Anything but Love (Wingmen #3)

by Daisy Prescott

  “Recreating the first time we were together here.”

  My own smile matches hers. “Where’s your fake coffee concoction?”

  “I’ve changed my mind about my coffee choices.” She takes a step closer to me.

  “Just your coffee?” I meet her halfway. We’re grinning at each other and I’m not sure if I could stop if I wanted.

  She shakes her head and tries to press her lips together in a serious line. It’s a battle she loses when I swoop her into my arms and kiss her.

  We finally make physical contact

  God, I’ve missed this woman.

  Not caring who’s working or what’s on my to-do list, I pull Cari into the office and lock the door behind us. As an extra precaution, I shove a chair in front of the door. I’m eyeing the bookcase when she steps behind me.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Making sure no one walks in on us.” I spin around and pull her into my arms. “It’s been months and I’m not waiting a moment longer to show you how much I’ve missed you.”

  “Man, you can’t say things like that. You’ll ruin me for all other men.”

  I growl like a dog with a bone. “There won’t be other men. Not if I have any say.”

  “Ever?” She blinks her beautiful green eyes at me.

  “Ever.” I press her into the wall behind us. “I don’t want to ruin you. Never. Only amazing things.”

  “I could use some amazing.” Her voice breaks. Tears fill her eyes.

  “What’s wrong? What did I say?” I sweep away two tears that spill from her eyes and roll down her cheeks.

  “It’s not you.”

  “Are you sick?” The worst thought in the world flashes in my mind. “Are you dying? Is that why you agreed to come back?”

  Briefly she closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No, but I haven’t been honest with you about why I went home.”

  I brace my hand on the wall near her head and cup her cheek with the other one. “Tell me.”

  “It’s my dad.” She swipes the tears from her eyes. “He’s sick.”

  All of my plans for our future together on the island shatter around my feet. “Is he dying?”

  “No, his doctors say he’s got a really good chance of being fine, but you hear the word cancer and assume the worst. That’s why I had to go home.”

  “What’s wrong?” I softly stroke her cheek, mostly to distract myself from the horrible feeling lodging itself in my gut.

  “Prostate cancer.”

  Two words no man ever wants to think about. We’re very delicate beasts when it comes to anything in that area of the body.

  “He had surgery and with radiation, that should be it.”

  “And you went home for his surgery?” I kiss her forehead.

  She nods, brushing her hair against my lips.

  “You’re a good daughter.”

  “That’s what my dad told me right before he kicked me out.”

  My head jerks back. “What? He kicked you out?”

  Any sympathy I was feeling for her father disappears. Why would he kick her out of the house?

  “He said he was tired of me moping around the house and eating all of the stew my mother made for him.”

  “Seems kind of harsh.” I notice she’s not making eye contact anymore. “What’s the real reason?”

  She kisses me and I fight the urge to deepen it before finding out what she’s hiding. Maybe she has a drug problem. Or she’s an alcoholic. I don’t need another person with addiction issues to manage in my life. I take a step away from her.

  “Be honest with me,” I plead, hating the thought of walking away from her.

  She fists my shirt and pulls herself closer to me. “He said my heart is in Washington and I should come back to collect it.”

  Relief floods through me. “What are you going to do with it once you get it back?”

  Her lips lift in a soft smile. “That’s the thing. I don’t want it back. I think it’s in the safest place it could be.”

  With me.

  This is Cari’s way of saying she’s in love with me. Hell if I’m going to stand here and let her think it’s not returned.

  Enveloping her in my arms, I slowly whisper against her ear, “You and me belong together. I’m all in.”

  A smile lights up her eyes. “Me too.”

  “I love you.” It might be too soon to say the words, but I don’t care. I’m okay if she doesn’t say them back . . . because I know she does.

  “I love you.” Her words are a breath, a soft whisper against my mouth.

  It’s a good thing I’ve locked and blocked the door already.

