Sterling

by Willow Summers

  His exhale of relief made her laugh.

  “Hey,” she said before he got up. “Do we need to talk about not being safe?”

  “I’m clean. I get tested every six months because—”

  She opened her eyes, not liking his hesitation on the subject. She’d figured she could trust him. Maybe that had been stupid.

  “I’m paranoid,” he said after a moment. He looked almost…afraid. But why? Well, maybe he’d realized blindly trusting someone he’d re-met a few days ago could be a hair foolish. Like she just had. “I don’t do well with sickness.”

  She let her eyes drift shut again. “I don’t get tested that often, but I did get tested after the last one. We had a condom break, so I wanted to be sure.”

  He relaxed, and she smiled. And waited. When he didn’t ask, she did. “Aren’t you wondering about birth control?”

  “Oh.” He sounded surprised. “I should be. It honestly didn’t cross my mind. That’s weird. That’s always concern number two.”

  “I’m good on that front. Otherwise that wouldn’t have happened just now.”

  “Cool.” He snuggled into her. “Now stop talking. I’m tried.”

  He’d have to move eventually, otherwise half her body would fall asleep, but for that moment, she wanted his comforting weight on her. She wanted to stay right there, relaxed. Tomorrow she could worry about his friends liking her.

  Nineteen

  “No.” Noah shook his head and pointed at the stairs. “Go change into something more you.”

  Cynthia hesitated by the entrance of the kitchen. It was five in the evening, and they’d done nothing all day (and the previous night) but lie in bed and revel in each other. Each time they’d made love had been better than the last. But that wasn’t what Noah had liked best about their time between the sheets. It was all those hours they’d lain in a tangle of limbs, relaxed and exhausted, talking about nothing and everything. She had a spunky wit and a sharp sense of humor. She could move from serious to joking mid-sentence. It was a gift that he loved. That kept him focused on her. Except for the dwelling he’d done on his secret about BD. He still hadn’t officially told Dick, their surly bookkeeper, to settle everything up and take his page off the website. He’d do that tomorrow morning when he met up with the guys for their workout. Beyond that, he needed a plan for moving forward. And despite his past issues with law…he kept thinking about Cynthia’s dad’s idea for a private law firm. One where he was in control.

  “What’s wrong with this?” Cynthia asked, looking down at the shiny pink dress hugging her body. A sparkling necklace looped around her neck, matching her bracelet.

  “You’re dressing up,” he said, forcing himself to stay seated at the counter with his book. If he got up to touch her, he’d remove that dress and haul her back up to bed. He didn’t want to cancel tonight. “You are absolutely beautiful, don’t get me wrong, and if we were going to a nice dinner, the choice would be perfect. But this is just Colton’s house. You’ll be way overdressed and probably feel odd because of it.”

  She braced her hands on her hips, a stubborn look crossing her face. “Me is a weird shirt and jeans.”

  “Yup. Wear that.” He looked back at his book. It was all for show. Her presence in the room made reading impossible. His eyes might move over the words on the page, but none of them would register.

  “There is no way I am going to show up at the house of a popular kid from my past looking like I was dragged away from the front of a liquor store. Not when you look like that.” She jabbed a finger at him.

  He glanced down at his jeans and light blue button-up shirt. “What’s wrong with this?”

  “You’re all suave and put together. You look like you’re waiting to be called to the catwalk.”

  He chuckled and put his book down. “It’s just a shirt and jeans.”

  “It’s just a shirt and jeans,” she muttered with a grumpy face. She waved her hand in front of her. “This goes with what you’re selling. My usual attire does not.”

  “And what am I selling?”

  “Sexy, mouth-wateringly hot man wearing designer crap.”

  He leaned on the counter, desire pumping through him at the compliment. “I always dress like this. This is me.”

  “Well, this will have to be the new me, because I’m not going to be the head-scratcher of this pair.”

  He shook his head and slid off the chair. “Fine. You win. I’ll dress to match you, how’s that? You can pick out whatever you think fits.”

