He yanks me closer, one hand to the back of my head. Before I can react, his mouth is on mine, and in his kiss is everything he’s been trying to say. He wants me; there’s no mistaking that. And right now, it’s enough.
“What are you doing?” I whisper at the touch of his free hand on my thigh, moving higher and higher. “Somebody will catch us!”
“I almost wish they would,” he growls before scooting me closer to the edge of the sofa, pushing my dress up around my hips.
Yes, there’s definitely something to be said for the threat of being discovered.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“It’s so thoughtful of you to take the time to fly to New York with me. It’s nice to not have to fly commercial and have the plane all to ourselves.”
Paxton looks over from his seat across from mine. “It’s nothing. I want to spend as much time with you as I can.”
“I know you’re so busy at the office.”
“All that matters to me today is being with you. You think it’s easy for me, knowing I’m leaving you all alone in the big city?”
“Have you forgotten that I’ve lived in the big city my entire life?” I give him a teasing smile. “If anything, I was in more danger at the ranch.”
He doesn’t see the humor in that, his expression turning stony. “You know how terrible I feel about that.”
“You have nothing to feel terrible about! Accidents happen. Besides, I still had a lot of fun. I’ll have to practice my lasso tricks when I’m stuck on a scene. Usually, I revert to rearranging my books or scrubbing the grout in the bathroom. I need something new to distract me.”
He motions for me to join him, pulling me into his lap. “When’s the next time you can come out?”
Thank God. I was hoping he would ask me that. “What would be a good time for you? I’ll be working all this week, but I might be able to carve some time out of the weekend so long as I’m a good girl and get my pages done.”
“Next weekend is your birthday though, isn’t it?”
My heart sinks. “Of course. I completely forgot. I’m dreading it because my grandmother wants to throw me a party.”
He toys with a strand of my hair. “Why? The way you talked about her, I thought you got along very well.”
“Oh, I love her to pieces, but our styles don’t exactly match. I told her I don’t want one of her big, fancy parties—like the one your father threw the other night. She had a party like that for herself when she turned seventy-five. I always get overwhelmed at those large gatherings.”
He wears a thoughtful expression while his hand roams up and down my leg. He promised to take me to dinner tonight, before flying back to Texas, and as such, we’re both dressed up. I’m wearing one of the dresses I brought with me while he’s in a suit I would love to tear from him with my teeth.
Then again, as we proved in the powder room last night, we don’t need to strip naked to have a good time.
I can now check quickie in the powder room during a fancy birthday party in a mansion off my bucket list.
“You know, if she’s so dead set on having a party for you, it’s only because she loves you. She wants to show you how much you mean to her.”
“I know,” I grumble. “And I know it makes me sound childish.”
“No, just determined to have your own way.” He nuzzles my neck. “Sounds familiar.”
We haven’t really talked about what happened last night. About the girl, Lana, and exactly how he plans to ignore his father’s wishes.
I did a little digging into the family name on my phone after he fell asleep.
Her father and Paxton’s are old friends. And, yes, their company is enormous, spanning not only the southern half of the country, but several South American countries as well.
They’re loaded, in other words, and much more the sort of people Mr. Cleary wants his son involved with.
The man didn’t even bother acknowledging me the entire night. Message received.
But here’s his son, determined to have his way. On one hand, it’s flattering. On the other, I feel guilty.
“What’s troubling you?” Paxton strokes my cheek with the backs of his fingers, returning me to the present moment.
“The fact that I’m stupid enough to worry about anything else when I’m here with you right now.”
He checks his watch. “You think we have enough time to make out for a while before we land?”
“Only one way to find out.”
As it turns out, we did, and I even have time to fix my makeup before descending the stairs.
“I have to admit, you spoiled me. I don’t know if I’ll be able to travel in any other way ever again.”
“Good!” He looks very pleased with himself as he helps me into the back of the limousine waiting for us. “You deserve to be spoiled.”
“So? Where are we headed?” I have to admit, being back in the city has me feeling more myself. Seeing that familiar skyline out the window as we approach fills my heart with a sense of relief, belonging.
“There’s a club overlooking Central Park that I’ve heard good things about. Do you like jazz?”
“I love it.”
“Good. I thought you might like the idea.” His phone buzzes, and he looks down at it, smiling at the message. “I think it will be a good time.”
Only, when we arrive, the place looks dark.
“You sure it’s open?”
“It should be. I made a reservation.” He takes my hand, and we walk to the front door together.
“I don’t think we should try to go in. Maybe something happened, or maybe somebody got sick.”
I might as well not be talking. He opens the door—it’s not locked, and that somehow only makes me more nervous.
There are people inside though. I can hear them.
And in another moment, I can see them.
“Surprise!”
The lights go on all at once, and I find myself faced with a roomful of people I know.
“Happy birthday a week early.” Paxton hugs me from behind, chuckling in my ear.
I take in the sight of my grandmother, Peter, Hayley, and her sister, Kylie, and her husband, Zack. There’s their brother, Brandon, looking like he’s ready to party. Even Maggie and Lois are here. Lois looks like she would rather be asleep, but then again, she normally looks like that.
And there’s Matt.
My stomach threatens to do a full flip when our eyes meet. He only smiles, applauding like everybody else is.
“I rented out the whole club for the night. It’s all about you.”
I crane my neck to look up at him, gasping. “Are you serious?”
“And that’s not all of it. You’ll see.” He kisses my cheek before letting me go, so I can hug Grandmother.
“You didn’t want me to do something like this, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t let someone else do it.” She hugs me, patting my back. “Happy birthday, dear.”
“I don’t know what to think!”
They pretty much pass me around, everybody taking turns to hug me and laugh at how surprised I was.