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from that two-minute kiss than any man I’ve ever dated.”
    They all took a moment to let it sink in.
    “Okay, but why did you kiss him?” Mira asked. “Because the way he tells the story, you made the move in the dark.”
    Daphne could still hardly believe she’d gathered a blend of stupidity and courage to seize the moment. “I did. I kissed him because I’ve wanted to for years.”
    Ivy’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? You’ve had a crush on Gib all this time?”
    “Yes.”
    “And you never told me? Even though I helped you put together outfits for dates with other men, and told you tons of details when Ben and I started dating? You kept this huge a scoop from me?”
    “How is this suddenly about you? Look, there wasn’t any point in mentioning it. Gib and I are friends. A quick slide between the sheets with a man who goes through women faster than I go through a pint of chocolate chip mint would ruin that friendship irrevocably. He’s like a movie-star crush—someone you like to imagine getting naked with, but are perfectly fine never actually pursuing. I mean, would you ever try to kiss Brad Pitt?”
    “Maybe. If the lights went out and he was standing next to me.”
    Mira poked Daphne in the thigh. “So why are you torturing the poor man? He’s going out of his mind trying to figure out who Cinderella is. Just tell him.”
    “I can’t.” Daphne realized her hands that she didn’t remember balling into fists were cramping.
    Mira tossed the curtain of long, dark hair over her shoulder with a quick twitch. “For God’s sake, it was one kiss. It won’t burn the friendship bridge to the ground. Tell him, and we’ll all have a good laugh about how he never guessed you were Cinderella.”
    “Exactly.”
    Ivy tapped her first finger against the floor. “Explain.”
    “When the lights went out, and when they came back up, I was standing right next to him. Sure, fifteen other women were within arm’s reach, but I was literally a foot away. And it never even occurred to Gib that it was me. That I was the one who rocked his world. Because he doesn’t see me in that way. He sees me as a buddy, a sounding board, somebody to hang with when he doesn’t have a date. It’s beyond humiliating that he couldn’t even for a moment imagine I could be the woman who kissed him.” Since when was airing deep humiliation a sanctioned New Year’s event? This party had definitely gotten off to a rocky start.
    “Maybe you’re taking this too seriously,” Ivy suggested. “Just because he’s never thought about you in that way—which we don’t actually know to be true—doesn’t mean he couldn’t.”
    “I can’t risk it. First of all, my pride still smarts. Gib is on the cover of Windy City magazine this month as one of Chicago’s top bachelors. He could have any woman in the city. He’s so far out of my league there are entire galaxies between us.”
    “Not true. You’ve landed several yummy men.”
    “Yummy enough for me,” Daphne clarified. “Nowhere near as yummy as Gib. I accept it. And I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship. So I’ll chalk it up to the craziness of New Year’s and move on. But I need the cushion of time before any more cozy dinners with Gib. He’s like a giant hot fudge sundae in front of me, and I’ve had one taste.” God, how she wanted to keep on licking! “I’ve got to have a little distance until the temptation fizzles.”
    “That’s one way to look at it.” Mira leaned forward, scrunching up her nose. “If you want to be a chicken. You’ve got more backbone than that. Especially if you’ve been keeping your hand off the spoon for years. Ever hear the cliché about getting right back on the horse?”
    “Thinking about mounting and riding is giving me unhelpful visuals.”
    “Two minutes to parade,” Ben hollered from the living room.
    Mira stood, then grabbed Daphne’s hand to pull her up, too. “You’re going to do this aphrodisiac dinner. None of us