Page 25 of An Inconvenient Plan
Reality crept in. Their parents were waiting back at Garner’s for them, expecting him to end the war in a civil friendly way, not return looking like he’d just gotten laid. He wanted to do a lot more than kiss her, and he suspected she did too. Any way he figured it, the timing sucked. Not only that, he’d left his post at work. He was supposed to be on break.
He jammed a hand in his hair. “I should get back to work.”
“You’re the boss now.” She stepped close again, her hands roaming his chest, revving him further. “Can’t you give yourself the night off?”
He stilled her hands on his chest and held them. “The timing is bad, nothing personal, okay? I’m into it too, but they need me to cover my shift. Plus I have to get the truck back to my dad. Your mom and my dad are waiting for us.” He left out the fact that crossing this line now while their parents waited was like a big fuck you to his dad after their agreement for Josh to keep his distance. In his defense, he’d always been hardheaded with a mind of his own, and his dad knew that. Still, it would not go over well. This was exactly the drama they were supposed to avoid.
She yanked her hands from his. Then she left without a word, heading up the stairs that led outside.
He blew out a breath, adjusted himself, and caught up with her on the driveway. “You get that it’s just the timing, right?”
Her eyes flashed. “I’m tired of you rejecting me. You-you tease!”
His lips twitched. “I’m not saying no, I’m saying later.”
She glared at him, her mouth forming a snarl that was too damn sexy. “You go back to Garner’s with our parents. I’m staying here.”
He held her by the chin. “Are you really mad at me?”
Her lips parted like she wanted him to kiss her again, and her pale blue eyes went soft. So frigging sexy. “No. I’m just very horny, you beast.”
He smiled and slid his hand to cup her cheek. “Okay, then.”
“Do you really think we could work out? I used to always think we’d kill each other, but then, I don’t know…when you kissed me, it felt different.”
“Maybe the solution is to kiss more.” He stroked her soft cheek with his thumb and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll have my dad drop off Rose, and I’ll text you later with the plan.”
She slapped a hand over her mouth. “Omigod, I forgot Rose.”
He smirked. He’d kissed her senseless.Nice.He turned and headed for the truck, not willing to risk another kiss. It made him senseless too.
“Maybe I’ll rejectyounext time,” she called from behind him.
He turned, grinning. “Sure. Unless I goFierce Longingon you. Turns out it makes you forget everything but me.”
She whirled and went back inside.
Some mysterious force drew him in, retracing her steps and standing on the other side of the door. Maybe he wasn’t quite done with her tonight.
He heard the snick of the lock and a chain deadbolt. Then a distinctbonk. Like she’d kicked the door or smacked it with her head in frustration. Either way, he liked that she wanted him that badly after just one kiss. She must be just as crazy in lust with him as he was with her.
He jogged back up the stairs and over to the truck. This was the second time he’d had to go back to Garner’s without her. The first was on that disaster of a night when he’d tried to give her the paid escort money back. There would be questions from his dad and Brandy. Geez, Hailey was really making him look bad by staying behind. Like he’d failed to make things right between them. He couldn’t tell them how far he’d gone in the other direction.
He smiled to himself. That kiss told him everything he needed to know. This thing between them was real. Drunk on vodka, my ass.Nice try, sweetheart, you’re mine.
And screw everyone else. He was determined to make this work so no one could ever say shit about their relationship. The alternative—all-out war within family lines—was too big a disaster to contemplate.
9
Two days.The cad. He’d kissed her, worked her up something fierce, and then she hadn’t heard from him in two frigging days! She jumped every time she got a text, only to be disappointed. She’d thought after years of fighting that they’d finally moved forward. That kiss had been amazing, liketake me nowamazing, and now…nothing. She needed a serious guy—a man, not a boy who wanted to play games. She blew out a breath of frustration. Now it was Friday, and for some stupid reason she’d thought she’d spend it in bed after…God, how long had it been since she’d had sex? More than six months. Brutal for a woman of her passionate needs. Fuck Josh, the fucker.
Did he think she was at his beck and call? No, sir. Not her. She clicked over to her email. Oh, she had an email from Prince Phillip. A small tingle of excitement ran through her, but then she remembered he hadn’t shown much interest in her. He was probably just following up on some details on his sister’s behalf. He was taking the lead on the stateside wedding mostly because he wanted his sister to focus on her final exams. Yup. He’d sent the final guest list and made a few requests she could easily handle. She downloaded the guest list, which included a good number of the Rourke family. She was a little surprised so many family members would travel for the stateside wedding when the official royal wedding in Villroy Island would happen only a couple of months later.
She hit reply on the email, assuring Phillip everything would be taken care of. Her phone dinged with a text a few minutes later.
Phillip: Thanks, Hailey, you’ve made this wedding planning thing so easy. I just got back to my hotel and had to deal with my sister’s annoying requests after an exhausting day of business meetings. You understand what that’s like, I’m sure. I don’t know how you do it, dealing with clients all the time.
His tone felt less formal than usual, like he needed someone to talk to. She quickly texted back: No problem. I enjoy working with clients, but I know what you mean. Sometimes you need downtime. : ) I was surprised how many Rourke family members are making the trip to Connecticut. You must have a very close-knit family to attend both weddings.
