside the river glowing like I’ve been kissed by the sun.

Tourists stroll past, completely oblivious that I’m still floating somewhere in the clouds.

“There you are!” Jen exclaims, plopping onto the bench next to me. She pulls out a novel from her canvas bag and thumbs through it. “Monday reading club has been on hold for far too long. I think the last chapter we read was the ballroom situation with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, right? Where he’s a snob and she isn’t pretty enough to dance with?” She looks at my face and grins. “Oooh. Somebody got laid.”

“I did not!” I exclaim, grabbing the book and wishing my face wouldn’t turn quite so red.

“No?” She laughs and pulls a box of cookies from her bag. “Then what’s with the smile? And the sweet blush? And how quiet you’re being?”

“I’m always quiet.”

“Uh-huh. So what happened?”

“I may have kissed someone. Well, actually, he kissed me. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

She squeals, jumps off the bench, and spins in a circle.

“Well! Well! Details! Come on, girl! It’s been a long week! Spill!”

“McKenzie…”

“Oh. My. God. You kissed McKenzie Bristol? The McKenzie Bristol?” She fakes a swoon, draping herself over the bench, one arm flung over her eyes. “That man probably tastes like leather and sex. Holy cow.”

“Bourbon,” I correct. “He tastes like bourbon.”

“Oh my God, he gave you tongue.”

“He gave me a little more than that.”

“Ohhhh!” Her eyes go wide. She stands up and waves wildly to Claire, who’s making her way toward us with her novel in hand. “Claire! Oh stars above! Claire!”

“What has you so worked up?” Claire asks, eyes sparkling behind her glasses.

“Heather got some sweet lovin’ from McKenzie Bristol! You know, the hot millionaire who comes to the café every single day? Now we know why he’s been coming! He wanted to bang Heather! Ooh, see what I did there?” She leans down and elbows me in the arm. “Why he’s been coming?”

My face is on fire. Actual fire. It’s going to burn down River Street.

I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hide in my own embrace as a group of sorority girls walk by, giggling and looking at me.

“Jen, he did not…”

“You’re not going to get any details out of her,” Claire says, sitting next to me on the left while Jen takes the right. “She’s too embarrassed. But that doesn’t mean we can’t ask yes or no questions. Heather can’t lie. Her face gives her away.”

“Oh, please don’t,” I groan, hiding my face in my hands.

“Okay, okay,” Jen says, booping me on the nose. “First question. Was it at the café?”

“She was off yesterday,” Claire says easily. “She put together that Roaring Twenties party at his house, remember?”

“That’s right! So it must have been at his house.” Jen deepens her voice. “Was it in the ballroom?”

“Was what in the ballroom?” I grumble.

“Did he kiss you in the ballroom with the knife?” Claire asks, making a Clue reference.

“No.”

“Was it in the kitchen?” Jen asks, making her voice even deeper.

“Oh gosh, girls, really…”

“Was it in the bedroom?” Jen wiggles her eyebrows, and I feel a fresh wave of embarrassment sweeping over me.

“Yes! Okay, back to Pride and Prejudice. We were on the ballroom scene,” I stammer, grabbing Jen’s book and opening it. “You know, a perfectly innocent scene between two characters that won’t leave my face in pain?”

“You’re cute,” Claire says, plucking the book out of my hands. “We’ve all been ogling McKenzie for weeks. We find out you kissed him, and you think we’re just going to let you go that easily? May as well tell us everything, and then we might leave you alone. Jen’s not going to stop harassing you until she has details.”

“I went to check on him because I thought he was in pain,” I say with a deep sigh. “Or maybe having a bad dream. So I went to his room, and one thing led to another. If you must know, he stretched out on top of me, sucked on my lower lip, and then kissed me.”

“Holy shit,” Claire says like it’s just another Sunday and my world hasn’t completely flipped.

“Was he naked?” Jen asks.

“Oh my gosh,” I mumble, trying to hide my face again.

“Better finish the story, Heather, or we’ll just assume he took you frontways, backways, and sideways,” Claire says.

“We just kissed.”

“No, you didn’t,” Jen giggles, pinching my cheek. “You wouldn’t be this red if that’s all that happened. Was he naked?”

“No, but he was shirtless.”

There’s actual drool gathering at the corner of Jen’s lips.

“Bet that man looks like a Greek statue,” Jen says, wiping her mouth.

