Everything falls to the floor in one big pile. “Shit,” I say, bending down with Gabe following me. I pick up my pants, top, and shampoo, and Gabe somehow picks up my panties. My very lacy panties. “Those are mine,” I tell him. He holds them in his hand, and his head snaps to the hall entrance.
“So you do wear panties?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye. I try to snatch them from him, but he holds them from me. “I was dying to know.”
“Well, now you do, so give them back to me.” I open my hand so he can place them in my palm. He reaches over, and his fingers grace mine as he places them in my hand. “Thank you,” I whisper, looking down at the floor. “Were you going to shower?” I ask him. “I can wait.”
“No, it’s fine. Go ahead,” he tells me. When I look up, his eyes have the same look he gave me when he had me pinned to the wall in the office. It was the same look he gave me when he slid into me while he pressed me to the shower. I walk away from taking a shower, my body on high alert. I go to my room and remain in there until it’s almost dinnertime. I put on another pair of black leggings with a big black sweater that falls off one shoulder and pin my hair on top of my head.
“What are we having for dinner?” I ask Emma, who is sitting at the island sipping water.
“Actually, Luke and Holden are going to take us out. Did you want to join us?” she asks me.
“I’m actually beat,” I tell her, looking in the fridge. “Worst case, I can make myself a grilled cheese.” The doorbell rings, and I hear the three other women come down the stairs in full makeup and all dressed up. “You guys packed heels?” I smile at them as they all say yes.
Luke and Holden walk in both dressed almost like they were this morning; their eyes pop out of their heads when they see the girls all dressed up. “I think this is going to be a short night,” Emma says from beside me. “At least for me.” I cross my arms over my chest. “You sure you don’t want to come?”
I shake my head. “I’ll be fine. You go ahead. Have fun, girls.” They wave goodbye to me while I go to the fridge and hear Gabe coming from the back room forty minutes later.
“Where is everyone?” I turn to look at him. He’s wearing track pants and a t-shirt that leaves his arms on full display.
“They went out on the town with Luke and Holden,” I say from inside the fridge.
“And you didn’t join them?” he says, sitting down at the island while I’m still poking around the fridge.
“Nope, a night in a dust barn doing line dancing isn’t my cup of tea,” I finally say. “What are we going to eat for dinner?” I ask him, closing the fridge.
“It’s fully stocked.” He looks at me, getting up and opening the fridge. “What do you feel like eating?”
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup,” I tell him as he shuts the fridge.
He opens a couple of cabinets, taking out cans of soup. “Your wish is my command.” He smiles at me. “I’ll make the soup; you make the grilled cheese. See? Team building.” I roll my eyes at him.
“Fine,” I say, getting the bread and the cheese out. “Did you want American cheese or another type of cheese?” I ask him while he looks for a pot.
“Anything,” he says. He leans down, taking a pot out, and puts it on the stove. “So why didn’t you go with the girls?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I just wasn’t feeling it.” I take some butter out of the fridge. “Um …” I say, stuttering.
“What’s the matter?” He turns, looking at me.
“Nothing.” I shake my head. “It’s nothing.”
“I don’t believe you,” he says, opening the can and pouring it into the pot. “What were you going to say?”
“Okay, fine,” I say, buttering the bread. “You were engaged.”
He nods. “I was, not too long ago.”
“I heard she left you at the altar.” I’m not sure if I’m asking him or telling him.
“I see the gossip mill is spinning,” he says, stirring the soup, adjusting the temperature.
“So when we met in the bar,” I look down, buttering the bread, “it was a rebound.”
He stands with his back to the counter, his hip cocked out, folding his arms over his chest. “I mean, I get it.”
“What do you get?” he asks. “I wasn’t looking for sex that night. I wasn’t looking for anything. But,” he shrugs, “it worked out better than I thought it would.” He smiles at me and my heart starts to beat up.
“How long were you two together?” I ask him and swallow. My stomach is starting to fall.
