Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 92743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92743 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
I tip my head back, bringing my face just inches from his, forcing myself to ignore the electricity flowing across my skin. “What other reason would I have?”
His mouth moves closer, sending my already speeding pulse into overdrive. “I don’t know. Maybe you wanted to see if it would be okay to do it again.”
“We shouldn’t do it again,” I say, my voice breathier, weaker than I would like. “Our families hate each other.”
“They do,” he agrees, close enough now that I can feel his heat on my lips.
“And I made out with your nephew. And you made out with my mother.”
He smiles, what I sense is his real smile. There’s no tightness around his mouth this time, just an easy swoop of his gorgeous lips and a mischievous flicker in his eyes as he whispers, “It’s scandalous, I’ll give you that. Are you afraid of scandal?”
“No,” I say, dying to kiss him, to feel his strong arms around me showing me how much he wants my body close to his. “But if anyone in my family found out, it would kill them. They might never forgive me. I was worried about them finding out about Mark, but you…”
“I’m so much worse,” he supplies, his hand settling on my hip for a beat before smoothing around to the small of my back with a confidence that makes me ache.
“So much worse,” I whisper. My hands mold to his chest, but I don’t push him away. My fingers curl around the lapels of his suit coat, holding him close.
“Well, then,” he murmurs, the tip of his nose brushing against mine.
I lift my chin in anticipation of a kiss, but it doesn’t come. Instead, his warmth abruptly vanishes as his coat slides from my fingers. My eyes fly open with a soft breath of surprise to find him already descending the stairs leading into the cabin below.
“Well, then, what?” I demand, propping a hand on my hip.
He grins up at me, his wicked eyes dancing. “Well, then, that’s something you should think about before I do any of the things I’d like to do to you.”
“You’d like to do things to me?” I ask, hating the slight hint of insecurity in my tone.
But I can’t help it. This man is ridiculously good looking and I’m just…me, the tomboy who inherited her beautiful mother’s genes, but has no idea what to do with them. I can’t transform “cute” into drop-dead gorgeous the way she did. I’ve never had the time or the patience for girly stuff like expensive haircuts or makeup or dressing for my body type.
But I suddenly wish I’d made time. At least a little.
“Very much,” Weaver confirms in a husky voice that makes my entire body tingle again. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to change into something more comfortable for lunch at a waterfront bistro.”
I nod. “Okay. I’ll um…steer.”
His lips quirk again. “Excellent idea. Someone should stay on top of that.”
And you can stay on top of me, I silently add, my cheeks flaming as I turn back to face the wheel.
“Get a grip, Gertie,” I mumble beneath my breath as I tug the collar of my sweater away from my flushed throat.
It’s only then that I realize I’m in one of my favorite comfy sweaters, my rain slicker, and jeans, with nothing on my face but the sunscreen I actually remembered today and berry-colored lip gloss. That must be the real reason Weaver is going to change, so that we won’t look as mismatched as we do right now with him in a fancy suit and me dressed to cosplay as Paddington Bear.
It’s thoughtful of him.
It was thoughtful of him to pull away, too, giving me the time and space to decide if I really want a repeat of the other night. But that bossy man who owned my body is still there, lurking beneath Weaver’s excellent manners and self-control. I have a feeling all it would take is a word to bring that heart-palpitation-and-orgasm-inducing side of him to the surface.
And God, I want that, I really do.
But should I? Can I risk breaking my grandfather’s heart for a one-night stand?
“It would technically be a two-night stand at that point,” I whisper as the skyline of Saint Mary appears in the distance. “Or more, depending on how long he’s in town.”
It won’t be long; I know that much. Maybe not even the couple weeks he mentioned on Friday.
It’s clear he can’t wait to get away from his family. He seems to dislike the rest of the Tripps nearly as much as Gramps does.
At least they have that in common.
It isn’t enough to make me consider doing something as stupid as openly dating Weaver Tripp. But it’s enough to think maybe, just maybe, I could justify what I’ve done to Gramps in the unlikely event we’re discovered.