  A half-hour later, after a wild but quick lovemaking session and a change of clothes, he stood by the front door in a T-shirt, runners, and the jeans he’d had on before.

  “I feel like a schlub,” he said, grabbing his jacket from the hook. “I wear this shirt for yard work.”

  “See? That’s how I feel when you get all spiffy.” She walked toward him wearing a shirt that said, G^ F^CK Y^^RS^LF. Underneath that, it said, Would you like to buy a vowel?

  “I’d be open to a compromise.” He glanced at her bare arms. “Jacket?”

  “It’s in the car. I still need to get a bunch of things. I only grabbed the bare necessities yesterday.”

  “Gotcha.” He stopped her near the door and brushed her lips with his. “I’m glad you’re on board for this all happening so fast. I don’t think I would’ve been very good with patience where it concerns you.”

  She ran her hands up the inside of his shirt. His cock hardened. It was rarely at ease in her presence. She pulled back with a serene smile. “Ditto.”

  On the way over, she fidgeted, clearly nervous. “Let’s say I don’t fit in. Which is pretty standard where it concerns me. What happens then?”

  “You’ll be forever doomed to be the odd one in the bunch—hanging around, making weird jokes. In a few years, you could elevate to crass jokes and farting at the dinner table.”

  “Oh, super. I’ll end up like Art the Fart instead of Aunt Bessie.” She sighed, a smile playing on her lips. “I never thought it would come down to those two options, but there you go. We can’t all be normal and marry successful douches who only care about themselves. My sisters will have to be in a club of two.”

  “Excuse me.” Noah palmed his chest. “Someday I might be a successful douche that only cares about himself. Don’t sell me short.”

  She laughed. “My bad. I guess I can only hope and wait.”

  He pulled up next to the curb at Colton’s house. Nervous jitters ran through his body, something he hadn’t felt until that moment. He knew Cynthia would fit in. Knew it. But he had to own that she wasn’t a run-of-the-mill girl. It might take a minute for the others to warm up to her—to get her sense of humor and heavily sarcastic way of delivering jokes. He just hoped they’d give her a chance. That they would come to value her like he did.

  He held her hand a little too tightly as they made their way up to the front door. If she noticed, she didn’t comment. Once there, he knocked and looked out at the street.

  “What is it?” Cynthia asked, following his gaze.

  “Sometimes Colton’s mom randomly turns up for dinner. I would turn tail and run if I saw her car.”

  “Is she like our parents?”

  “A bit. She has that same mentality of women in the kitchen, and men somewhere else. The thing is, Colton is a great cook. All the guys hang out in the kitchen with him, and the girls sneak off to the TV room with Colton’s dad. So Martha—that’s Colton’s mom—is in a constant state of agitation whenever she’s at Colton’s for dinner.”

  “Sounds funny.”

  “It is, until she starts picking on you. I usually escape notice, but if she saw me dressed like this…”

  “Dang it.” Cynthia let go of his hand so she could put her arm around his waist. “That would’ve been funny. I would’ve liked to see that.”

  “You don’t think she would have started in on you next?”

  She shrugged. “I’m used to that. As you know. My mom has been texting
me, asking for updates on dress and behavior. I sent her a picture of the pink dress and she commended me. Then I sent her a note saying ‘just kidding,’ and posted a pic of this. She called right away. I silenced the phone.”

  “Your mom is a trip.” Noah frowned at the door, then turned to check the street again. The gang was all there, and there was no sign of Colton’s mom. He pushed the doorbell a second time.

  His phone chimed a moment later. Dave had texted. Janie went to open the door. A while ago. Good luck.

  Noah grinned and took a step back, bringing Cynthia with him.

  “Now what?” Cynthia asked in a hush.

  “Janie. She’s in charge of opening the door. She hasn’t shown up. It means shenanigans are afoot.”

  Cynthia stared at the door for a second before shifting away from him and glancing to the side.

  “What type of girl is Janie?” Cynthia asked quietly. “One who’d try and eavesdrop, or one who’d dump water on our heads?”