“Four years,” he says. “We met in college right when I got accepted into medical school.”
“That’s a long time.” I look at him.
“It was and I thought I knew her,” he stirs the soup again, “I guess I was wrong.” He looks up again. “I knew that she didn’t like country life, but I thought she would somehow get used to it.”
“But if she didn’t like it here, why didn’t you move?” I ask him.
“Because this is where I’ve always wanted to be. I graduated Harvard at the top of my class. I could have gone anywhere, but this is where I always wanted to practice. This is where I want to raise my family. This is where I’m meant to be.”
“Are you okay?” I put the knife down to look at him.
He puts the temperature a bit higher as he stirs it, then turns to look at me. “The truth?”
“Of course,” I tell him.
“I am,” he says, crossing his legs at the ankle. “I wasn’t.” He crosses his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging. “I thought it was me.”
I shake my head. “It’s not you,” I tell him, and a smile comes over his mouth.
“You’d better stop there, or I might think you like me.” He pushes off from the counter as I roll my eyes.
“Like you? I tolerate you,” I tell him.
“Really?” he says, coming to stand next to me. “When I stand next to you, I see your heart speed up.” He uses his finger to rub down my neck exactly where my pulse is. “Right here.”
I move my neck sideways to get him away from me. “I just …”
He moves closer to me. “You just what?” His palm is now cupping my neck.
“This isn’t a good idea,” I whisper, but I’m too far gone. I wouldn’t be able to stop him even if I wanted to.
His other hand goes to the other side of my neck, and my hands go to his waist, my fingers gripping him. “This is about the best idea I’ve had in a really long, long time,” he says right before he pulls me to him and his lips crush mine. My tongue comes out to touch his, and with the touch of him, the feel of him, I’m lost. I’m lost in him; I’m lost in the kiss. We both are. My hand roams up his chest to wrap around his neck, and I moan into his mouth. He tries to move his head to the left when we both hear a car door close. We jump apart as if we just got caught. “Fuck,” he says as I run to the bathroom to make sure I have everything in place.
When I come back out, Emma is sitting at the counter, eating a peanut butter sandwich. “Boy, were you right to stay home.” I look over at Gabe, who is stirring the soup.
“Did you eat?” I ask her, picking up the knife to continue buttering the bread.
“Barely. We walked into the barn and my hay fever started acting up right away. So I hightailed it back home and I’m taking this water bottle.” She picks up the bottle in her hand. “I’m calling it a night. My body aches.” She walks up the stairs, and I turn around to look for a frying pan.
“Crystal,” he whispers, and I shake my head no, “we are going to discuss this.”
I look up the stairs again, then bend to grab the pan. “No, we just got caught up in the moment.” Putting the bread in the pan, I add the cheese. “It can’t happen again.”
“Why?” I turn my head to look at him. “Why not?” I tilt my head, not sure I heard the right words. “I’m single; you’re single.”
“You’re my boss.” I open the drawer to take a spatula out. “It ju
st can’t happen.” I don’t have time to say anything else because the other girls come in all giggling and a little tipsy.
“This country air,” Ava says, walking up the stairs, “I need to sleep.”
Corrine and Olivia follow her up the stairs. “I’m so tired; my legs are fucking killing me.”
I look up the stairs and listen to the doors slam. “Please,” I whisper to him, “not here.”
“I’ll give you this, but when we get home …” he says, turning the stove off and pouring the soup into two bowls.
So we sit at the island eating tomato soup and grilled cheese, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Chapter Eighteen
Gabe
“Okay, everyone, drive safely,” I say as I get behind my wheel. We all pull away from the log house. I have never felt more unease in my life. The kiss was wrong, so fucking wrong, yet I couldn’t help but want more. Her standing next to me, her in my space put me on my last nerve, and let’s not even discuss the fact that only a wall separated us last night. I stared at that white wall almost all night long, which was a mistake because the team bonding bullshit the next day kicked my ass.
