Page 35 of Rocky Mountain Desire
“You bet.”
Paper crackled in the background for a minute then her soft voice returned. “A quilt hanger. It’s very pretty, Matt. Thank you.”
He resisted offering to come over right away and put it up. “So, can I call you when I get back?”
“Matt…”
Waiting was killing him. He was back to being fifteen years old and wondering if the girl he liked would—and he didn’t want to think about that. About the memories of waiting for her sister. Those he needed to scrub from his brain. Instead, he thought about Hope’s rosy-red cheeks when he’d opened the door that day, the surprise in her eyes that had shifted to something more.
He wasn’t going to beg, but as Daniel had pointed out, he didn’t usually do things halfway. “I’d like to spend time with you. No pressure. Just get together and enjoy each other’s company.”
“I’m not sleeping with you.”
Jesus.Instant hard-on. Probably the exact opposite of the reaction she’d been hoping for, but the images in his brain were all soft skin and luscious lips, skimpy seashells and sultry eyes—that nearly naked woman from last summer he remembered in far too great detail. “Okay…”
“I mean, oh fuck this.”
There were crazy noises going on in the background, and he struggled to figure out what the hell she was doing, especially after that announcement. “You okay?”
“No. To be perfectly honest, I’m not.”
The quiet calm he’d associated with her was noticeably absent from her voice.
She went on, picking up speed. “I spent the morning by myself feeling a touch blue before concocting the bestmake myself busyplan I could—pulling together a couple quilt tops for samples in the shop. Then this guy I’ve been trying hard to put out of my mind drops in out of nowhere, turning my relaxing afternoon into an exercise in sexual frustration.
“I’m a dozen kinds of worried about this idea, and yet I’m still thrilled. I’m sure that somewhere along the line I’m going to end up in tears, or you’re going to figure this was the worst idea of your life but frankly? I can’t even pay attention to the red flags waving frantically in my face because Ireallywant to see you again.”
“Good—”
“No talking. If I don’t say this now, I’ll chicken out. So, yes, I will see you, but I’m not going to sleep with you. Because I really want to.”
“That makes—” He stopped himself. “Sorry, continue.”
Hope groaned. “You must think I’m a crazy woman. Maybe I should start rescuing stray cats or something. But I’m serious. I could have crawled into bed with you last summer without blinking an eye, but now I think that would be a huge mistake for us both. So I will see you if you can promise we’ll try to keep this out of the bedroom for a while.”
When she stopped he waited, making sure he wasn’t about to interrupt again. “May I talk now?”
Her loud burst of laughter made him smile. “I’m a bossier shit than you thought, aren’t I?”
“I don’t mind. Well, I do mind. I think it’s totally insane that you want us to keep this platonic. But you asked, so even though my balls are screamingnoooat the top of their lungs, I’ll agree to your terms. One month no sex? Two? Six?”
“Six? My Lord, if we last six days I’m going to be impressed.”
Him too. “Your idea is a good one for a bunch of reasons, though.”
“Ha, you say that now, but I bet we’re both going to be bitching about it in no time.”
Matt pulled up to his trailer and sat in the running vehicle. “Hope, my turn to be crude. I can find someone to fuck.”
“Jesus.”
“Well, it’s true. I don’t want to go out with you just because I can see us having a blast between the sheets. I want to try that friend thing as well, and having sex off the top could get in the way. So…although I can’t believe I’m saying this…fine. No sex.”
“Not until we say—I know, like a double-jeopardy thing. I have to say yes, and you, and then we can’t do it for twenty-four hours or something.”
She had to be kidding. “Don’t try to make rules, darling. If we decide it’s time, there ain’t going to be any double-signed papers or anything like that bullshit.”
“I could wear a chastity belt.”