  I sweep a stack of paper off my desk, lift Cari and settle her on the top. Within minutes I have her shirt and bra off, and my fingers are buried inside of her.

  “You need to wear dresses or skirts all the time.” I kiss her breast and suck on her nipple as my fingers find the magic spot.

  “Why? Some. Girlish. Stereotype fantasy?” She can barely get the words out when I bite down on her nipple. I love that she’s a few minutes from an orgasm and can still snark.

  “No.” I lift the fabric and kneel before her. “Easy access.”

  There’s no way even with the door closed that anyone in the warehouse can’t hear her when she comes on my tongue and fingers. Unless the espresso machines are both running in the café, they probably heard too.

  How many fucks do I give?

  None.

  I sink inside of her warmth and moan her name.

  “Everyone probably thinks we’re making a porno in here,” she whispers against my neck.

  I chuckle. “No cameras in the office, but if you’re open to recording ourselves, I wouldn’t say no.”

  I lift her leg and change my angle.

  “No sex tapes. Ever. Haven’t you learned anything?” Her fingers dig into my ass—her favorite place.

  “I have. I learned that being a dumbass is the best thing I’ve ever done.”

  Chuckling, she drapes her forearms over my shoulders. “Pun intended?”

  “Absofuckinglutely.”

  We stop talking and focus on reconnecting with our bodies. I inhale her breath while we kiss. Racing toward our orgasms, I forget where we are.

  Her name becomes a chant on my lips as I come.

  She needs to move back as soon as possible. I want to wake up next to her, her smile to be the last thing I see, and hear her laughter every day.

  PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS and a man butt calendar? Perfect match.

  After Cari told me about her dad and his refusal to see a doctor for regular physicals for years, I knew without a doubt I found my charity. Roslyn agreed.

  Now we only need one or two more photos for the calendar to be complete and ready for release in a few months.

  I’m rethinking the idea of having Cari be the one to take pictures of all the guys naked. I know she’s only shooting us from the back, but some of these guys are a little too comfortable walking around naked with women present.

  Roslyn and Ashley have been hanging around several of the shoots.

  Ashley happily volunteered to be Cari’s assistant. I’m not sure what she does or why Cari needs three women holding her filters and lights. Yeah, Diane and Hailey are both volunteering.

  Roslyn claims she’s style director. Or some such title that sounds like a made up excuse to ogle hot man ass.

  Or maybe just Dan’s.

  I’m still laughing at how quickly his name came up in our planning session.

  Obviously I was first, then Carter because of the Gomez attention and he owes me. Diane and Hailey probably felt obligated to list their men. Tom would never forgive Hailey if she didn’t. He convinced John it’s for a good cause. Or he blackmailed him. I’m not exactly sure how that conversation went down.

  Dan’s name was added as an enthusiastic fifth.

  Not by him.

  Among the women, the vote was unanimous for him to do it. I think
the term “silver fox” was used. More than once.

  Ashley tried to veto Jonah because of the brother issue.

  She was overruled.

  Six months left to fill.

  Some of our choices have been a little random and invited for our own amusement. Olaf cursed at me and tried to chase me out of the bar. Later, he told Tom he’d ban him from the Dog House for life if anyone ever mentioned it again. Does anyone want to see his boney ass? Probably not.

  Bert turned us down. Said he didn’t want to endanger his pension.

  We finally settled on Jeff from Sal’s, all three of Tom’s brother-in-laws, a coworker of Carter’s at the golf course, and the long haired guy named Falcon who plays drums at Choochokam, the arts festival every summer in Langley. Ashley suggested him, which pissed off Carter.

  He’s still not over it.

  Cari’s shot some amazing photos so far. Carter riding a mower. Tom’s welding something, his package protected from sparks by an apron. John’s chopping wood in his. Damn there are a lot of wood euphemisms for cocks and sex. I’m still not sure what Falcon’s deal is, but he insisted on holding a falcon for his pictures. No way would I let a wild animal that close to my junk, especially one with a sharp beak and talons. That’s all I’m saying.