I just couldn’t fucking get anything to work for me. The girls kept swapping out on me, and I swear to god, I would kill one of the instructors; I just didn’t know which one. By the time I get into town, it’s almost noon, so I hit up Walker’s place. When I knock on the door and get no answer, I take out the emergency key under the mat. Like no one is going to look there, right?
“Anyone home?” I yell, walking into the house. Seeing it empty and quiet, I go to Walker’s room and find him still in bed. “It’s almost fucking noon,” I say from the doorway.
“I thought you were gone on your weekend retreat?” he asks me as he rolls off the bed and goes straight to the medicine cabinet.
I shake my head and laugh, then head to the kitchen to start the coffee. We sit down, and he tells me about his drunken walk with Hailey, the woman who is creeping under his skin. I’m almost tempted to tell him about Crystal, but what would I say? We had a one-night stand before she started working for me. No, not going to happen, plus I don’t want him looking at her like that. I leave him to his hangover, telling him I’m going to meet him at Gram’s for dinner.
Needing to clear my head, I go to the one place I know I’m going to shut down—the gym. I work out for four hours, and between running on the treadmill, lifting weights, and pushing my body till I think my muscles are going to snap, I still can’t erase her from my brain. I dress in my jeans, dress shirt, and sweater and make my way over to my grandmother’s house. When I arrive, I figure she must have invited half the fucking town. I walk in, saying hello to a couple of people who I know. I head out into the backyard, and I find I wasn’t wrong. Looking around, I try to spot my parents, but instead, my eyes land on the girl who is fucking everywhere.
She’s standing with her perfect ass in white fucking jeans. A long-sleeve knitted sweater or some sort of concoction that is almost to her neck but falls down in the back, leaving the back of her shoulders bare. She’s standing next to Luigi, who owns D’amore pizza, laughing at something he is saying, and I roll my eyes as I make my way to the bar. I order a beer, then lean against it, looking around. Once he hands it to me, I finally see Brody and Darla.
“You survived,” Brody says, hugging me and smacking my back. This guy is a fucking ox. I’m in good shape, but he hurt my fucking back.
“Very funny.” I take a pull of my beer. “I will say that I officially hate fucking camping now.” I shake my head. “Hate it.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Darla says, laughing while I glare at her.
“You think of the worst possible thing that can happen”—I point at her—“then times that by two. I’m going to see if my parents are here,” I tell them. Walking away, I head inside and find Gram.
“Hey there, pretty boy,” she says, kissing me on the cheek. “How was camping?”
“Brody and Walker here?” I ask her. “Oh, I see them.” I nod at her, seeing that Walker arrived with Mila, and his face gets tight when he sees the girl he is trying to run from. When I walk outside this time, I’m stopped by a couple of people, all asking about the fucking camping trip. Did someone take out a billboard?
Making my way to the buffet, I grab a plate at the same time as a tiny hand grabs the same plate, and without looking up, I know it’s her. My body knows she’s near, my cock half saluting her, my heart beating a touch higher. “Take it,” I tell her, not saying anything else. I pile food on my plate, turning around to see where my cousins are sitting. I pull out a chair at their table, and Crystal takes the one next to me. I don’t listen to half the conversation around me because I can’t. I’m fully aware of the woman next to me. Our arms touch on the table, and I just stare at them, then when her leg touches mine, she crosses her other foot so she leans into me a little more. Someone mentions cake, and Hailey and Crystal both jump up to go to the dessert table.
“Why were they invited?” I look at them, then the table.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here,” Darla says, “and say that someone has gotten under your skin.” She points at me.
“Please.” I roll my eyes.
“I don’t know if you know this, but Crystal is the talk of the salon. Ever since Mrs. Peterson broke her hip and she took care of her, she is the highlight of everyone’s talk.”
“I’m the one who operated on her, not my nurse.”
“Oh, someone is sensitive,” Brody says as he takes a pull from his beer bottle.
