"He had me pack everything." Cerise stood in my doorway with a glass in her hand. "But I came up to check on you, and he'd unpacked it all and put you to bed. He even requested the easel, and there are some supplies in the closet, but I wasn't sure what you'd want."
"I—I don't know what to say. Thank you. You chose all the things that would make me feel better."
"I hoped so. I know this is gonna be tough for you. I wanted to make it as easy as I could. Obviously, he does too." I nodded and touched the painting of Mom before Cerise came in and grabbed my hand. "Come on downstairs, but put some makeup on first." She laughed. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."
"Why do I have to—"
"Anthony has arrived." She laughed again. She was clearly feeling the drink in her hand. "He is—well, he's smooth and, oh man, he's gonna go apeshit over you."
"Great." I rolled my eyes. "Just what I need—more drama."
"It'll be good for Sean. He needs to suffer a little more before you take him back."
I walked into the bathroom to find my makeup bag on the counter beside a male razor. "Who's in the room next to me?"
Cerise started laughing again. "Guess?"
Anthony. "No. No—please tell me you didn't do this to me."
She put up her hands. "It was Sean's decision, actually. He's serious about keeping you safe, that's for sure." I washed my face and brushed my teeth before putting on some mascara and eyeliner. That's as far as I was willing to go with this mess, though. Mostly I did it because I'd never met Troy or Craig or Anthony before. They were Sean's good friends, so I did actually want to make a good first impression.
"Change your shirt, too," Cerise instructed. "They were having this fire-making contest down there for who can get it higher. Really, the jokes are just too easy. There's no challenge with these guys. Sean seems happy, though. Nathan and Rudy ran around setting up all kinds of equipment, and they had Lutz come out earlier and put up a temporary gate out front. They can't put in a permanent one until the ground thaws. They've got more cameras than I could imagine. I was following Nathan around earlier watching him. He's funny—nervous and quiet, but when he talks, he's funny."
I raised my eyebrows at her. "Oh, really?"
"Now don't go reading into things. I just thought the guy was funny, I'm not saying I'm into him or anything."
"Are you into him, Cerise?"
She put up her hand. "I didn't say that," she whined.
"Cerise?"
"Maybe." That was a yes in Cerise's language. It was surprising. She usually went for the confident bad boys, not the quiet but strong guys. "Stop harassing me and come downstairs. Anthony made margaritas."
"I should go back to the inn and make sure—"
"Morgan." She sighed with frustration. "You're here because the inn needs to run without you. Jake is there tonight and Manny later—they can handle it. Just relax, have a drink, make out with Sean, chill." I opened my mouth in shock at her, but she just put her hand on her hip and glared at me. "Don't even tell me you're not dying to kiss him."
"I think you've had too much to drink already. How many of those have you had?" I pointed to her glass.
"A few." She walked out of the bathroom and over to my closet, pulling out a red, low-cut shirt I'd worn to the clubs a few times. I shook my head, and she sighed. "I'm just trying to help." She looked in my closet again and pulled out a royal blue T-shirt. It was V-neck but not slutty.
I put my hand out to her, and she handed it over. I quickly changed, ran my brush through my hair and rubbed some lotion into my hands before heading downstairs. Nathan was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels on the TV. He stood up as we came down the stairs.
"You look a lot better," he said to me, smiling slightly. "Not as tired."
It made me wonder what a mess I had been before. "I guess I was more exhausted than I realized." I looked around, but Nathan was the only one in the room. "Where is everyone?"
"Downstairs playing pool. Rudy's still doing what he can to set up security. With this snow, it's gonna be tough. There's margaritas downstairs at the bar."
"Thanks, Nathan." He nodded and went back to the TV, but I noticed his eyes glance at Cerise several times. "Margaritas?" I whined to Cerise as I walked toward the door.
Before I reached it, Nathan was behind us.
"Well, he doesn't know you yet," Cerise said before I opened the door. "He thinks you're a girl."
"I am a girl." I looked at Nathan. "What?"
