Page 37 of Chasing I Do
Not that anyone would have blamed her, well except his family. Spending an entire day with Gage and not thinking about a little kiss would be like a chocoholic deciding to only window shop at the local candy store.
It was his smile, she decided. Full and a little crooked, with double-barreled dimples that were as sexy as they were flirty, and a hint of kindness. They had the power to render a woman stupid. Which was exactly what she’d have been to even consider kissing Gage.
Kissing Gage would be a bad move.
Allowing any feelings beyond friendship to grow between them would be a mistake of epic proportions. An epically thrilling and totally insane mistake that would result in someone getting hurt. Namely females with the last name Kincaid.
Nope, she’d keep her hormones in check, and Gage strictly in the friend-zone from here on out. If their history wasn’t enough to smack some sense into her, the way he’d burned rubber out of her driveway was.
Darcy rested her head back against the swing and closed her eyes. Stupid or not, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her head. Even now, a day later, she could still smell him—leather, hot summer nights, and enough testosterone to cause flutters.
Everywhere.
“You are in so much trouble,” she said to herself.
“You’re in flannel pajamas with bed bugs on the pants, how much trouble can you get in?” an extremely sexy voice said, moments before she felt the cushion dip.
She opened her eyes and had to stop herself from drooling. Gage sat next to her, his arm casually strewn over the back of the swing, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. His jeans hung low on his hips, his eyes sleep-filled, and his hat hiding what she could only imagine was a great case of bedhead.
He looked tired, tempting, and a little bit troubled.
“You’re up early,” Darcy said, knowing that Gage was one of those people who treasured his time off.
“My roommate keeps odd hours.” He looked down at Fancy, who was curled up on the swing, his head on Gage’s thigh. “Doesn’t understand that not everyone likes to greet the sun with a morning sprint for the best tree.”
Darcy found herself smiling. “And you ran out of trees downtown so you came to my hill to scout some out?”
Gage leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Figured no one would find us here.”
“Sounds like you need a cup of coffee.”
He rolled his head to the side and, with one eye cracked open, took in her breakfast drink of choice and the mountain of whipped cream. By the time he got to herTEAM I DOtank top, a small smile spread across his face.
“Add a shot of scotch in there, hold the whip and the coffee, and we’re good.”
“Out of bed and asking for shots before eight? You must have really ticked some woman off,” she said, feeling oddly weird about Gage waking up with a woman in his bed.
His smile died. “We need to talk.”
Oh God, hewaswith a woman. Which meant, while she though he was about to kiss her, he had a woman. Lying in wait.
Maybe all of those sparks and compliments yesterday were nothing more than Gage just being nice, sweet, kind Gage. And she’d made something out of nothing.
Just like she had back in college.
Darcy was terrible at reading signals. Like when Kyle said she was the most beautiful woman in the world, that didn’t mean he was giving up his quest. And just because Gage said she looked beautiful and perfect, that didn’t mean she was perfect for him.
Which was great, just great, because she’d already decided that there was nowhere for the spark to go. Not that there had been sparks—on his side anyway.
“I agree, yesterday was fun. Kylie had fun. Fancy there seemed to have fun. It was—”
“Fun.”
“Yes.” She plastered a smile to her face. “Fun.”
He studied her for a moment, probably trying to figure what she’d spiked her coffee with. “And did you have…fun?”
She should have lied, played it off as a casual day with an old friend. But she couldn’t. Yesterday, had been a day she’d never forget. A day that Kylie would remember for always. And that was because of the kind of man Gage was. He deserved to know how special he’d made them both feel, even if it meant embarrassing herself.
