Page 91 of Moonstruck Kiss

Then Joey raises herself off me. “I better move or my legs might lock in place.”

“My idea of heaven,” I say.

My phone buzzes on the coffee table and I crane my neck to see who’s texted me.

CB. Fuck, it’s a message from Chelsea.

“Join me in the shower?” Joey purrs.

“Why don’t you go ahead? I have to answer that text. It’s from work.”

“Okay. Don’t be long.” She kisses my forehead before sashaying away.

I grab my phone and read Chelsea’s response to my previous messages.

Chelsea: I’m at Serenade Bay. I’m here for forty-five minutes then I have to run. You can meet me here in secret!

Damn it. That doesn’t leave me with much time.

Me: Can I call you later? I’m busy right now.

Chelsea: No. This is the only time I can talk to you before something else happens. You can call me, but it has to be within the next forty-five minutes.

Shit, what the hell does she mean by that?

I have to find out, but I can’t exactly talk to her around Joey. For one, Joey will hate the fact that I’ve been getting in touch with Chelsea behind her back. Plus, I still don’t want the Barkers to know I’m checking out an angle that might involve some malicious moves by certain people. Not only will that upset them unnecessarily, but if they also tell any Mooner about it, there won’t be stopping a rumour that will be very destructive to the parties concerned. I have to avoid that until I have proof.

My only choice is to drive to Serenade Bay right now to meet up with Chelsea. I’ll only have about fifteen minutes with her, but that’s better than nothing.

I concoct a story for Joey in my head before I head to the bathroom. “Hey, babe, I’m afraid I have to go to an urgent meeting.”

Joey stops in the middle of soaping her body.

Fuck, I’d rather be here with her.

“You mean online?” she asks.

“No. In person. Apparently, a client of ours is holidaying in Serenade Bay. He’s staying at the Carmichael Sanctuary. My boss asked me to meet with him for a quick coffee before he leaves for Sydney in an hour. I’m sorry I have to cut our date short.”

“They didn’t give you much notice, did they?” she says with disappointment.

“No. It’s annoying as hell, but that’s my boss for you.”

“You gonna have a shower first?”

Damn it, I really should. “Um… just don’t tempt me in any way, okay? I need to be in and out of that shower in, like, two minutes.”

She raises her hands as if in surrender. “I’m not even gonna touch you.”

I sigh in frustration. I want Joey to touch me. But we can’t have any more sexy times this afternoon.

She’s true to her word, apart from sharing a few quick kisses on the lips. I’m done showering in about three minutes.

I cup her face before I step out. “I’m really sorry about this. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but you’ll probably be gone by then.”

Joey nods. “I have the seniors’ art class in a couple of hours. It’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I give her another swift kiss and then leave.

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