"I have a feeling this is gonna get a whole lot more interesting than the TV." Nathan was smiling mischievously at me.
I rolled my eyes. "So happy I could be entertaining." I took a deep breath for the millionth time and walked down the steps.
Laughter, the sounds of a sports game, and a pool cue striking met my ears as I entered the basement. Again, I was impressed by the décor. It looked like the inside of a pub with a full bar along one wall complete with barstools, a flat-screen on the opposite wall and several bar-stools lining the walls around the pool table. One small table was set up at the end of the long room with a chess board and a long sofa sat across from the pool table. Cerise put her hands on my shoulders and steered me toward the bar. We were relatively unnoticed as the laughter and the game continued. The only one who came over to us was, of course, Sean.
He started to put his arms around me, but seemed to remember himself as he got closer. He stopped in front of me and held out his hand. "I—want to introduce you—if that's alright."
I'm not sure what made me do it. Maybe it was because he had asked Cerise to pack my art supplies. Maybe it was the fact that he had so carefully unpacked my things. Maybe it was the way he put Anthony in the room next to me even though he didn't want him anywhere near me. Maybe it was the way he stopped before he hugged me. In the end, I was dying to do it. I threw myself into his arms and squeezed him tightly.
He sighed loudly in my ear. "Oh, Morgan." He almost sounded in pain.
"Well, well, well, the smart-mouthed sex goddess returns."
A voice I didn't recognize had said the words behind Sean. I pulled slightly away to look at Sean, my eyebrows drawn together in somewhat disgusted confusion over the title this stranger gave Cerise.
Sean smiled. "Apparently it's Cerise's new nickname." He leaned closer to me and whispered, "I don't think Nathan likes it too much."
I glanced back at Cerise's annoyed expression and smiled at Sean. "I think whatever is there is likely mutual." He raised an eyebrow to me.
"Sean, quit groping my new ward," the same strange voice said with laughter.
I looked up at Sean, who was completely ignoring the man behind us. I was happy enough standing there in his arms to ignore him as well, so I wrapped my arms around him again.
"Please don't be mad at me for anything I do," he whispered. "I'm not drunk, but I've had enough to make my will power completely gone. Just, stand with Nathan if I get too—uh—"
"It’s okay, Sean. I'm okay."
He kissed my cheek. "You smell so good. I've missed that so much." When his lips touched my neck, I realized I needed to separate myself from him just a little. I stepped back, and his mouth turned down a bit, but he didn't say anything.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man behind Sean and gasped, stepping back. Sean followed my steps, and I clawed into his arms with my hands, my heart beating a mile a minute.
Cerise was quickly by my side, speaking softly. "Just look carefully. It's not him, but I got the same impression. Relax."
Sean heard Cerise's words, but I could see he didn't understand. I kept my grip on Sean and looked back at the man behind him. He was tall with blond hair, blue-eyes, and sharp features. He was so similar to Brent. But his eyes were kinder and a lighter shade of blue, and his hair was darker than Brent's. His nose was smaller too, and he was taller than Brent by a good six inches.
He stepped forward again and slapped Sean on his back. "Introduce me to my new best friend." His voice wa
s a little deeper, and the accent was different, but there were enough similarities to make me cringe.
I knew it wasn't Brent, but it bothered me so much that I had to really fight against it in my head. I loosened my grip on Sean and forced myself to relax a little.
Sean kept his eyes on me. "Morgan, this is Anthony. Anthony, keep your hands to yourself."
"Sure thing, Sean." He put his hand out to me, and I really expected him to kiss my hand like a sleaze, but instead, he shook it firmly. The only sleazy thing he did was refuse to let go.
When my eyes widened at his hand, Sean dug his fingers into Anthony's arm. "Let go of her, and get your ass behind the bar." Anthony looked back at me and seemed to finally notice that his "charm" wasn't having the intended effect. He dropped my hand immediately and moved behind the bar.
Cerise leaned closer to me. "I'm so sorry. With the alcohol, I just forgot to warn you."
