I couldn’t stay away from her. That was obvious to me and probably everyone else. But I didn’t say that. “Why doyoueven likeme?” I asked.
The guitarist finished the tune and the crowd lavished him with applause, cheers, and snaps until Meara took the stage. “Next up, let’s give a very Naked welcome to Paloma Wu and her spoken word poetry.”
Proving that she wasn’t afraid to stab me straight in the heart, Sunny said, “I’m not going to put you out of your misery and say I’ve always liked you because that’s not the truth. I didn’t like you when you were an asshole teenager and I didn’t like you when you broke my flowerpot in the name of saving me from tripping.” She hit me with a fiery grin and I felt that heat like I was being roasted over an open flame. “I still contend I would’ve been fine without your interference.”
“But the three times you walked in front of the speeding forklift? You had that under control too. Right?”
“You have a very active imagination,” she said.
I dragged my thumb along her belly. The restraint it took to keep from sliding my hand under her shirt was significant. “I’m sticking with my story.”
“You do that.” She nodded. “It would be a lot easier to not like you. It would make my day so much better to just write you off as an arrogant, bossy jerk who likes to throw money at problems. And I’ve tried to do that. You know I’ve tried just like you know you’re not my type.”
“I’m going to need you to explain that because what I saw this morning makes me believe I’m one hundred percent your type.”
“But here I am now, in a place where I am forced to accept I do like you,” she continued, ignoring me completely. “I like your scowls and your moods, mostly because I’ve found all your buttons and it’s a lot of fun to push them. I like that you’re not always an arrogant, bossy asshole though you do throw money at a lot of problems.”
“Because money solves a lot of problems.”And it’s all the ammunition I have sometimes.
“And I find you attractive,” she went on. “Distractinglyso. It’s actually a problem for me and I don’t know what to do about that, especially considering that you don’t like me.”
She was so fucking brave. A million times braver than I’d ever be. I’d never put my cards on the table like that, not without knowing the hands everyone else held.
I flattened my palm on her belly and pressed her back into me. She rocked against my hard shaft and a small breath stuttered out of her. “There’s no hiding how much I like you, storm cloud. It’s actually a problem for me too.”
After blowing out a long breath, she said, “Thatis not about me. It’s about rubbing up against someone in the dark.”
“Believe me,” I rasped, “it’s you. It’salwaysyou.”
“Yes, right, and if my flowerpots hadn’t dared to exist an inch too close to your precious property lines, you never would’ve noticed me.”
“I can’t decide if you actually believe that or you’re just fucking with me because it entertains you, but either way, you’re wrong.”
“If there’s anything you should know by now it’s that I have a pesky habit of not being wrong.”
“Then it’s my goddamn honor to break that habit,” I said, my lips on her neck and the tips of my fingers climbing up her ribs and edging just under her shirt. “Because there has never been a moment when I didn’t notice you. I can’tstopnoticing you—and I should. You know I should stop and yet you make it impossible. Fuck, I’ve tried. Every single day since I found you on your knees and ignoring the shit out of me, I’ve tried. But not a minute goes by that I am not painfully aware ofeverythingyou do, right down to the way you knot your skirts like you’re just waiting for me to come over here and unravel you. Not one fucking day, Sunny.”
At first, she didn’t say anything. Didn’t hardly move. It gave me plenty of time to get drunk off the scent of her hair and debate whether I’d stepped too far in the creepy-obsessive direction. But then she glanced over her shoulder, her brows bent like she expected another declaration of my complete insanity for her. Like she knew I heard her laughter when she wasn’t around and wanted to know if I’d succeeded in chasing her out of my dreams yet. Like she understood I’d catch hell from Lance for this and needed to know I could take the hit.
“It’s always you,” I said, “and you know that.”
We stayed there through some rap-poem-chants that sounded like a fine way to open the gates to the underworld, a couple of songs, and two older women who killed it with dueling fiddles. I kept my arms around Sunny’s waist and she closed her hands around my forearms.
Then, when a few kids around Parker’s age took the stage for an a cappella performance, she glanced at me over her shoulder. “What’s the deal with your blonde?”
“My what?”
“Your blonde,” she repeated. “The one from earlier today. With the spanky little trousers and the matching blazer. Very corporate.”
I stared at her, not knowing what the hell she was talking about. A slow rush of warmth moved through me as I saw the lines connecting these dots. “Are you…are you talking about Ayla? MycousinAyla?”
“My god. I cannot pretend to be quiet with you anymore.” Sunny grabbed my wrist and towed me outside into the light rain. “The business-y blonde is your cousin? The one you kissed on the cheek? And walked to her car? Your cousin?”
“As far as blood relations go, no, she’s not, but she’s de facto family. Our parents were roadies together and they always called us cousins. I’ve known her longer than I’ve known Dex.” A shocked laugh cracked out of me as Sunny’s brow crinkled and her lips folded into a doubtful line. “Wait a second—are you jealous? Is that what this is? You’rejealous?”
Instead of answering that question, Sunny asked, “So, she just came to visit?”
“She visited because I invited her.” Sunny’s gaze darkened. I was barely containing my amusement here. You couldn’t sandblast the smile off my face. I stepped toward her, locking my arms around her waist. “She’s managed hotels and resorts all around the world.”
