Page 69 of Game On
“Is that so?” she replies, her voice low.
“Would I lie to you?”
“If it gave you a better chance of getting me into your bed, then maybe.”
I laugh. “I’m not leaving that up to chance.”
“I do appreciate a man who goes after what he wants.” She nods toward the tangled mess of lights in my hands. “You need some help with those?”
I sigh, disappointed about the change in direction butknowing it’s for the best. Flirting and kissing out in the open isn’t the wisest decision. We’re still trying to keep things under wraps. Plus, I have a party to prep for. “Is it that obvious I’m struggling?”
Her lip quirks. “Clear as day.”
Stringing up these lights together is a subtle dance between dodging each other and drawing closer. I hold the ladder steady, trying not to overthink the frayed wires and the potential hazards they represent. Every time Ella reaches up to loop a string around the tree branches, my hands hover near her hips, a barely there touch that sends a current zipping through me.
“Careful,” I murmur as she stretches further, her balance precarious.
“Don’t worry. I’m used to being in high places,” she says, her voice light as she secures another section of lights. The gentle brush of her thighs against my hands is accidental, surely, but it does little to ease my mind.
I shift my focus, biting down on the inside of my cheek as I go over the statistics about electrical safety in my mind, a ritual to calm the storm of my anxiety. Fairy lights are low voltage, the risk minimal—repeating this like a mantra, I try to keep the darker thoughts at bay.
“So, you think this will hold up?” she asks, just as she loses her footing, letting out a little gasp. Instinctively, I grip her hips tighter, pulling her back into me. She freezes for a moment, her breath hitching before she lets out a shaky laugh. “Solid attempt at trying to kill me.”
“I’d never,” I say immediately, my mind still reeling fromthe close call. The last thing I want is to see her hurt, especially not on my watch.
“I know,” she says quietly. Slowly, deliberately, she turns in my arms to face me. Her breath is warm against my skin, and I can almost taste the sweetness of her lips. It would be so easy to close the distance between us, to press my lips to hers and lose myself in it.
But I hold back. I’m not meant to be kissing her in public like this. Hook-ups are one thing. Kissing in the middle of a crowd—that’s bordering on couple territory. And I’m not ready for that.
The moment stretches and, just as I’m about to say to hell with it once again, our mouths a hair’s breadth apart, Levi bounds over with the subtlety of a wrecking ball. He smacks me on the ass, grinning. “Looking good, Woody!”
I stumble back, eyes squeezing shut as I breathe through the confusion. “You’re a jackass, you know that?”
He shrugs, unabashed. “You mean ’cause of the costume thing?”
I just shake my head, my gaze locking onto Ella. She gives Levi a warm smile and says, “Nice joke.”
He beams. “I thought so. When Gabi told me what you were wearing, I couldn’t pass it up.”
“Of course Gabi’s involved,” I mutter.
“Oh, and you should see Hudson’s cat,” Levi adds, oblivious to the tension he’s just sliced through. I give him a death glare, but before I can correct him, he continues, “Oh, sorry, no one’s allowed upstairs. Let’s reel that back. Pretend I didn’t suggest it.”
“Sourdough has a costume?” Ella interjects, eyes widening slightly, a flicker of interest sparking inside. “I have to see this.”
I shove Levi in the opposite direction. The girls are setting up a drink table, and he needs to keep pulling his weight. “Come to my room?” I ask her.
“I think I can manage to spare a few minutes for you.”
“So thoughtful.” I hook a finger through her belt loop. “That will be just enough time for me to start something I can finish later.”
“You mean, enough time for me to check out your cat’s costume?”
I tug her toward me, pull her just a little bit closer. “Yeah, darlin’, exactly what I said.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Ella
