He Lost Me to His Best Friend novel Chapter 897

She had never experienced a kiss so fiercely overwhelming.

Her breathing completely derailed, hot gasps brushing against his face.

Her knees buckled. Unable to support her own weight, her fingers blindly gripped the fabric of his shirt, twisting it into tight knots over his chest.

She was trembling all over, feeling like a leaf caught in a chaotic windstorm.

Her breaths grew shorter and sharper, every ounce of oxygen seemingly crushed out of her lungs.

Just as she felt she might actually pass out from lack of air, he abruptly opened his eyes and pulled back.

His white shirt was soaked in sweat, clinging uncomfortably to his chest and back.

His tie, which had come loose at some point, was hanging crookedly around his neck.

He stared blankly at her as she stood there panting heavily, looking like she had just been rescued from drowning.

A wave of intense guilt washed over his eyes... He had been way too rough.

"Scarlett, I'm so sorry, I..."

Seeing her swollen, flushed lips, he felt a sudden spike of acute embarrassment.

He instinctively tried to apologize again, but she stopped him, her eyes shining bright.

"What are you sorry for? Isn't it perfectly normal for a husband and wife to kiss?"

She knew he was still battling his own internal insecurities, so she was deliberately trying to ease his mind.

But hearing the words 'husband and wife' out loud for the first time sent a strange, electric thrill through both of them.

It was almost comical.

They were both divorced. They had both been through this before.

Yet those brief, chaotic minutes just now felt as dangerously intoxicating as Adam and Eve tasting the forbidden fruit.

She didn't dare replay the kiss in her mind. The second she did, her face burned as bright as a ripe apple.

Julian's older uncle, Douglas Croft, and his family were there, along with the family of his younger uncle, Dylan Croft.

Not only that, but his grandparents had also arrived, dressed perfectly for the occasion in their finest festive formalwear.

Seeing the sheer scale of the gathering, her heart began to race in a sudden panic.

She shot Julian an alarmed look just as he turned his warm gaze toward her.

His hand remained firmly locked around hers. Leaning in close, he whispered into her ear.

"Don't stress. This is just a standard family gathering for us. They didn't all come here exclusively to interrogate you."

Realizing this wasn't an intense, formal evaluation, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"That's good. I had no idea your whole extended family would be here. I didn't prepare anything at all."

Her anxiety spiked again. "What am I going to do? They're going to think I have no manners."

"Of course they won't," he chuckled softly. "Relax. I knew they were all coming, so I already picked out gifts for everyone based on what they like. I'll just tell them you bought them."