by Tawna Fenske
Willa laughed, tempted by the offer. “Pizza delivery’s at least an hour on a Friday night,” she pointed out. “I can cook something, or we can—”
“Nope, no cooking.” He tipped her head back and kissed her, distracting her all over again. “You’ve worked hard this week. It’s playtime now.”
“Mm, I like the sound of playtime.”
Grady laughed and drew back. “Got your phone shut off?”
She hesitated, biting her lip. “I could just switch it to silent. What if—”
“Willa, it’s after five.” He glanced at his watch. “Way after five. Shit, sorry I’m so late.”
“No, it’s fine.” She slipped out her phone and glanced at the screen. “I’ll do it right before we leave. Promise.”
He grinned and pulled out his own phone. “I can call Ernesto’s right now and have food ordered before you come back from feeding Stevie and the cats. What are you in the mood for?”
“You,” she admitted, hooking a finger in his belt loop. “But I’d settle for their eggplant Parmesan and a small garden salad.”
“Done.” He was already dialing. “Glass of Chianti?”
“Yes, please.” She started for the kitchen, her brain churning over the change in plans. It seemed solid. Yes, it wasn’t what they’d agreed on, but being flexible was part of this new balancing act. She could do this, could learn to roll with the unexpected.
Grady’s voice rumbled from the other room. “Could we also get an order of tiramisu? Wait, make it two.”
Trying not to fret, she scooped food into pet bowls as Stevie did a joyful tap dance at her feet. Grady really had thought of everything.
Grabbing her purse off the table, she pulled out her phone and checked one last time for messages. No emails from clients, no text messages about the RFPs she’d sent out earlier that morning. Was she really all clear?
She powered off the phone and held it up as she returned to the living room. Grady looked up and grinned. “Atta girl.”
“Switched off and ready to play,” she told him. “Commend me on my balance.”
“Consider yourself commended.” He pulled her in for a kiss that curled her toes, then slipped an arm around her shoulders.
“No motorcycle tonight, don’t worry,” he promised as he led her to his truck. “Ernesto’s will have the food ready when we walk in, and we’ll have just enough time to eat and make it to the show.”
She snuggled up closer, reveling in his warmth. “My hero.”
He gave a courtly bow as he opened her door and helped her into the cab of the truck. Then he ran around the front and slipped into the driver’s seat. “It’s good to see you.” He turned sideways to pull her close, bumping his ribs on the steering wheel. “Ow,” he said against her mouth.
“Are you okay?”
He answered by kissing her long and slow. His hand skimmed up her waist as his tongue grazed hers and every nerve in her body sat up and sang.
“I’m good,” he said when they drew back from each other. “Better than good. I’m great.”
“Me too.”
He stuck the keys in the ignition with a shrug. “I did bang my ribs pretty hard on a tree branch a few days ago,” he admitted. “I’m still a little bruised.”
“Ouch.” Willa winced on his behalf, surveying him for distress. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
“Positive.” He started the engine. “Just need to be careful not to go leaning into steering wheels.”
He started to release the brake, but Willa caught his hand. “Wait.” She grabbed at the hem of his T-shirt. “Do you need to have it looked at or—”
“Nah, it’s just a bruise.” He flashed her a grin. “You can keep taking off my clothes, though.”
She rolled her eyes, though deep down, she kinda wanted to. “One more kiss, and then we go.”
“Deal.” He pulled her close, avoiding the steering wheel as he slipped his hands into her hair and drew her against him. He kissed her deeper this time, making it count.
When they drew apart, they both were breathing fast.
“I’m rethinking the plan.” His gaze flicked toward the house, and Willa felt liquid heat pooling between her legs. “We could just go back inside and ravage each other.”
She laughed, not wanting to admit how much she wanted that, too. “Did you give them your credit card number for dinner?”
“Yeah, but—”
“We can’t waste money,” she said. “Or food. I’m starving.”
Grady grinned. “We’ll have plenty of time later for ravaging each other.”
She cast one more longing look at the house. “On the other hand—”
“No, you’re right.” Grady released the brake. “The food’s waiting for us, and you’ve wanted to see the star show forever. Only a few hours and we’ll have each other’s clothes off.”
“Deal.”
“Delicious anticipation,” he said as he eased the car out onto the road.
Willa laughed and tossed her hair. “Not a bad way to kick off a weekend together.”
“A whole weekend.” He shook his head in awe. “Man, I must have done something right to get this lucky.”
Willa laughed as happiness bubbled in her chest and the house vanished behind them. She could almost shake the niggling fear that she was forgetting something big. That the monster was breathing hot and impatient down her neck, just like it always did.
Chapter Nineteen
After years of sleeping outside as a smokejumper, Grady had been positive nothing in the world compared to the beauty of a velvety-black night sky dusted with the glitter of stars.
He’d been wrong.
About so many things, but especially that. As he sat in that planetarium with his arm around Willa and her head tipped back to watch the play of speckled light dancing across the ceiling, he was certain he’d never seen anything so lovely in his life.
