Kissing Bree

by JoMarie DeGioia

  She lifted herself and straddled his waist. “You don’t have to.” Kissing him, she sighed. “Thank you for telling me.”

  He moved beneath her, grabbing her ass with both hands. “If anybody asks, I’ll swear you used water torture on me.”

  She threw her head back and laughed, the sound bright and just right to send the rest of that hateful memory from his mind.

  Later, after making more splashes in the big tub, they each threw on some clothes. He wore sweats and one of a dozen BC T-shirts he owned and she wore spotted pants and a thin shirt. The fuzzy socks on her feet just added to the surprisingly sexy outfit. They snuggled together in the seating area and ate from the minibar.

  “Those pajamas are adorable,” he teased as he popped another Macadamia nut into his mouth.

  She crossed her arms, no doubt unaware that he could see the outline of her nipples in her thin shirt. “And what do you wear to bed, counselor?”

  He spread his arms wide. “You’re looking at it.”

  “So you went to Boston College.”

  “I did. Undergrad, and then Harvard law.”

  “Impressive.”

  He shrugged it off. “You?”

  “College? Florida State.”

  “You’re not a Gator?”

  She wrinkled her nose and took some nuts from the can. “Nope.”

  He lifted his chin towards the remote for the entertainment system set on the wide leather ottoman in front of them. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

  “Sure.” She grabbed the remote and came closer, fitting up against his side like she’d always been there. “We could use the time to build up your strength.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Baby, don’t you worry about me.”

  She laughed and flicked through the channels until they found a romcom. It was mindless entertainment, and as they watched the couple on the screen fall inevitably in love he realized she wasn’t the only one with a first tonight.

  He’d never done any of this before. The bedroom workout, sure. But the bath. The talk. The kidding around. This was all new territory for him. They might both be keeping all of this a secret for now, but how long could that last?

  At the moment, he couldn’t care less. Bree was here now. She was in his arms and in his bed. If she was in his thoughts afterwards, what harm could there be?

  It wasn’t like they were falling in love.

  ***

  Bree awoke on Saturday morning, all wrapped up in Derek’s long limbs. She hadn’t spent the night with a guy in…ever, really. The sheets were Egyptian cotton, and silky-smooth against her skin. She’d tugged her pajamas back on after their last roll-around, but Derek had only put on his briefs. Right now her top was pushed up almost to her neck. Derek’s hands, those big strong hands of his, stroked over her belly as she turned to face him.

  “Early riser?” she asked, slowly stretching as she opened her eyes.

  He flashed a smile, one of those wide smiles he didn’t show very often. “Do you want me to answer that?”

  She caught his meaning and laughed. “Derek Stone, the man of the morning charm.”

  His brow furrowed. “That’s a new one on me.”

  He settled back on the many pillows and she turned to face him. He looked really good despite the mussed hair and shadowed jaw, or maybe because of it.

  Unable to resist, she placed a hand on his chest. He was warm and strong and she could feel his heartbeat beneath her palm. “What time is it?”

  Grabbing his phone off of the nightstand, he tapped the screen. “Almost eight thirty.”

  She murmured and sank down on his chest. “That’s nice.”

  He rubbed a hand down her back and then smacked her butt. “I ordered in breakfast.”

  That made her pop open her eyes. “I didn’t know Mrs. Rollins offered that.”

  “She does. She even told me she would include her famous cinnamon rolls.”

  Bree sat up now. “Okay, you’ve got me.”

  “Do I, now?”

  She took a good look at him now. The words seemed offhand but the expression on his face was shuttered. Here was the cool Derek she’d known from the first. She would play it like him, then.

  “For cinnamon rolls? There’s little I wouldn’t do.”

  She seemed to crack his mask a little. “Seems to me there was little you wouldn’t do just last night.”

  Her entire body flushed hot. “Stop that.”

  He shrugged. “Just turning on my, what did you call it? Morning charm?”