  Jonah insisted his be taken lying down. Cari set up his VW bus as some sort of camping fantasy. I’ve got to be honest, makes me wonder if he lives in it sometimes.

  Dan’s in front of a hot pizza oven and I got my arm slapped by Cari when I made a sausage comment when she showed me the pictures.

  We have photos of naked fishing, naked hiking in the woods, naked running, naked automotive care, and Jeff standing in the middle of an empty Anthes Street in Langley.

  Yeah, I’ve been on set for all their shoots. No way am I letting these guys be naked around my woman. I trust her. It’s the guys who need to be supervised.

  Hell yes, she’s my woman. She might not be staying forever for now, but when she leaves, I’m going with her. We’re going to drive down to New Mexico in a great American road trip adventure. I’ve always wanted to check out piñon coffee and she swears her mother’s green chile stew will change my life.

  Why would I want to change my life? Why mess with perfection?

  Speaking of perfection, we’re shooting my calendar photos today. Golden afternoon light pours into the café. We shut the doors early for a “private event” and now it’s only me and Cari. I told Roslyn and Ashley it was a closed set and ignored their arguments that it’s nothing they haven’t seen before.

  Ashley’s been replaced by a light stand.

  “Quit flexing your muscles. Be natural,” Cari instructs from the other side of the counter.

  I’m facing the espresso machine, making coffee.

  Naked.

  Except for my glasses, which Cari insisted I wear.

  “I’m not flexing. My ass is rock hard at all times.”

  “I have first hand knowledge disputing that. Now relax.”

  The more I focus on relaxing, the tenser I become. “I can’t.”

  “Want me to pinch it? Slap it? We could photoshop the red mark out later.” She steps around the camera and comes closer.

  Turning around, I protect myself from her hands—at least my ass is safe. I’m standing in all my glory facing her.

  “I’m pretty sure this violates a couple of health codes.”

  When she’s a few inches away, she places her hands on my hips. “Only if you don’t wash your hands after. Or touch the food.”

  “After what?” I whisper as she trails her fingers around to my backside.

  “I should keep track of all the times I’m naked while you’re fully clothed. I think there’s a gross imbalance in our relationship.” I sweep my hands over the full skirt of her green dress. I love her in green, but she’s more beautiful naked.

  She’s kissing up my neck and squeezing my cheeks with both hands.

  Completely distracted, I flip us around. I cup her cheek with one hand and brace the other on the counter. With her tongue brushing against mine and her hands all over my skin, I barely notice the flash of light behind my closed eyes the first time.

  The second time it goes off, I freeze in a panic someone is watching us. Our kiss stalls as I panic and open my eyes. The first thing I see is Cari’s amused expression. Then she holds up a remote control for her camera.

  “I think those will be perfect,” she whispers against my lips before kissing me again.

  The photo of her hands on my ass, claiming me, marking me as a taken man is perfect for February.

  Sorry, ladies, gentlemen, and Gomez, I’m off the market.

  You can look, but you can’t touch.

  “CONNIE’S BEEN OFFERING me bribes to get a hand on the calendar early. Even more for outtakes.” Cari snuggles by my side on our couch.

  Yeah. Our couch.

  We flew to New Mexico together after wrapping the photo shoots and edits.

  Yeah. I met her parents. Her dad gave me a stern lecture about taking care of his baby girl. I took the opportunity to ask for his permission for a future date to propose to his daughter.

  Then I begged her mother for all of her green chile recipes. The woman is an amazing chef.

  After we stuffed the Mini with as much as possible, Cari shipped the rest to Whidbey. We detoured to San Diego to pick up her stuff in storage and meet a few of her friends.

  I’m happy to report, I charmed them all.

  Erik Kelso: 2016 Charm Tour was a huge success.

  Now Cari and I are living together in a little house overlooking Bell’s Beach. The A-frame isn’t forever, but it’s our first house together. Ours.

  No more Phallus Palace.

