But apparently, she wanted some big blond dude with a jaw that would make Henry Cavill weep with envy.
He’d thought he and Chrissy were on the same page. The we’re-goin’-to-give-this-thing-between-us-a-fair-shot-and-see-where-it-takes-us page. But, hell, after what he saw out in the bar, he knew they weren’t even reading the same damned book and—
“Wolf?” A lilting female voice sounded from the hall a second before the door opened and a hand stole inside, fumbling for the switch on the wall.
He didn’t want any light. He liked the dark. Liked that he could pretend anything he wanted when he couldn’t see what was in front of his face.
And pretend he did.
He dragged the redhead into the closet with him and asked desperately, “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes.” Her answer was unhesitating.
Pinning her against the closed door and claiming her mouth, he pretended she was someone else altogether. He pretended they were Chrissy’s lips he laved and sucked. He pretended they were Chrissy’s moans he drank into the back of his throat. He pretended it was Chrissy’s curves that met his desperately searching fingers.
“Wolf!” His name was breathed into the darkness when he let the redhead up for air.
He almost said “Christina” in response. The name filled his mouth, sweet and gossamer like cotton candy at a county fair. But at the last second, he remembered it wasn’t Chrissy in the closet with him. It was the woman he’d been fiercely flirting with for the last thirty minutes.
What’s her name again?
Then, he remembered.
“Anna.”
“What?” That one word was so strident it nearly pierced his eardrums.
The overhead light blazed on, and he blinked against its sudden brightness. His jaw fell open when it wasn’t the redhead’s green eyes that filled his vision, but Chrissy’s blue ones.
“You aresuchan asshole!” she snarled before throwing open the door and running out of the closet.
“Christina!” he yelled, hesitating only a few seconds before following her. But she was fast, and a few seconds head start was all she needed. By the time he made it to the main area of the bar, he saw her dragging the blond out the back.
“Hey!” The redhead snagged his arm. “Sorry I kept you waiting. I got stopped by a friend and—”
“Excuse me for a second,” he interrupted and hightailed it toward the marina. By the time his flip-flops hit the boards of the dock, Chrissy and her companion were nowhere to be found.
Wolf shook his head now. “Itwasyou I wanted, Chrissy. It’s always been you. It alwayswillbe you.”
Angry breathing had made her chest work like bellows. Now, it stilled. “What are you saying?” She eyed him uncertainly.
“I’m sayin’—” He stopped, unable or unwilling—he wasn’t sure which anymore—to spit out the thing that wasright there. Instead, he went with, “I want to kiss you.”
A scowl slammed her eyebrows together. “What?”
“I have to kiss you, Chrissy.”
“Are you crazy? Why would I—”
“That’s the favor,” he cut in. “I’m claimin’ it now. I want to kiss you.” He’d run out of words to convince her That Night had been a mistake of epic proportions. The only thing he knew to do now was show her.
Showher what they’d been missing.Showher how it could be between them.Showher how sorry he was and how much he cared. “One kiss. That’s all I’m askin’. And then, if you want, you can punch me in the dick after.”
“Nowyou’re talking.”
Even with his heart hammering against his ribs and his future happiness on the line, she still found a way to make him smile.
“Is that a yes?” He dared to hope.