Not just the star show but Willa.
Willa with her face turned up toward the ceiling and her eyes filled with glittering stars and a wonder he might have called “childlike” if he weren’t conscious of her very womanly, very soft body pressed warm and lush against him.
Afterward, as they walked out together with their hands intertwined, she looked up at him with eyes still twinkling. “Thank you,” she said softly. “It was so much better than I imagined it would be.”
“I’m glad.” His heart squeezed in his chest.
“Not just the show but all of it,” she said. “Dinner. The date. The fact that we’ve got more to come.”
“I can’t believe we get the whole weekend together.” It was finally happening. He was finally getting what he’d hoped for, a chance to do things right with her.
She smiled up at him, swinging their hands slightly. “What should we do for our third date?”
“Hmm.” Snapping his fingers, he gave his best impression of a guy with a brilliant plan. “Don’t tell, but Tony watches that dating show sometimes—The Bachelor?”
“What?” She laughed. “You’re not serious.”
“Dead serious. He records it and makes us all watch it Tuesday mornings if we don’t get called out to fly.”
“Oh, Kayla’s going to love this.”
“All the guys pretend to hate it,” Grady continued as he led her down the street toward the parking garage. “But you’ll always find six or seven of us clustered around the TV room watching like it’s the State of the Union address.”
“I thought I’d seen everything with your sewing circle,” she said. “I’d pay good money to watch your little Bachelor viewing party. All those burly, shirtless smokejumpers—”
“Hey now,” he teased, pulling her closer to him. “Should I be worried your fantasies involve my coworkers?”
“I promise you’re the
only smokejumper in my fantasies,” she said gravely. “There might be a police officer, though, and definitely a cowboy—”
She squealed as Grady caught her around the waist and tickled her, fingers fluttering in the soft curve of her waist until they were both breathless and laughing. Her green eyes danced as she drew back and started walking again. “Anyway,” she said. “You were telling me about watching The Bachelor?”
“Right.” He forced himself to clear the lust from his brain so he could remember what the hell he’d been talking about. “I’m thinking we could nab some date ideas from the show.”
“Like what?”
“Let’s see,” he said, trying to remember some of the more audacious ones he’d seen on recent seasons. “Helicopter dates are big. The couple gets in a helicopter and flies off to some exotic island for dinner. A dinner they never actually eat.”
“You mean they just waste food?”
He shrugged. “I don’t get it, either. Maybe they don’t want to be caught on camera with their mouths full? Anyway, the food just sits there on the plate getting cold while they yammer on about who’s not there for the right reasons.”
Willa laughed and shook her head. “For the record, I plan to clean my plate completely on any of our future dates.”
“I love that about you.”
“And I’m thinking we should skip the helicopter dates, given your profession,” she pointed out. “Can’t have you spending more time in the air than you do on the ground.”
“Good point.” Grady racked his brain for more ideas. “Bikini pool parties,” he said. “That’s big on The Bachelor.”
“Nothing says romance like being ogled and objectified.”
Grady laughed. “There also seem to be a lot of dates where women fight each other with foam weapons while wearing wedding dresses. Either that or skimpy costumes.”
Willa raised an eyebrow as they neared the parking garage. “I’m thinking The Bachelor might not be the best source of quality date ideas.”
“Hmm,” he mused. “Tony watches The Bachelorette, too. We’ve got plenty of options to choose from on that show.”
“Such as?”
“Let’s see.” He led her around the side of the parking structure. “If I remember right, I’ll need to compete in some sort of obstacle course that involves wallowing shirtless in a pit of whipped cream looking for a diamond ring. That’s always popular.”
“This has happened more than once?”
“Some variation, sure. Also, we’re supposed to have conversations that include phrases like ‘her and I’s relationship.’ Slaughtering grammar is an important part of dating in the Bachelor franchise.”
“I’ll have to work on that.”
“Oh, and we’re supposed to say ‘falling for,’” he continued. “As in ‘I’m falling for you big-time’ because we’re not actually allowed to say ‘I love you.’”
He stole a glance at her face, curious how those three words would land in such a soft context. He wasn’t saying them to her, just saying them, but still.
Willa didn’t flinch and her smile didn’t waver. Was he imagining her fingers clutching his just a little tighter?
“Should I be writing down all these stellar ideas?” she asked.
Grady steered her around a puddle of melted ice cream and took a deep breath. “For the record, it’s true.”
“What’s true?”
“I’m falling for you.” There. That was easier to say than the big three, which were also probably true. Baby steps. “It’s a cheesy phrase, I know, but I mean it—I’ve fallen hard for you, Wills. In case it wasn’t obvious.”
His heart thudded as he waited for her response. She didn’t say anything right away, but when she turned to him, her face was lit by a smile. “Same,” she said. “I’ve fallen for you, too. So hard.”
She bit her lip, and Grady braced for a brush off. Some indication they weren’t on the same page.
Then she smiled and his heart split wide open.