  “Both? Or she might have gone to the bathroom to make me wait. That’s the most likely explanation. She knows I won’t just barge in. It annoys me when people do that.”

  Cynthia laughed, grabbed his hand, and pulled him away from the porch. “Let’s break into this bitch. Is Colton the trusting type? Would he leave a back door open?”

  “I just mentioned I didn’t like barging in…”

  “We’re not barging, we’re breaking and entering. That’s way different.” She hurried them to the side of the house and opened the latch on the gate.

  “We could’ve just used the front door to break and enter.”

  “That’s not as fun. Oh wow. He’s got a big pool. I hope he likes me, because I want to swim in this come summertime.” With a wicked grin, she started walking alongside the house, dragging him with her. Rosebushes kept her from stepping too close.

  “I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this,” he muttered, seeing the sliding glass door up ahead, one of two.

  “I didn’t talk you into it, I forced it on you. You have an out. And yes, I realize that this won’t help my likability points, but why spend life waiting around?”

  She tried the sliding glass door, but it wouldn’t budge. “No problem,” she said, dragging him farther. “There has to be another way in.”

  “You realize it’ll be weird if Janie opens the front door and my car’s there but we’re not?”

  “Oh, I do know. We have a time limit. Worst-case scenario, we’ll get found making out.”

  Noah’s body tightened up at the thought of it, and he hurried after her with stiff legs.

  At the next sliding glass door, which led to the kitchen, she peeked in and quickly pulled back. “They’re in there.”

  “They usually hang out in the kitchen. It’s where the food and drinks are.”

  “That makes sense. Okay, assuming this door is unlocked, I’m going to walk in first. They won’t expect that. They might even think it’s a real burglar. So that’ll be a good time. I love scaring people. Unless they are fully loaded, gun-toting lunatics. You’d tell me if they were, right?”

  “You’re cracked and this was a bad idea.”

  “You’ve had one bad idea after the other since meeting me. Now you know.” Cynthia straightened up, all loose and natural, like she was at home. She grabbed the door from the side, so they couldn’t see her through the glass, and pushed. It slid open.

  She pushed it open wider as she walked forward, all ease and confidence.

  Noah’s friends were about to get a crash course on the woman he couldn’t say no to.

  Twenty

  Cynthia peeled off to the side once she got into the spacious kitchen so Noah could come in behind her. He was breathing heavily, as though he were actually breaking in.

  She cracked a smile. He was so strait-laced it was funny.

  Startled expressions covered everyone’s faces as they turned their heads to face her and Noah. A brown-haired, hazel-eyed woman struck out at the air with her hand in a karate chop. She completed the move by stumbling backward and bumping against the fridge.

  “I don’t know why you keep trying to defend yourself like that, babe,” said a man with brown hair and blue eyes. He looked vaguely familiar. Could this be… “It will never work.”

  The woman clutched her chest and sagged, relief washing over her face. “Oh. It’s just you guys. Good God, Noah, I nearly peed myself.”

  “Noah took off.” A shorter woman with dirty blond hair and brown eyes entered the room. “I didn’t see— Oh.” She stopped when she caught sight of them. She braced her hands on her hips and stared at them with a perplexed expression. “Am I going deaf? I didn’t hear you barge in.” Her gaze shifted to Cynthia’s face before dipping to her chest. Then she flung out her finger. “Ha! That shirt rocks. I need one.”

  “Cynthia, hi.” The vaguely familiar man stepped forward with a sure step, his body every bit as strong and powerful as Noah’s. “Long time.”

  Her suspicion confirmed, she compared the younger image in her memory with the muscle-stacked man in front of her. “Colton?”

  His smile hadn’t lost its power. “Yup.” He put out his arms. “How do I rate?”

  She gave him a grave look. “Really bad, man. You must think of the glory days constantly.”

  Another guy, this one with dark hair, laughed and pounded Colton on the back. “She has your number.”

  “Do you remember Dave?” Noah asked, nodding toward the dark-haired man while putting his arm around her back and ushering her deeper into the room.