I nodded and closed my eyes as Sean took my hand and pulled me to the end of the bar away from the others. "What was that about?" The concern in his voice made me turn into his chest.
"He just—looks like someone—I—"
"Brent," Sean finished for me. I nodded into his chest. "You know he's not, right?" I nodded again and let out a long breath. "What I want to know is why you panicked. This morning you were angry then you were petrified. Why are you afraid of Brent, Morgan?"
I shook my head. I wasn't ready to talk about this. I didn't even want to think about it. "I—I'm okay, now. It just surprised me. I need a drink."
He stared at me for at least a full minute. "Okay, I won't push, but look at me, Morgan." I brought my eyes up to his. He brushed his hand across my cheek. "I need to know about this, love." I nodded, and he dropped his arms, allowing me to turn back to the bar.
I sat down next to Cerise with Nathan on the other side, and Sean went back to the pool table, but I could feel his eyes on me. Anthony stayed behind the bar, but he walked over to stand in front of Cerise. He placed a margarita in front of me, and I pushed it in Cerise's direction. She laughed.
"You don't like margaritas?" Anthony asked, and I shook my head. "Really? I didn't know there was a girl alive who didn't like margaritas. Well I can make you anything you want. We've got just about everything back here. I can make you a daiquiri? Sex on the beach? Long Island Iced Te—"
"I don't do girlie drinks. But I'd appreciate a vodka on the rocks with a twist of lime, please."
His jaw dropped. "Really? You're serious?" I nodded, and he laughed. "Well, shit." He moved quickly to make my drink and set it in front of me. He had an expectant look on his face like I would take a sip and admit that I wanted a girlie drink. I didn't, and it was actually pretty smooth vodka.
Cerise leaned forward a little and signaled for Anthony to come closer to her. "She's not your typical girl either, Anthony. You might want to remember that." He raised an eyebrow at her and smiled.
"So, I hear you're the reason we're all here. Now that I've met you, I'm not one bit surprised." He busied himself with cleaning the bar area—at least he was neat. "You're really a business owner?"
I nodded but turned my eyes back to Sean, who was not smiling.
"You're far too beautiful to be intelligent and successful—it makes it unfair for the rest of the girls."
I held back a roll of my eyes. I was prepared for this guy to be smooth and handsome, but he had absolutely no effect on me. "There are a lot of intelligent, successful, and beautiful women in this world. But perhaps you should just stick to the ones who easily fall into your lap with a few smooth words and a sexy smile."
Nathan started chuckling, and Cerise snickered beside me. But Anthony leaned closer to me across the bar. "You think my smile is sexy, huh?"
"I'm sure other women do. You're attractive, but no, you do nothing for me." Unfortunately, my words only seemed to make me more intriguing to him. Just my luck, the guy liked a challenge.
"Well then, that will make it easier to become best friends, won't it?"
His smirk pissed me off. I wasn't being fair, but this guy was not taking the hint that I wanted him to back off. "Hardly. My best friends are those I've known my whole life, certainly not some guy I just met who thinks he can charm me by calling me intelligent then negate the statement by implying I would immediately fall for his BS."
Nathan started outright laughing as did Cerise.
"Damn. Two smart-mouthed sex goddesses in one house. How did Sean find you?"
"He dialed a wrong number." I smiled at the memory.
"Well, hell, where's my phone?" He patted his pockets and laughed. "He's got some damn good luck."
I looked over at Sean, who winked at me. Despite everything, he was the one I wanted flirting with me, not this Brent look-a-like.
A few minutes later, Sean brought two more new guys over to me. One was another tall, muscular guy named Craig, who seemed quiet like Nathan, and a shorter, incredibly sweet guy with sandy brown hair and glasses, who turned out to be Troy. I hugged Troy immediately and thanked him for the website and all his help. He actually blushed, and Sean looked pleased over the way I interacted with his friend.
They all went back to playing pool, and Cerise and I sat there chatting with Nathan and Anthony for a few hours. I'd had a few drinks—enough to make me a little less edgy toward Anthony. And he was a little less sleazy in his attempts to get my attention. I still wasn't too solid on him and his intentions yet, but I knew Sean trusted him, so I tried to.