“Would you—” He hesitated. “Would you want to talk about moving in together?” He held up a hand in case she was going to protest. “Not right away—not anytime soon, I swear. I just—”
“Yes.” Her smile widened. “You’re serious?”
He laughed. “Yeah? It’s something I’ve thought about, but I didn’t want to freak you out. And seriously, we wouldn’t have to do it soon. I mean, hell, I’d do it tomorrow.” Okay, that was a little much. But he did like the idea. “Waking up together all the time?”
Willa laughed and brushed the hair from her face. “We’d need to have a plan,” she said. “Logistics like your place or mine, and how we’d handle finances and—”
“And how many times a night we’d have sex?” He grinned and pulled her tighter against him. “Or who gets which side of the bed? And we’d definitely want to negotiate pillows. I’m thinking buckwheat?”
Willa laughed as Grady kissed the side of her neck. “I can’t believe we’re talking about this,” she said. “This is nuts.”
“But it feels right, doesn’t it?” It did, just like Willa felt perfect in his arms.
She nodded against his chest. “It does. It really does.”
Grady held her tight, soothing his own fears. Okay, so the idea of making plans was scary as hell, but he did like the thought of falling asleep together. Waking up and making love and—
And this. This right here, holding her in his arms under a streetlight for all the world to see.
“Come on,” he said, drawing back. “Let’s go back to your place and do this right.”
Willa grinned. “It feels pretty right already, so I can’t wait to find out what else you’ve got up your sleeve.”
“My sleeve isn’t where you should start looking.” He flashed her a salacious grin, earning himself another giggle.
“Well, in that case,” she said, trailing her fingers over the fly of his jeans, eyes widening when she found him more than ready to go. “We should hurry up and get home.”
It was all Grady could do not to break the speed limit as they rocketed across town toward Willa’s house, Willa’s bedroom, Willa’s bed. God, he wanted her. Not just her body but all of her. Her sharp wit and her kind heart and her laughter in the morning. The whole package, that’s what he’d held out for all this time.
And yeah, the sex was amazing. No doubt about it, he wanted that, too.
By the time they pulled into her driveway, he was so desperate to have her, he couldn’t see straight. Blame the anticipation or blame her hand stroking his thigh, urging him to run the yellow light, to hurry, hurry, that she couldn’t wait to feel him inside her.
How did he get this lucky?
“What is that?”
Blinking out of his sex-infused fog, Grady stared at her front door, where she was pointing. A small flap of pink paper fluttered from its post next to her peephole.
“Looks like one of those notification things when you get a package.”
He turned back to her in time to watch all the color drain from her face as her mouth fell open in stunned horror. “Oh God.” She threw open the car door and staggered out, sprinting up her walkway. “No. No no no no.”
What the hell?
Grady jumped out after her, not sure what was happening. She reached her front door before he did and was already clutching the slip of paper in a trembling hand, her face filled with sheer panic.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
“Oh God,” she breathed. “This can’t be happening. I’ve been working so hard. I can’t—”
“Slow down, Willa.” He put a hand on the back of her neck, hoping to soothe her.
But she shrugged him off and turned with eyes blazing. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“Did what? What’s happening?”
; “You,” she said, and Grady tried not to flinch. “They said this was coming, but I didn’t know when, and I told them it wouldn’t matter because I’m always home.”
Grady stared at the paper, taking in the signature required line at the bottom. “They’ll try again, won’t they? Amazon’s always doing that with my packages, or they leave them with my neighbors when—”
“No, you don’t understand.” She blinked hard, breathing in and out to calm herself, though Grady could see it wasn’t working. “TechTel, the client I’ve been trying to land for months. They were sending me a hard drive with the files I need to complete the final test to land the job. There’s a limited window to do the work.”
Grady raked his hands through his hair, determined to fix this for her. “So we’ll go pick it up tomorrow,” he said. “First thing in the morning, you’ll still have all weekend to do it.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Grady.” Tears spilled down her face, and she clutched the delivery notice so tight, her knuckles went white and the paper crumpled. “This courier service—there’s no local office, and they don’t do weekends. They won’t attempt delivery again until Monday. It’s over. I’m screwed.”
She crumpled then, just like the paper. He reached for her again, desperate to comfort her, to tell her it would be okay. There were other clients, other opportunities—
“I know you think this is no big deal,” she said, drawing back. “More clients will come along, right?”
He blinked, too stunned to respond. “I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to. I can see it on your face. Mister Go With the Flow, Mister Learn to Have Balance. But this wasn’t just any deal, Grady. TechTel—it’s where my mother always wanted to work. Her dream job, the job she’d just landed when she met my father. I wanted to land this so badly. Needed it.”
Her words heaved out in sobs so fierce, her shoulders shook. Grady reached for her hand, even as her words landed like fist blows. “Okay, I get it.” He wasn’t positive he did, but it seemed like the right thing to say. “It’s personal. But there will be other jobs, right? You’re always planning ahead, making sure you have lots of work rolling in.”