“He looks… nice.”

“So he kissed you, with tongue, on his bed, shirtless. Keep going,” Claire encourages. “Then what?”

“That’s all.”

“It sure as hell ain’t,” Jen says, toying with a strand of my hair.

“Methinks Heather got more than just some French kissing,” Claire says with a smirk. “I don’t see that man just leaving her with a good snog. Heather’s too pretty to abandon after a good makeout session. Bet that man was at least moving those fine hips and making you moan.”

“Claire, I don’t really want to go into details,” I stammer. “He was gorgeous. He was kind. He made me feel like I was beautiful and cared for. He made me see stars.”

“I knew it,” Jen says matter-of-factly.

“Knew what?”

“He made you climax. You saw stars.”

“Okay. That’s good,” I whisper. “Now you know.”

“How do you feel?” Claire asks, smiling.

“Like I’m walking on air,” I say with another blush. “But not because of the orgasm. He just… made me feel special. Like I’m actually pretty, and I’m not heavy. You know how I’ve always wanted a guy to be able to pick me up without looking like he was going to fall over? Kenzie scooped me up like I weighed nothing. He made me feel…”

“Wanted. And well he should. We all know you’re sweet and nice, Heath, but sometimes you forget that you’re drop-dead gorgeous along with it,” Jen says, opening her box of cookies. “I do have another question, though, and then I’ll leave you alone.”

“Oh dear,” I sigh. “What?”

“Is he big? Like, would you need both hands to wrap fully around him?”

“Oh God, Jen,” Claire snorts.

“Both hands probably wouldn’t make it around,” an amused male voice answers.

Oh, just kill me now. Bury me six feet under the cobblestones. River, come up and wash me away. Of all the bad timing…

“Good afternoon, Heather. Ladies,” McKenzie greets.

I still haven’t looked at him. I’m not going to. He doesn’t need to know I’m here. I’ll just sink quietly into the bench.

“Hello, McKenzie,” Jen says, grinning at me. I can’t see her, but I can feel that grin. “We were just about to read some of Pride and Prejudice aloud. Want to join us? You can read Mr. Darcy’s parts.”

“I didn’t realize you have your reading club this late in the afternoon. I was hoping to catch the end of it, so I could take Heather to dinner,” McKenzie says.

“Heather isn’t here right now,” I mumble from the cocoon of my arms.

Jen elbows me hard in the ribs. I sigh and unwrap my arms. I look up at McKenzie standing in front of me, dressed in a suit jacket that makes him look every inch the gorgeous millionaire Jen was squealing about.

“Heather,” he says with a smile, and I can see that wicked sparkle in his eyes. He knows exactly what this conversation was about. The dimple in his cheek is deep, and he’s probably biting the inside of his mouth to keep himself from laughing. “Would you like to join me for dinner?”

“I don’t know. I have…”

“We can discuss my girth, if you’d like. Or perhaps my statuesque abs.”

Jen starts laughing, and Claire fans herself.

“Oh my gosh,” I groan. “Let me finish my book club.”

“Oh, we won’t be discussing books,” Jen announces. “We’ll be talking about whether McKenzie has a six-pack or an eight-pack.” She winks at McKenzie. “Is he a sloppy kisser, or is he swoon-worthy?”

“All right!” I exclaim, getting to my feet. “I’m going!”

I turn to McKenzie.

“I hope you’re happy,” I grumble.

“Mmm. Almost.”

His fingers slide through my hair. He tips my face back. He gives me about three seconds of staring into those gorgeous green eyes before he kisses me.

I can hear Claire and Jen whistling in the background. I’m trying so hard to be embarrassed, but I can’t be. Not when his mouth is hot, his tongue is devastating, and the hum in the back of his throat makes me tingle all over.

“Sloppy or swoon-worthy?” he murmurs, pulling back just enough to rest his forehead against mine.

“I’d give it an eight out of ten,” Jen’s voice pipes up from the background.

I can’t speak. He’s stolen my breath away.

“Narcissa,” I manage to whisper.

“We’ll talk about that over dinner,” McKenzie says, taking my hand in his and raising it to his lips. “Will you join me?”

I nod and turn to the girls.

“Can we do this later?” I ask.

“Oh, absolutely,” Claire says, stealing one of Jen’s cookies. “We’ll text you later. Have fun.”