“I’m very disappointed in you, by the way. You haven’t called me. I gave you my number and…and…free pie…and I was really hoping you’d call me. But you didn’t.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just…” I trailed off. There was no good excuse for flaking on her.
“Don’t say it,” Keely replied, shaking her head. “I’ve heard it all before. You’re busy. You didn’t have time. You’re keeping your options open. I know the drill.”
I’m scared to death because of how much I want you and we’ve only just met,I thought.
Inching closer, she skimmed her hand down my arm, leaving a trail of heat in her wake. She flicked her gaze up to mine with a dreamy smile.
“You should kiss me,” she murmured
Fuck. She didn’t know what she was saying.
“You’re drunk, Keely,” I replied.
She shrugged. “So? I wanted to kiss you when I was sober, too. The only difference now is that I have the guts to say it out loud.”
The breath rushed out of me at her confession. Taking Keely by the elbow, I pulled her a safe distance away to the fringe of the crowd where we had a marginal amount of privacy. And Pretty Boy wasn’t eavesdropping on every word we said.
“It was her loss, ya know,” Keely added in a loud whisper.
I frowned, confused. “Who?”
Keely gestured at me.
“The woman who made you all…sad and gloomy. I know what heartbreak looks like. I was engaged once.”
That prickly jealousy bristled along my spine again, putting my hackles up.
“But you’re not engaged anymore,” I pointed out.
“Nope,” Keely replied, popping the P. “He left me. Fell in love with someone else only a week before our wedding. I had the most beautiful dressever.Invitations were sent. I wrote my own vows and…and…thenpoof!All gone. Wedding cancelled.”
She swept an arm wide to punctuate her story, lost her balance and nearly toppled over. The remnants of her drinksloshed onto the grass. I caught her around the waist, steadying her again until she was standing on her own two feet.
Who the hell would leave this precious creatureone weekbefore her damn wedding?
Keely tilted her head and blinked up at me with glossy wide eyes. She traced the Prospect patch on my chest with one fingertip. After a breathtaking, heartstopping moment, her fingers strayed to the collar of my shirt, following the ink that curled over my clavicle.
I shivered at her touch, and my cock pulsed at her close proximity, practically plastered against me.
“Like I said,” Keely added. “Whoever she is—the woman that broke your heart—it’s her loss. You’re one helluva catch, Tarzan. With your sexy muscles and tattoos and…and…handsome face…”
Her fingers wandered up to my jawline, following the line of my mouth.
My arm tightened around her waist, pulling her soft, plush curves even closer until there was no space left between us.
“Come on, Tarzan,” Keely whispered. “Kiss me.”
Splaying my palm across her lower back, I thought about kissing her. Hell, my head was full of nothing but Keely.
She was drunk though. It wouldn’t be right.
And I couldn’t leave her alone here either. Not when she was this tipsy. It wasn’t safe.
So, I did the only thing I could think of. First, I tossed Keely’s cup in the trash. Then I bent at the knees and scooped her over my shoulder. Her skirt barely covered her ass, and I tried my best to smooth it down without looking like I was copping a feel. I curved my hand around the smooth flesh of her upper thigh to hold her in place.
“Tarzan—oh my God!” she squealed. “Put me down or I’m gonna puke.”
