Page 69 of Forty and Fighting Dirty
I loved this place. Alec and Nate pointed at a giant Santa Claus above one building, the lights making his arm wave back and forth. Our big group wandered down side streets and along lit-up park paths, exploring a town that looked completely transformed.
A bit like how I felt. Gone was the woman nervous about starting over, who had one foot out the door the minute her new boss met her with a touch of hostility. I wasn’t ready to leave this place—I wanted to make it my home. It wouldn’t be at the Lovers Lane house, but it would be somewhere here.
I wanted to bring the boys to watch the lights come on every year. I wanted to enter the yearly raffle and get a volunteer T-shirt of my own. I wanted to host my sister and her friends, and make friends of my own.
Across the street, I spotted a familiar dark-haired figure. Rhett met my gaze, a soft smile tugging at his lips. He leanedagainst a dark SUV, and I found myself walking toward him before I gave my feet permission to do so.
“New car?” I asked.
“I’m here as a civilian,” he said, grinning. “You ready to head to the house?” As he spoke, he leaned closer, and it looked like he wanted to kiss me.
My heart jumped, excitement and emotion bubbling up inside me. But from the corner of my eye, I saw my sister with her arms around my sons’ shoulders. I ducked my head. “Rhett,” I chided.
“Embarrassed about me?”
I flushed. “No,” I said, “but I haven’t exactly told my sister that we’re…”
He arched his brows. “Sleeping together?”
“I kind of complained about you a lot, actually.”
He grinned. “Why does that not surprise me?”
“She thinks I hate you.”
“You’re not that good of an actor, Darling. She probably knows you’re obsessed with me.”
I clicked my tongue, pretending to be annoyed while actually being utterly charmed by him. How would it feel to bury myself in Rhett’s arms in front of everyone? How would it feel to be out here, in the open, as his woman?
“So? You want to make a big show of fighting me so she doesn’t ask any difficult questions?” Rhett’s eyes danced. “Pretend you hate me in front of everyone?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I grumbled, peeking over my shoulder. Georgia was saying something to Sebastian, but she must have felt my gaze, because she glanced over at me. Her expressionwas pure curiosity. Pinching my lips, I turned back to Rhett.
His eyes were full of laughter.Our little secret, his gaze said. “Give it your best shot, Darling.”
“I’m not going to pretend to fight you.”
“Might be fun,” he replied, brows twitching, his eyes promising a whole lot more.
I narrowed my gaze at him, and his smile widened. This was ridiculous. All I had to do was tell Georgia what was going on. But if I told her Rhett and I were sleeping together, she might point out that sleeping with my boss-slash-business-partner was a staggeringly terrible idea. She might ask me what I was thinking. She might make that seed of self-doubt sprout inside me.
And right now, soaking up Rhett’s warmth and feeling alive and light for the first time in years, I didn’t want to face reality, or questions, or doubts. I just wanted Rhett.
So I took half a step back, filled my lungs, and gritted my teeth at him. “You bastard!” I shouted.
The gang of friends and acquaintances around my sister all turned their heads.
Rhett’s eyes danced, and he pushed himself off the side of his vehicle. My heart began to clatter, and excitement built in my gut. He looked big and dangerous and very, very sexy. I forced myself not to smile, sticking my jaw out at him as he loomed over me.
I couldn’t wait to feel his hands on me. Lust was like a firecracker inside me, sending sparks exploding into every inch of my body.
As if Rhett could read my mind, he bent down and threwme over his shoulder. I screeched to cover my laugh. “Put me down! Hey! You overbearing pig!” I drummed my fists on his back as he hummed, and I knew I’d pay for that remark very, very soon. I couldn’t wait. I was so turned on I couldn’t think straight. “Put me down, Rhett!” A laugh almost escaped. “Rhett!”
My sister’s voice reached me as she called out, “Call me in the morning!”
I levered myself up to see her holding Nate’s and Alec’s hands. The three of them looked faintly amused and not at all alarmed.
Maybe I really wasn’t a good actor, after all.
