“Um, yeah. Was that not clear?” I threaded my fingers through hers the way I’d seen couples do. And we weren’t a couple. No matter how protective over her I felt, we weren’t together. We were…I frowned until an idea hit me. A brilliant one. “As long as you’re here, I want to make it my personal mission to show you all the things you’re missing out on when you live in the mansion. And that does include crazy wild sex.”
She narrowed her eyes as I ran a hand over her neck and massaged her shoulders. “So we hookup.”
“Yes.”
“And remain friends?”
“Of course.”
“So we’re dating?” Her brows scrunched together in the cutest way, making me forget and ignore the red flags waving in the back of my mind. I could worry about all thewhat ifslater, like what if she found out who I was or what if she still wanted to get married.
“Ah, I wouldn’t say dating.” I smiled down at her, caught under her weird plant spell. “We’re enjoying each other in the short time you’re here. Only each other, by the way. I wanted to punch Dave when you touched him.”
She gave me a shy, cute smile and nodded fast. “Okay. Yes. I’m in.”
“I can’t wait to show you all the things, Nora Atwood.”
“Are you talking just sex right now or…?”
“I’m talking everything. In the bedroom, out of the bedroom, all of it. Camping, movie theaters, painting fire hydrants, the county fair.” I cupped her face in my hands, admiring how petite she was. “All of it.”
Chapter Eighteen
“So wait,”I said, unsure if it was a joke or not. “You want strippers to pop out of a fake book?”
“Yes. Callahan will think that shit is hilarious,” Justin said, my sister’s fiancé’s best friend. He had a good heart but was kind of a doofus.
“Ah, I’m not sure, man.”
“Is this cause he’s marrying your sister? Dude, come on.”
“No, Gilly would be down for strippers.” I laughed, thinking about the time her and Grace took a prank a bit too far. “Christopher would get flustered and all worried. Couldn’t we go ax throwing, tour a brewery, golfing? That seems more his style.”
“We need titties.”
Okay then. I sighed and took a sip of the coffee, unsure how to make progress with the guy. Gilly wanted my help, but the guy clearly had his own agenda.
Fritz: How is Christopher friends with this guy?
Gilly: Justin? LOL. They go way back.
Fritz: There will be titties.
Gilly: Thanks for trying. You able to shop with me and Grace next weekend?
Fritz: Will you clap for me if I find the perfect tux?
Gilly: Possibly.
Fritz: Then yes, I’ll be there.
I pocketed my phone and tried to give Justin my full attention. It was hard when he refused to listen to a single suggestion, and I tapped my foot on the floor waiting for him to be done. The bachelor party wasn’t for another few weeks, and at least the guy was planning ahead. Poor Christopher might not enjoy his last hoorah as a single man.
“Keep me posted on the planning,” I said, shaking his head before he left. I didn’t have high hopes, but it would be fun to see Christopher sweat. Smiling, I finished my cup of coffee and got the folder out of my bag. There was a reason I chose to meet him here. The small café was just a block away from the business center where Carla and her partner ran the coffee cart.
Here goes nothing.
Sweat pooled on my neck as I walked in the midday heat toward their location with my heart racing against my rib cage.