  “Connie and her brigade of meddlers can wait until the party to get their hands and dirty minds on the calendars like everyone else.”

  Tonight’s our release party and fundraiser. The calendar goes on sale tomorrow, but we’ve sold tens of thousands of copies on pre-order and raised more than six figures for prostate cancer research.

  Because I dove naked off some cliffs in Mexico.

  Still blows my mind how much my life has changed in eight months.

  I’m standing on the deck in the dark, pacing as I wait for Cari to finish getting ready. Unless I were holding a corsage, this evening couldn’t feel more like going to prom.

  She finally emerges from the house in an emerald green dress the same color as her eyes. I’ve spent months trying to decide on her eye color. Green is too simple and vague a word. Right now I’ve decided they’re emerald.

  Holding her coat over one arm, she spins in a slow circle. “Is this okay?”

  Speaking of simple and vague words. “No, it’s not okay. Okay doesn’t begin to cover how gorgeous you are.”

  A blush pinks her cheeks. “Thank you. You clean up well, too. You know I love it when you wear your glasses.”

  “I’m wearing jeans and a button down shirt. I wear this all the time.” Roslyn picked out my clothes because she thinks I’m a toddler. “I look like a nerd.”

  “Hot nerd. You trimmed your beard.” She reaches out to run her hand over the oiled and conditioned whiskers. “You’re practically a lumbersexual.”

  “I’m going to kiss you now so you’ll stop using foul language.”

  And I do.

  I’m about to walk us back inside and ruin her makeup when she stops me. “We’re going to be late.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “You’re the guest of honor.” She pats my chest and points to the driveway.

  “Even better reason to arrive after everyone else.” Grabbing her hand, I kiss her palm.

  “And leave the gossip girls unattended with press there?” She makes an excellent point.

  “Ros will be there. She’s handling all the PR.”

  “Come on. We’ll go. We’ll get our pictures taken. We’ll hang out with our friends. You’ll do a little schmoozing and bragging about how much m
oney you’ve raised. Then we can come home and I’ll tell you all the dirty thoughts I had about your naked ass that day in Cabo.”

  It takes me a few seconds to process her words before I’m dragging her down the driveway to the Bronco.

  The parking lot of the winery is packed when we arrive. A teenage kid is directing cars across the street into an overflow field. Spotting the Bronco, he waves me ahead.

  “Model parking at the front. Should be one spot reserved for you.”

  I groan while Cari laughs.

  “I can’t wait to hear the guys grumble about being called models.”

  I chuckle thinking she’s right. “All but Donnely. He’s eating this shit up.”

  The main lawn is set up with a tent in front of the large barn. Small white lights illuminate the area while space heaters make it comfortable to be outside.

  “This looks like a beautiful wedding.” Cari takes my hand and laces her fingers through mine.

  “A wedding with giant posters of naked men?” Everywhere I look I see one of my friends’ asses larger than life. I spin us to avoid looking at Carter’s picture. “There’s nowhere safe to look.”

  The group photo of all the guys jumping into Deer Lake takes up most of the side of the barn.

  “I have dibs on that one.” Roslyn appears at our side. “Not sure it will fit in my condo, though.”

  “I want February if we’re staking claims.” Cari gives her a one armed hug because I refuse to let go of her hand. “This is an epic success.”

  I spot John and Tom near the bar. “I’ll be back. I need liquid reinforcement and the company of men.”

  John hands me a beer. “This is the weirdest party I’ve ever been to. Tops the Rod and Gun’s annual Halloween party where Hailey punched Tom in the face.”

  Tom rubs his cheekbone. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Glad you two made it. I stopped by your house the other night, Tom. Looks like you got my message.”

  He rubs the back of his hand along his blond beard. “Kind of late for a random drop by.”

  His answer confuses me. “I knocked after seeing your cars in the driveway, figuring you and Hailey were home, but no one answered.”

  “We go to bed early sometimes.”

  John matches my confused expression. “You do?”