Page 130 of Nobody's Girl

“To us?” she asked as she sat up.

“You and me, that us,” he said as he zipped and buttoned his jeans. “Don’t pretend it isn’t hurting you to stop what we were about to do. I know you’re aching for it too. Just like I am. Only you’re teasing us both. When do you think you’ll stop doing that, Cait?”

“When are you going to be real with me, Phoenix?” she asked as she got up and ran her hands through her hair to tame it. Her clothes were awry, so she straightened them.

“Probably about the same time you decide to be real with me, Cait,” he said, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Her body immediately pressed into his. Her mouth opened and her tongue played with his. She was warm and inviting as she ran her hands up his arms then over his back. Phoenix knew she was holding back in order to trap him. He eased his kiss then asked her again, “So, will you come home with me for the weekend?”

“Promise me you won’t pressure me into having sex the whole time and I will.” She leveled her eyes at him to let him know she was deadly serious.

“I tell you what, Caity-cat. I won’t even make one attempt to get you into bed. I have a spare bedroom that’ll be yours while you’re visiting me. But you have to do the same for me No, teasing. You know you’ve been doing that, right?”

She played dumb. “No, I didn’t realize that at all. I thought we were making out, is all. I’m not the kind of girl who sleeps around. I’m not easy.”

“No, you are not,” he said then let her go. “I’d never call you that.”

Cait watched as Phoenix walked away from her. And she had to fight herself not to blurt out everything about how they knew about their stupid bet and had come up with something just as stupid to get back at them for making her and her sisters pawns in their game.

What she didn’t know was that Phoenix was fighting himself not to tell her about the bet and what they’d overheard the girls saying too. It seemed that they were on the same wavelength but were too afraid of the others being mad at them to say what they wanted to.

Chapter 28

Though all the men went home unfulfilled sexually, they all had managed to get their women to agree to the weekend dates where they planned on scaring them off the marriage paths the men thought they were on.

Ethan hired a car to take him and Kel up to see his grandmother— a woman who wasn’t really his grandmother, but an actress he’d hired to play the part. He’d hired an entire comedy troupe to fool Kel.

Stopping to enjoy a nice lunch in New Jersey had the two getting into an in-depth discussion neither had planned on as they watched a couple with two young children as the parents tried to get the kids to act right and take their seats at the table rather than roaming around the little café.

The little girl, who seemed to be about three, wandered up to Ethan and pointed to his hair. “You have pretty hair.”

The little girl had blond ringlets that Ethen pointed to. “I think your hair is prettier than mine.”

She palmed her curls. “No, your hair’s prettier.”

“Jo Beth, come sit down and eat,” her father called out to her. Then he looked at Ethan. “Sorry, sir.”

“For what?” Ethan said with a chuckle. “I just received a great compliment from your little girl; she’s made my day.” He gave the kid a wink before her mother swooped in and picked her up.

Kel watched the little exchange as she ate her turkey on rye bread then took a sip of her root beer. “So, you like kids, huh?”

“Sure, who doesn’t?” Ethan said, then leaned forward to twirl a lock of Kel’s hair around one finger. “And you and I would make some really cute ones, love.” He leaned back in his chair, stretching out his long legs. “How many should we have?”

She laughed at him as she knew exactly what he was up to. “Oh, five or so. And I’d start trying for them as soon as I was married. I can’t wait to settle down and start up the large family I dream about having. I just need to meet Mr. Right, and then I’ll get right to that.”

He raised his thick brows as he grinned at her. “Is that right?”

She nodded and finished her sandwich. Ethan had finished before her, so she was ready to get going. “Yes. I’m done. We can get back on the road if you’re ready to. I really can’t wait to meet your grandmother.”

Ethan got up and held out his hand for her to take. “And she can’t wait to meet you. My cousin Tommy’s there too. He’s a little bit special. I hope you won’t hold that against him.”

Kel gave him a frown as he escorted her out of the little café. “Ethan! I’d never hold anything like that against anyone! Do you think I’m some kind of monster?”

“No,” he said as he opened the car door and let her get in first. He slid in beside her, putting his arm around her and kissing the side of her head. “It’s just that I’ve had more than a few comments on my family. Not all have been kind.”

Kel looked at him and wondered if he was being honest. If that was true, she felt terrible for the man. “Oh, Ethan, that makes me sad. If you have someone with a disability in your family, no one should judge you on that.”

“But some do, love.” He kissed her with a light kiss as he cupped her chin. “I think you’ll be wonderful to have around my family. Such a caring and sweet woman. Honest to the core.”