  She squinted as she looked him over, another muscly man with a serious case of the handsome disease. In fact, all the guys in the room were hot, each in his own way. “Not really…”

  “Ellen hated me,” Dave said as he leaned against the island. A boyish grin worked at his lips. “I was never allowed to play in her reindeer games.”

  “Who’s Ellen?” Ms. Karate Chop asked, leaning against the back counter near the fridge.

  “Cynthia’s sister,” Dave said.

  “That’s my girlfriend, Madison,” Colton said, turning so he could gesture at her. A softness infused his eyes that was really sweet. “A.k.a. Nunchuks.”

  “Hilarious,” Madison said with a flat look before crossing the space and shaking Cynthia’s hand. “Hi. Welcome. Sorry you had to come in through the back. Janie is the worst host in history.”

  “Is that how they did it?” the dirty blond woman asked, her eyes sparkling. Ah, so this was Janie. “Noah, you surprise me. Or was it Cynthia?”

  “Cynthia, definitely,” Colton said, laughing. “Noah would wait out there until Christmas.”

  “Hello.” The tallest man in the room, probably six foot three, sauntered around the others. He had hooded eyes, a sleepy, sexy sort of smile, and a very loose understanding of personal space. He’d stopped firmly within Cynthia and Noah’s bubbles. “I’m Ethan,” he said, sort of leaning in.

  “Bro.” Noah put a hand to Ethan’s chest. “I’m right here. I do not need you in my space.”

  Ethan laughed in a carefree sort of way, but rather than take a step back, he took a step to the side—still in her space, just not in Noah’s.

  “I’m not really sure how this is better?” Cynthia asked, looking up at him.

  “It’s great to meet you. I met these guys at the tail end of high school. You wouldn’t know me.” Ethan took her hand and shook it slowly, his gaze one hundred percent focused on her in a creepy, yet strangely alluring sort of way.

  “Go away,” she said without meaning to.

  Before she could take it back, or say something jokey to ease the blow, the room erupted in laughter. Ethan winked and turned, sauntering back the way he’d come.

  “You get used to him,” Janie said, walking toward the fridge.

  “Where’s Kaylee?” Noah asked.

  “She went into work for a few hours. She’ll be over when she’s through,” Ethan replied.

  �
�Kaylee is Ethan’s girlfriend,” Noah explained.

  “And that psycho hunting through the fridge is my lady love.” Dave gestured at Janie. “You’re going to have to find someone new to pick on now, Janie. And please don’t say me.”

  “No, no.” Cynthia held up her hand. “Please, pick on Noah. Don’t let me deter you.”

  “Nice.” Janie beamed, unleashing a thousand-watt smile.

  “Dave, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep Janie from picking on me. Cynthia’s creative, and she might target you as payback.” Noah patted an open stool at the island. “Sit. Do you want a drink?”

  “Of course she does,” Janie said, ramming into Colton with her shoulder to make him move away from the island. She set down the ingredients she’d gathered from the fridge.

  “I want to show her the playgr— Damn it.” Colton shook his head. “The mini-golf stuff.”

  “Colton, seriously.” Janie frowned up at him, fearless in the face of a strong man towering over her. Cynthia liked her immediately. “Let the poor girl get to know us before you put her to work.”

  “Darling,” Dave said, putting his hand on Janie’s arm. “She is dating Noah. Colton needs to get her input before they talk strategy.”

  A look of unease crossed Noah’s expression.

  Cynthia laughed. “Yesterday I was hiding from my family in a tree in the front yard. I really don’t think you need to worry about your friends spooking me.”

  “Good point.” Dave nodded solemnly. “Colton, get whatever you need to show her. She’s crazy, and Noah won’t be able to cope.”

  “That’s my beau.” Janie patted Dave’s arms. “Always saying the right things in every situation.”

  “So how do you all know each other?” Madison asked, walking over to pick up some of the stuff Janie had dumped on the island.

  “Really? You’re siding with Colton?” Janie demanded. “Hoes before bros, Madison.”

  “I am choosing a ho. And a bro. Double whammy.”