Sean kept his distance but came over to run his hand along my back, or lean against me at the bar, or touch me in some way almost every half hour. When Annalisa and Stewie showed up, I had a pretty good buzz going, and Cerise was all over Nathan. Annalisa took one look at the two of us and pulled us upstairs to put food in our bodies. Sean, Stewie, and Nathan followed. I was completely surprised when Sean stepped into the kitchen with Annalisa and started helping her.
"You can cook?" I asked.
He smiled and kissed my cheek, lowering his voice to a caress. "I have many talents you haven't discovered yet."
I raised my eyebrow at that and felt the blood rush to my cheeks. When he said it like that, cooking was the farthest thing from my mind.
I Should Have Known
The six of us joked and ate. Annalisa and Sean brought some food downstairs to the other guys. Annalisa decided to do a couple shots to catch up to us, again surprising Anthony, who flirted with her like crazy until Stewie said something in his ear. This, of course, meant he was back to pestering me. By this point, I was okay around Anthony. He was just a flirt. He didn't really seem to mean much by it. It almost seemed that it was the only way he knew how to interact with women. It made me wonder what his childhood had been like.
I was having fun teasing Anthony and Nathan with Cerise's help, and I was laughing so hard that I had to bend over one of the barstools to keep myself upright. When I looked back at Sean, his eyes roamed down my body, and I was too buzzed to think completely clearly. Walking over to him, I pulled the cue stick from his hand and leaned it against the wall. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his lips to mine. Flames ignited immediately as I forced my tongue into his mouth. When his hand went to the base of my neck, pulling me farther into him, I moaned into his mouth. It took about two seconds to lose all control as he pushed me back against the wall and completely possessed my mouth, grinding his body into mine.
All too soon, Sean was pulling away from me. It took me a moment to realize the noise I was hearing was clapping and cheering and not the blood pounding in my ears. I hid my face against Sean's chest and felt him chuckling, but he didn't move away from me. He did however, kiss my earlobe and whisper, "I think you've hit your limit on alcohol for tonight, sweetie." I glared up at him. "Are you gonna remember any of this in the morning?"
"I'm not drunk, Sean." I said in an impressively clear tone. And I wasn't. I was buzzed, but far from blacking out.
His face got serious. "Then you kissed m
e—you're sure you're not drunk?"
I placed my hand on his cheek. "My inhibitions are definitely lowered, but I know what I'm doing."
He was so tentative and a little hopeful. "What are you doing?"
I shrugged. "I miss you. Beyond that, I don't know."
He stared at me for several moments. "I'm good with that."
Craig slapped him on the back. "It's your turn. If you think you can walk after that." He laughed as he walked away.
Sean nuzzled my neck. "He has a point, you know. You're driving me crazy."
I sighed dramatically and scooted out of his arms. "I guess I'll stay away from you then, so you can play your game."
He grabbed my arm and pulled me back into him. "I like this game better." He kissed me again, but it was lighter and shorter. When he let me go, he smacked me on the butt as I walked back to the sofa.
Ten minutes later, I was standing toward a corner joking around with Annalisa and Anthony when Stewie called Annalisa to the pool table to give him a lucky kiss. She practically skipped over to him, which made me smile. The room was getting a little fuzzy. I'd stopped drinking, but was still feeling a little too buzzed.
Anthony turned back to me. "I think Stewie's in love with your friend."
I smiled. "I hope so. She deserves someone who loves her." I took a step away from Anthony and back into the corner a bit, feeling a little lightheaded.
"I know what you mean. Sean does too. So tell me, do you love him?"
His tone wasn't flirtatious or light in any way, it was much deeper, and it gave me the chills. I could feel my heartbeat speeding up. I took another step toward the corner, but he followed me.
"I'm just looking out for him. It's obvious how he feels about you. I'm just trying to figure you out."
Accidental Texting: Finding Love despite the Spotlight Page 28