  She pushed herself out of the bed. “Never mind. I’m going to hop in the shower if that’s okay.”

  “Sure. Breakfast should be here in a couple of minutes.”

  She went into the ridiculously-luxurious bathroom and took a quick shower under its six showerheads. Wrapping a towel around herself, she twisted her hair over her shoulder and peeked out into the guest room. Derek wore his sweats and T-shirt once more, and mussed casual Derek was pretty darn eye-catching. She heard a knock at the door and ducked back into the bathroom.

  As she dressed she heard the muffled sounds of Derek’s half of the conversation. If she had to pick out the identity of the person who delivered their breakfast, she would guess it was Joy. She blew out a breath. So much for hiding out in anonymity.

  Slipping on her underwear, today’s would be blue, she chose jeans and a scooped-neck T in sunny yellow. She towel-dried her hair as she joined him. The scent of freshly-brewed coffee and those heavenly cinnamon rolls filled the room.

  “Mmm, yes,” she said.

  His head turned and he flashed her a smile. “Heard that last night too, if I recall correctly.”

  “Counselor, I seriously doubt you ever recall anything incorrectly.”

  He dipped his head. “And now you’ve got me.”

  “Turned my words on me, did you?” She wrinkled her nose at him. “I’ll give you that, Due Diligence.”

  Shaking his head, he lifted the metal covers on their breakfasts. “Today’s Belgian waffle day, apparently.”

  Their plates were piled with two thick waffles each, smothered in at least four types of fruit and clouds of whipped cream. She poured them each a cup of coffee and sat across from him. “Looks like we have our work cut out for us.”

  “No joke.” He took a drink of his coffee and set his cup down. “I say we save the rolls for later.”

  “Later?”

  He blinked at her as he regarded her. “We have the whole weekend, Bree. Don’t we?”

  “We do.” She took a bit of fluffy waffle, rolling her eyes in delight. “So good.”

  He made a sound of happy agreement. “And brought by your friend Joy.”

  Bree wiped her mouth on a linen napkin. “I thought that was her voice.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Not for me. Like you said before, it’s not like we’re having an affair.”

  He gave a sage nod. “True. But keeping this a secret just grew exponentially more difficult.”

  She thought for a long minute. “Derek, I don’t care if people know we’re involved. I just don’t want them to jump to conclusions.”

  “What kinds of conclusions?”

  “Please. Have you taken a look around Cypress Corners? Couples and families and babies. The fishbowl runneth over.”

  He laughed at her turn of phrase. “I’m sure there are people seeing other people around here, too. Not everybody gets, what did you call it? Caught in the net?”

  “I suppose.” She picked up a perfect strawberry and dragged it through the whipped cream. “I just don’t want you to regret this.”

  As she took a bit of the berry, his eyes darkened. “Baby, I doubt I’ll regret anything that involves you and me.”

  On that sensually-charged note, they continued to eat their breakfast in relative silence. Her mind worked, though. Over everything they’d shared last night, of course. But also over what they’d done just this morning.

&nbs
p; His words were almost sweet, and warmer than she might have expected from him just last week. He’d told her that awful story about his father last night. His mask had been nowhere in sight as he related what had to be such a traumatic memory. It was hard to imagine this self-assured strong man as a vulnerable little boy but she’d heard it in his tone. His father had really screwed him up, or certainly tried to.

  Her father might be a pompous ass but he wasn’t cruel. No. Arthur James was self-involved and all about image but aside from dismissals he didn’t really push Bree beyond his expectations of the perfect daughter. Since she’d failed on that count, she supposed was off the hook. Relatively speaking, anyway. There was still that party to attend on the first.

  After a while he set his empty plate aside. “What do you want to do today?”

  Pushing her remaining waffle toward him, she drank more of her coffee. “Since your closing is next Thursday, did you want to go pick out some furniture?”

  His face brightened. “You would help me with that?”

