Page 16 of Can't Help Falling in Love
Jackie went to a table nestled into the curve of the stairs, picked up two small envelopes, and brought them over. Before she could give them to Will and Lexi, Will pulled an envelope from his back pocket.
“A little something for the two of you,” he said with the same easeand polish as the man who’d gotten her out of a tricky situation today. He was well practiced and though she had no reason to doubt him, it made her wonder how he’d attained such… skills.CFO of a company. Probably not his first time with “situations” or events.
Lexi noticed the With This Ring logo and her wine suddenly seemed much cheaper. That was a hip boutique in downtown Seattle where only the most hoity of the toity registered. Nigel offered to take Will’s jacket and Lexi’s purse. They did that while Jackie set aside Will’s gift and came back to stand in front of them.
“You didn’t have to bring us anything. That was so generous of you both,” Jackie said, leaning into Nigel’s arm.
“Thanks, man. That’s cool.” He kissed the top of Jackie’s head, careful not to disturb her hair.
Lexi started to say it was from just Will because she didn’t deserve credit but Jackie shook her envelopes.
“We have a little something for each of you.” Jackie passed one to each of them, and sweat started to pool in uncomfortable places on Lexi’s body. She didn’t love spur-of-the-moment surprises.
What on earth could they have for them? It’d been a while since she went to a party, but she didn’t remember gifts for showing up being a thing.
“It’s a game. We wrote the names of famous and influential people, alive and dead, on labels inside. Put them on each other’s back but don’t look at your own. Everyone gives clues until you figure out who you are.”
She said it so excitedly that Lexi felt bad for her internal groan. Couldn’t they just gossip over cheese dip? The last game she’d played was Trash with Bitsy and her friends during a slow spell at the dress shop. She’d lost. Dramatically. Those women took their cards, regardless of the game, seriously.
Nigel must have mistaken her silence for misunderstanding. “You’ll see once you get out to the party. It’s an icebreaker. Get in there. Have fun. There’s a great spread of food, music playing, and lots of wine.”
Jackie’s smile was contagious even if her enthusiasm for guessing games wasn’t. Jackie gave a bouncy wave before she and Nigel mingled into the crowd. Will moved around Lexi, lifting her hair off the nape of her neck. His fingertips brushed her skin and she shivered involuntarily. The little hum in the back of her throat almost made an escape. She swallowed it down.
“I’ll put it below your hair so it can be seen,” he said, leaning down so his breath traveled over her ear.
Okay. Her not-date date was hot. Never mind forever and always. How about some here and now? It’d been a long time since she’d felt anything like the sensations Will caused with just a touch, a look, or a glance. She bit her bottom lip, hoping she wasn’t sweating through her shirt.
When he smoothed the label over her back, she did her best to ignore the tingles spreading down her legs and turned to do the same for him.
His back was wide and muscular beneath her fingers. She may have lingered over smoothing out his shirt before unsticking the label and pressing it to his back. It saidMICHELLE OBAMA, which made Lexi smile even as she spent more time than needed making sure it was secure.
When he turned to face her, he was grinning. “It’s been a long time since I went to a party with games.”
“We used to do game nights when I was younger but it’s been a while for me, too.” She cleared her throat when her mind wandered. “Are you a sore winner or sore loser?”
Will took her hand as they walked down a somewhat narrow hallway where people didn’t seem to mind stopping and chatting, essentially creating a maze of bodies. Clearly, his hold was to keep them from being separated, so she didn’t pull away but she was definitely very aware. When they reached the end of the hallway, he dropped her hand, but her awareness lingered. “Both. You?”
For a minute she’d forgotten what they were talking about because she was struck by how nice it’d felt to have his hand surrounding hers and the heat between their palms. There wasn’t a lot of hand holding in casual hookups. Not that she’d had one in a long time. And not that this was one. Which was why it felt strange. It’d felt comfortable and a littletooenjoyable.
“The only game I really play is Trash. It’s a card game and I’m positive my boss, Bitsy, cheats. She’s old enough to be my grandmother and if you call her on it, she gives you puppy eyes. It’s like saying no to an aging hound dog.”
When Will laughed, it felt, oddly, like a win of its own. She glanced his way. His gaze met hers and he smiled. A boyish grin that made her forget she hadn’t wanted to come. One that made her pulse speed up.
The hallway opened to a gleaming white and stainless-steel kitchen. There were dozens of people, each with a sticker on their back. Will and Lexi were surrounded by all of history. Everyone from Cleopatra to Elton John was either in the kitchen or spilling out onto the lantern-lit patio. She didn’t recognize some of the names and she recognized none of the faces. The table was filled with food and a gorgeous centerpiece that looked similar to the wreath on the door. Leaves and foliage were interwoven with the dishes along the ivory-colored table runner as well as artfully placed wide, low candles.
Will stepped closer, and Lexi told herself that the way her breath and heart both hiccuped when he was close enough to smell his faint cologne was just science.Yup. Even though you’ve felt attraction before and it’s never felt quite like this, it’s just basic science. Science and something a little woodsy and warm. Something you wouldn’t mind leaning into and inhaling deeply. Nothing to worry about.Lust wasn’t a concern. It was just love she planned to avoid.
“This is interesting,” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.
“So much for showing up and being myself,” she muttered.
He laughed. “Look at it this way, now you can be whoever you want.”
That definitely held some appeal. She looked up at him. “Who am I?”
Will shook his head. “No way. I’m not spoiling the fun. But I will tell you that you’re very neighborly.”
She scrunched her brows. “What?”
