Page 32 of Catching Coy
She hugged him. “I’m sorry about tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
He had pressed his face down into her hair, and it fluttered around her has he chuckled into it. “That’s what it takes to get you to bend the rules for me? Breaking someone’s heart?”
She squeezed him tighter around the waist. “You did the right thing.”
After a few moments, Coy threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the sofa in the spacious room. “Now that there aren’t cameras, will you tell me why I cut her?”
Bellamy curled her feet under her, resting back against Coy’s arm over the couch and laying a hand on his knee. She chewed on her lip. “It’s a slippery slope from me telling you the things she said when it was just us women and what she did to Gillian. It’s all opinions, Coy, whether I think hers was right or not.” And yet, she couldn’t help that relief had wound through her as Lucy had walked out of the gym, even hand in hand with Coy. The lies she could spin about Bellamy had haunted her in the two days between their date and the draft ceremony. Lucy could have done what Bellamy just had—snuck down the road to talk to Coy alone and convince him that Bellamy was only there to get publicity for the Ranch House.
Coy adjusted his arm so that it curled around her shoulders and then drew her closer. “I just … hate that I made her feel that way. That she thought this was so real between us and I’m just now realizing it was…” He drew in a long breath, shaking his head like he couldn’t quite put a finger on the word.
Bellamy couldn’t help a smile. “All physical and no heart?” She and Roxy used that phrase all the time to describe the women that clicked with theCatchesright off, but never got passed the lips-and-bodies stage.
His smile stretched with hers, the tension she had felt in his arms releasing. “And what’s this?” he whispered. “All heart?”
Bellamy laughed. “Not on this side—and good gravy, Coy Jones—I hope not on your side either.” She pressed one of her hands to the hand of his not wrapped around her, threading their fingers. “You feel this?” she said softly. “The way my hands are trembling sitting here next to you? You make me melt like butter in a hot pan.”
He slipped his hand from hers and reached up to cup her cheek. He stroked along her cheekbone and then drew her closer again, just a breath apart. “Sothisis what it feels like,” he murmured.
“This?” she asked. The heat from his fingers seared into her, making a path to her lips, down her chest, spreading over every nerve in her arms and into her own fingers. She braced herself against his chest, struggling to keep her breath even.
“All heart,” he said, closing in on her lips. “All physical.” She felt his smile as his lips brushed over hers. “All real.”
And oh—she didn’t even have a food-swear sufficient to utter at that moment. The feel of his lips ignited all of the warmth that had spread over her, making her nerves dance. He shifted forward, wrapping both arms around her back and pulling her closer, deepening their kiss. Bellamy’s lips sizzled like water hitting oil in a frying pan. She gripped his t-shirt to steady herself and to keep from falling right off the sofa, since her insides had turned mushier and mushier with every second the kiss lasted. Would Agnes be suspicious if Bellamy didn’t make it back to the Ranch House? Because how was she supposed to walk up the road on legs the consistency of mashed potatoes?
He slipped his fingers into her hair and moved to kiss along her jaw line. Bellamy lost all sensible thought.
“This is so very, very awkward.”
Zane’s voice brought her back really fast. She spun, wondering how they hadn’t even heard him opening the door. “I just heard the side-by-side pulling into the driveway. You’d better make a run for it, Bellamy. Unless you have a reasonable excuse that Agnes is going to accept for making out with Coy without any cameras around?” He raised an eyebrow.
Bellamy gulped. Coy laughed. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised. He kissed her again, heedless of Zane as he lingered over it. Zane cleared his throat. Coy only smiled, which made Bellamy start to giggle.
“I hate this show,” she whispered as she pulled away. “Do you remember that one time when—what was his name? The rugby player from New Zealand?—when he told everyone through his season that he was in love with Kasey like every episode and he kept sending girls home when he shouldn’t?”
Coy went in for another kiss. “Vaguely,” he murmured.
Agnes was totally going to catch them, but Bellamy couldn’t pull herself away. “You should do that.”
“I’m already asking a lot of Agnes. I feel like that would put her over the edge.”
“Agnes has never kissed you or she’d already be over the edge. She hasn’t—right? Suddenly I’m not sure considering all the women you’ve kissed the last few weeks…” Bellamy stood, but Coy stood right along with her, holding her close as she tried to move toward the door.
“I have not kissed Agnes. Do I have permission to try in an attempt to smooth things over after she catches us in a few seconds?” Coy rested his forehead against Bellamy’s.
“Cheese curds. Absolutely not. Nightmares of your making out with Lucy are going to haunt me as it is, Coy Jones.” Another kiss. “I have to go.” She managed to open the French door.
“One thing,” he said, holding her cheeks between his hands. “Kissing Lucy was never anything—anything—like that.”
“You’re such a sweet talker.” But her legs turned back to mashed potatoes, curse that man. She had to pull away. Coy might not mind Agnes’ wrath, but Bellamy did. She would not add to the humiliation of Zane walking in on them kissing by letting Agnes witness it as well. “Good night.” She slid through the door and hopped off the deck.
“Coy Jones, are you serious?” she heard Agnes shout at him a few seconds later. She crouched in the shadows of the deck, not daring to dart away in case the producer came to the doorway.
“Serious about what?” Coy asked, his innocent voice ruined by a hint of laughter.
“Bellamy is here. I know she’s here. Is she hiding in your closet? Under the bed? Why can’t you cut me any slack?”
“You brought a cameraman?” The laughter broke.