  “Sure.” She beamed a smile at him. “I love shopping.”

  “I don’t, but there’s a lot of space to fill.”

  “What did you place in Boston look like?”

  “A lot like this room, actually.”

  “So not very homey.”

  He chuckled. “No, I guess not.”

  “Never fear. I might not have Jessie’s knack for staging but I can certainly help you pick out what you might need. I’m thinking we head east to Melbourne.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Melbourne has tons of furniture stores.” She winked. “And the Atlantic Ocean, of course.”

  He smiled. “You know just what to say to me, don’t you?”

  She crossed her arms. “Maybe.”

  He leaned over the table and kissed her, quick and sweeter than the berries and cream. She might not know what this was, but she would enjoy it. Live in the moment, for once in her life.

  Neither of them had any other commitments. They were both going into this thing with their eyes wide open. It would be incredible while it lasted.

  And after? Bree just wouldn’t think about that.

  Chapter 13

  Derek sat at his desk on Monday morning, thumbing through his emails. It had taken him two cups of coffee to get his head in the game today, since he’d spent the entire weekend with Bree. They’d managed to order all of the furniture he would need to outfit his new house, and on Sunday they drove around Cypress getting ideas for what color to paint the exterior. In the end they’d settled on a gray-blue that would really give the house a New England feel.

  He looked over a couple of contracts that came in late on Friday afternoon, along with some memos regarding other improvements on the property. It wouldn’t be long before the Active Adult community would take up a big part of his day’s work. He thought about all the furniture he’d picked out with Bree and wondered if she would come help his mother arrange her new house once it was built and ready for occupancy.

  Someone knocked on the door and he looked up to see a guy he didn’t know standing there. He was broad but soft in the middle, and wore a Florida State shirt.

  “Derek Stone?” he asked, brushing his thinning hair back from his face.

  “Yes,” Derek answered in a tone that should put the guy on notice. Clearly he was Derek Stone. This was his office, after all.

  “I wanted to see you about your application.”

  Derek thought for a second before it hit him. “My house color. Yes, I sent that to the design committee this morning.”

  The guy smiled. “That’s me. I’m the chair.” He stuck out a hand. “Johnny Knox.”

  Derek shook his hand. He recognized the name. It was on a number of memos stating that the committee was taking a very long time to approve some residents’ improvement applications. Noah and Rick didn’t have anything nice to say about him, either. Unless Derek was mistaken, the term blowhard was often used.

  “What is this visit about, Johnny?”

  The guy sat without asking. “I wondered if the color you chose is suitable for your house.”

  “I chose it, so it’s suitable.”

  Johnny nodded. “I’m not a big fan of blue.”

  “Then it’s good you won’t be living in my house.”

  “But the front door.”

  “What about it? I chose a color a shade darker than the faded paint color on it now.”

  “Red.”

  “Yes, red.”

  Johnny blinked at Derek’s tone. Good.

  “I suppose it will work then.”

  “Thank you. While you’re here, I have a few questions for you.” Derek turned to his laptop and pulled up a few pending applications. “Is there a reason you’re dragging your feet on these applications?”

  Johnny blustered. “Dragging my feet?”

  “These aren’t ridiculous color choices, Johnny. The fences applied for fit within their allowable lot lines.”

  “Still, people can’t expect to get their answers right away.”

  “Why not?”

  Johnny’s mouth dropped open. “There is a procedure.”

  Derek nodded. “Which these residents have adhered to. I’m the in-house counsel here now, Johnny. I have a lot of items to review for Cypress. Contracts. Proposals. Other committee business. Deciding what color a resident chooses to paint their front door? Not a high priority in my book.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Get these reviews approved as swiftly as you can. If there is a problem, maybe we should revisit the application process.”

  The threat was there. To dismantle the committee that this guy clearly thought was his exalted office. His cheeks were red as he nodded.

  “The committee will review what we have in-house, if that works for you.”

  “It does.”