“Fuck you.” I throw down my napkin. “I’m out.” I walk around the pool to the side of the house, and I’m almost to my truck when I see someone I went to high school with who just came back into town.
“You look so different,” Felicia says from beside me after she kisses me on my cheek.
“I could say the same about you.” I smile at her. “California agreed with you.”
“I loved it out there, but it was time to come home. Finished Sowing my wild oats.” She smiles.
“Well, no place better to raise a family than here.”
“That is what I think, too. So, you joined the family practice?”
“Yeah.” I nod my head. “It’s where I want to be.”
“Well, we should totally do dinner one day and catch up. Do you still have the same number?” she asks, taking her phone out to scroll and repeat the number she has saved under my contact.
“That’s it.” I smile at her as she leans in one more time to kiss me on my cheek. I wave to her, watching her walk away from me. Looking at where she is going, I see Brody, Darla, and Crystal heading my way.
“You’re still here?” Brody asks.
“Yes, I was just leaving.” I look at them.
“Us, too. We have to drive Crystal home. Hailey isn’t ready to go yet,” Darla says.
“I’ll take her. It’s on my way,” I say before I catch myself.
“Perfect,” Brody says. We turn and walk toward the driveway. She walks toward my truck, stopping to hug Darla, and kiss Brody goodbye.
She turns to look at me. “You didn’t have to drive me. I’ll go back and get Hailey.” She turns around, walking to the backyard.
I reach out to grab and stop her. “Get in the truck,” I say through clenched teeth. This must be what they mean when they say breathing fire.
She pulls her hand free. “What’s your problem?” She folds her arms, looking at me.
“My problem is that I had a rough couple of days,” I tell her, leading her to the truck. I open the door for her. “I fucking hate camping.” I push her in as she tries to hide the smirk.
“I knew you didn’t like camping, but why did you suck at every single activity?” She turns and smiles at me. I step back, closing the door in her face. I march—yes, you read that right—I march to the driver’s side and climb in.
“Buckle up,” I tell her. Starting the truck, I bu
ckle myself in.
“I get you’re pissed because you sucked at every single activity, and that if push came to shove, you would be the one voted off the island first, but you shouldn’t be that angry.”
I turn right instead of turning left. I have no idea what I’m doing. “It wasn’t because I didn’t do well in the activities. It’s…” I stop talking and look over at her. She’s fucking beautiful, stunning; she is hands down the most beautiful person I have ever met, and her beauty goes deep. She isn’t just a pretty face and a hot body; she has brains and compassion. That is when she doesn’t make me want to bang my head against the wall, which is fifty percent of the time. “It’s your fucking fault,” I roar out, causing her to gasp in shock.
“My fault?” She puts her hands on her chest, her face shocked. “My fault? Why in the hell is any of this my fault?”
“You brought us up there for team fucking building,” I say, going through the street that leads to my house. “Team bonding, my ass. I would have fired you all,” I tell her as she pffts out and rolls her eyes. “Then you kiss me.”
“What?” she yells, slapping her legs with her hands and then bringing them up. “I kissed you?” Her eyebrows pinch together. “You fucking kissed me.” She points at me. “Getting all up in my space, breathing on me.” I pull up to my house, thinking for once, thank god it’s so secluded. “Coming all at me.” She continues her rant, not even realizing we are parked. “You have some nerve with this whole ‘you kissed me’ bullshit.”
“So you didn’t kiss me back?” I ask her with my back to the door. She opens and then closes her mouth. “You didn’t rake your fingers up my chest so hard I had red marks long after?” She glares at me. “You didn’t moan into my mouth when I deepened the kiss?” I unbuckle my belt. “You didn’t want more?”
She glares at me. “Nope.” And rolls her lips together, putting her back against the truck door. I reach over, unbuckling her seat belt. “What?” she says in a whisper. She looks confused, not sure what is going on. Now she looks straight ahead and sees that we are parked. When I reach over and grab her to pull her to me, she comes willingly.
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