Page 25 of Stick to the Plan
He turns to leave and my heart stutters painfully. The moment stalls and nothing else matters. Not my job or my plans. I just want him to stay, to turn back time to a few moments ago.
Standing abruptly, I reach for his arm to stop him from leaving. My spiked heel slips off the edge of the patio stone, and the yard suddenly tilts around me. Strong arms catch and pull me against a firm chest.
Heart pounding, I tilt my head back to meet green eyes. His fingers lightly dig into my shoulder and hip as they band around my back, holding me in a dip like a graceful dancer. His biceps are taut under my hands. Before I can remind myself what a horrible idea this is, I skate my palms up his arms to the back of his neck.
His eyes plead with me. I don’t know if he means stop or keep going - for once I don’t care. Cupping my fingers around his nape, I use the leverage to bring my mouth to his. My eyes slide closed as my lips meet his and Colin stiffens. With a slight whimper at the rejection I sense coming, I retreat.
Before I fully disengage, Colin’s hands tighten on me. With a groan, his lips descend on mine again. His tongue flirts with the seam of my lips and I gladly grant him entry. With a moan of my own, my fingers spear into his hair, knocking his cap off. Colin straightens and pulls me flush against him, his left arm still banded around my hips as his right hand cups the back of my head.
I press my hips into his, finding him already hard. Teasingly, I rub my core against his thickening erection. Tingles spread from my upper thighs, racing across my body. His hand fists in my hair, Colin tears his mouth away and ghosts his lip along my jaw to my thundering pulse point. Lids heavy, my eyes close as I give myself over to the sensation as more tingles radiate out from the spot where his lips caress my neck.
“Brianna.” His voice is gruff, almost broken.
“Brianna!”
We both freeze as a voice calls from the doorway. Heart pounding, breathing fast, we break apart. Each searching the other’s eyes for a clue of what has changed. With effort, I break his gaze and turn to find Anna waiting.
The bright lights of the party behind her, only her silhouette stands with one fist propped on her hip. “Well now, that’s where y’all got off to. The candles won’t blow themselves out, you know. Come on now, in with you.”
Anna reaches her hand out to me, and with one look back up at Colin, I walk towards her.
“Sorry, Anna. I was getting some air.”
“Mm-hmm, air.” She snakes her arm around my waist as I approach and turns me back to the party. I don’t miss the wink she sends at Colin over my shoulder. “Well, hurry up now before the raspberries turn my beautiful cake to mush. We’ll just make Mr McLeary do the dishes for Bogarting the birthday girl.”
With a giggle, I let Anna lead me to the awaiting cake. All three tiers of it, trailing with beautiful fondant hydrangeas and filled with champagne buttercream and raspberry curd.
Chapter nineteen
I'll Cry if I Want To
Brianna
Guests gone, I collapse onto the couch with my two besties. Besides that one balloon that has made a break for the vaulted ceiling, you can not tell that a party has been raging for the past seven hours. Colin washed the dishes, gathered up the trash, and has now retreated to his room. He didn’t let any of us help, flat out told us to sit ourarsesdown and let him do it.
My head lolls on my shoulders and I stare at his closed door, trying to work out what that kiss meant. Following the line of my eyes, Anna breaks the silence.
“Ok, I can’t take it anymore. What is going on there with Colin?”
From my other side, Nic laughs darkly. “You mean besides the hot accent, sexy smile, and amazingarse?”
I groan. “Can we stop sayingarse?”
Anna hums lightly. “Those are all accurate statements. The man is fine. Your descriptions didn’t do him justice, darlin’.”
Nic’s tone turns thoughtful. “I like him. Hot, funny, and he did the damn dishes! I’ll say it again. If you don’t go for him, I will.”
I feel my cheeks flush as I think about that kiss on the patio. My core tightens as I replay the feeling of his hands and lips on me. A sigh escapes before I can hold it back. Nic and Anna both sit up straighter and exchange a weighted look before turning their attention back to me.
“Bree, babe. What is it? It’s obvious he’s interested in you. You should have seen his face when you walked out in that dress. You can’t lie to me, sugar. I saw you two on the patio. I thought the cushions were about to light on fire. There is something there.”
Instantly defensive, I shake my head, not wanting to admit the hope her statement inspires. “You’re just seeing something that’s not there because you’re worried about me. We just have been spending a lot of time together on this project. It’s not like that.”
“Brianna Chance. It is like that. You just don’t want to admit it,” Nic states bluntly.
Anna is the caregiver of the group and will let me wallow a bit. Nic is always the tough love that makes us face our truth. She grabs both my hands as she leans forward to meet my eyes.
“You’re afraid,” Nic continues, “but he’s nothing like Chris. My plan was to warn the guy off tonight. But, after meeting him, I couldn’t. That man sincerely cares about you and wants you to succeed. If you can honestly tell me you’d have no interest in him if you didn’t work together, I’ll drop it.”