  Johnny came to his feet. “I just want to make sure that Cypress Corners continues to present the image we’ve all strived so hard to project.”

  “With Mr. Forbes and the Cypress Institute involved, that’s not a concern.” He paused a beat. “Certainly not solely a concern of yours.”

  Johnny’s head bobbed. “Very well. Thank you, Mr. Stone.”

  Derek gave a curt nod and the guy left his office. “He is a blowhard.”

  “You sound like Noah.”

  Derek looked over at his still-open door to see Jessie grinning at him. “Hey, Jessie.”

  The pretty Pixie stepped into his office. “Although sometimes he uses more colorful words.”

  “I wouldn’t waste any more words on him.” Derek found a smile. “And I’m a lawyer. We love our words.”

  She nodded. “So you had dinner with Bree on Friday night.”

  Derek kept his expression even at the swift turn of topic. “Yes I did.”

  “I didn’t hear much from her this weekend.”

  “Are you trying to ask me something, Jessie?”

  She fiddled with the buttons on her sweater for a few seconds. “Oh, no. I was just making conversation.”

  “Sure you were,” Bree said from the hallway.

  Jessie jumped, then smiled in Bree’s direction. “Hi, Bree.”

  “Hi, Jessie.”

  “Um, did you want to talk to Derek?” Jessie winked. “You know. Talk?”

  “Pixie, please,” Bree said with a laugh.

  Jessie grinned and waved before rushing off. Bree looked at Derek, her brow knit. “Problem?”

  “Not now.” He was being completely honest. The crap with Johnny as well as anything else he’d reviewed this morning left his mind when she smiled at him.

  She closed the door and came closer. “We’re all set for the closing next week.”

  “Thanks.” He stood and came around his desk to kiss her. “This feels a little clandestine, Bree.”

  “I think it’s a little like closing the barn door once the horse has gotten out, or some other folksy comment.”

  “Cat out o
f the bag?”

  “Maybe.” Her eyes sparkled up at him. “Fish out of the bowl?”

  “That’s not good for the fish.”

  She reached up to place her hands behind his neck. “Just kiss me. We can worry about the rest of it later.”

  He brought his mouth to hers and she parted her lips. Kissing her deeply, he relished the taste of her. Sun and sweetness and Bree. Pulling back, he pressed his brow to hers. “What about lunch today?”

  She shook her head. “Can’t, I’m afraid. I have to take a tour out on the east side of the property.”

  He gave a dramatic shiver. “With the gators and wild boar?”

  “Not exactly.” She bit her bottom lip and then smiled. “We’re touring the Active Adult site.”

  “Finally.”

  “I thought your mother was moving in with you.”

  “Yes, but that’s not something I want indefinitely.”

  She kissed him again, lightly this time. “It’ll cramp your style, I bet.”

  “I don’t know about that. I just want to see her safe and settled.”

  He saw the question in her eyes. She already knew his father had abused him. How long before she figured out that his mother was a victim a lot more often?

  She stepped out of his arms and back towards the door. “I’d better go. Rick and Eli are leading the charge today.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be briefed on it.”

  Before she opened the door, she threw him one more smile. “I am free for dinner, though.”

  Warmth blossomed in his chest. “Done.”

  ***

  Bree tried to keep her head in the game as the cart made it’s bumpy way over towards the east side of the property. Most of the sales staff were present, except for Oliver. He was holding down the fort this afternoon. Mondays were usually very busy, and from this morning’s traffic out at the model home she figured that the afternoon would probably continue the trend.

  The farmhouse where Jessie’s sister and her husband lived was out this way, as was the little tent-cabin near the far lakeshore. Jessie had lived out there before getting together with Noah, which still gave Bree the heebie-jeebies when she thought about it. She was so not an outdoorsy kind of girl. No, her idea of roughing it was a limited room service menu. That thought brought back everything she and Derek had shared in his very nice room at the inn.