“I’m begging. I need to hold you in my arms again soon, or I may not make it to the end of the day.”
“Wow,” she said, standing and taking his hand. “How do you make it through the week when you can’t see me?”
Pulling her in tight, he whirled her around. “It’s torture.”
As she draped her arms over his shoulders, his body responded. “Guess I’ll put you out of your misery then.”
Yeah, misery was not what he felt when holding Carli. Last night had been incredible, holding her close, her head resting on his shoulder, waking up to her golden curls spread on the pillowcase next to him. And they’d get to do it again tonight. Like they’d done after the blizzard.
The dancing and catching up with his college friends was great. Even better was that they seemed to like Carli. Yeah, there was stuff she wasn’t getting. She’d quietly asked him a few times to repeat what someone had said. Yet she laughed and joked and made comments about the stories that were told of their freshman year, when they were first trying to sow their wild oats and didn’t have the control they needed to stop. Thank God they were past that.
Priscilla had never fit in with these friends. His undergrad friends and roommate weren’t all from wealthy families or in the country club set. She’d been too high and mighty for this group, and a few of them had voiced relief when they’d broken it off.
As he chatted with more old friends, Carli danced with John, Andy, and Cashman. Some slow and some fast. Lots of nodding and smiling was involved. Should he rescue her? Especially from John, whose hands dipped a little lower than Blake liked them on Carli’s backside. Her smile hadn’t slipped, though it might be a little tighter than usual. Or was she merely tired? It had been a long day and last night they may not have slept as much as they should have.
“I hope I haven’t taken a new job or sold my apartment,” Carli said after a few more dances with his friends. “I think John likes to talk soft, because I can feel his breath on my cheek but can’t hear more than a whistling sound.”
“You’re doing great. My friends love you.”
The look she gave him was strange, but then she leaned into his shoulder and rested against him. Her touch could make him forget everything in the vicinity.
The reception wound down, and a few of the older family members wandered off, leaving the young crowd still gyrating on the dance floor. Blake wasn’t sure which group he belonged to. Not old enough to need to leave but not young enough to dance every song.
Carli excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, and Blake walked to the bar to get a soda. He didn’t want to be too inebriated when they went back to the room tonight. Andy sauntered over and slapped him on the back.
“It’s good to see you enjoying yourself, Dr. Wentworth.”
Blake shook off his teasing and sipped his drink. “Good to see you, too. We should get together more often.”
“Carli desert you already?”
Chuckling, Blake said, “Ladies’ room.”
Andy nodded, but his expression was off.
“Everything all right with you?”
“Sure. Cashman’s been having a fabulous time. He loves to dance. Carli’s been out there quite a bit, too. I was surprised, because she’s been fairly quiet since yesterday.”
“All new people. She opens up more when she’s with friends she knows.” People who make a point of speaking so she can understand them.
“Is she a steady date or just for this weekend?”
“We’ve known each other almost four months. Dating about two.”
Andy narrowed his eyes. “How much do you trust this girl?”
Cocking his head, Blake clenched his hands. “Why do you ask?”
Andy glanced around the room, then back at him. “I wasn’t sure if I should say anything, but John was bragging earlier. I know he does that a lot, but it was what he was saying that made me ask the question.”
John could be a big pain in the neck at times. In college, he’d been the one they’d all looked up to when he’d do some ridiculous stunt, but the last few times they’d been together, Blake had been somewhat uneasy with him.
“What did he say?” Did he even want to know?
“He was telling a few people that Carli agreed to meet him once they got back to Boston. And I don’t mean innocently. He insinuated it would be hot times.”
“When did this apparently happen?” Not that he believed it for a second.
