“Really?” Lauryn asked, a curious hike to her brow. “There’s actually a woman on earth who can get through your thick skull? Who knew?”
“Hey,” Jamal protested as Phylicia and Lauryn both laughed.
With one last kiss to his cheek, his sister left the two of them so she could greet other guests.
Lacing her fingers behind his neck, Phylicia smiled into his eyes. “Your sister is a character.”
“She was the bane of my existence growing up.”
“Stop it. Your family is great, so warm and down-to-earth. I won’t lie; they are the complete opposite of what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Uppity rich people,” she said with a frankness that was all Phylicia.
Jamal chuckled. “We’re pretty grounded,” he said, settling his hands on her waist and guiding her in a gentle sway to the soft ballad coming from the band.
“They are lovely. Including your dad,” she added after a pause. “I talked to him earlier, when you went to the car to get your sister’s gift.”
“Don’t,” he said.
“He hates this estrangement.”
“Don’t get in the middle of this.”
“What’s the point of keeping up this dispute if the two of you are both miserable?”
“Who says I’m miserable?”
Her gorgeous lips thinned in annoyance. “Why don’t you just hear him out? Don’t lose any more time fighting. You never know how much you’re going to have left.”
God, she was stubborn.
“Leave it alone,” Jamal beseeched her. “I’m begging you, Phylicia. Just leave it alone.”
“But—”
He shut her up the only way he knew how, capturing the back of her head and crushing his mouth to hers. She fought his kiss for only a moment before Jamal felt her body relax against him and her lips slowly open. He would give anything to engage in a full-on, open-mouth kiss with her, but he knew it would leave him aroused and aching. And since they had a two-hour drive before they would get to a bed, he had to stop before things went too far.
Phylicia tore her mouth from his. The censure in her frown was ruined by the desire smoldering in her eyes. “You do not play fair.”
“I never claimed I would.”
“This conversation isn’t over, Jamal.”
Instead of arguing with her, he gave her another swift kiss and guided her back to their table. The day had been too perfect; he would not spoil it with talk of his father.
Moments later, Lauryn and Michael bade their guests farewell, but the party was far from over. The ten-piece band was replaced by a popular local DJ, and the mood switched from sedate wedding reception to nightclub-style party.
As he and Phylicia danced the rest of the night away, Jamal knew there was no way they would make it back to Sedona tonight. Not only had he indulged in one too many drinks from the free-flowing bar, but after feeling her body brush up against his all night, he knew he would not be able to sustain a two-hour drive without having her. They would end up parked on the side of Interstate 17, stripping each other out of their clothes.
“I think it’s time to get out of here,” he whispered in her ear as they swayed back and forth to Maxwell’s “Lifetime.”
“I think you’re right,” she replied. “I’m not sure I can go much longer before I pass out from exhaustion.”
“Oh, you’re not going to sleep,” Jamal warned her.
The smile that tipped up the corners of her mouth was carnal, and set his blood to high boil.
