“If you hadn’t joined your father’s business, what would you have done?” she asked, studying his face.
“I don’t know,” he said with a self-conscious half-shrug.
She rested her forearms on the table and leaned toward him. “I don’t believe that for a second. Everyone has dreams, no matter how preposterous or stupid someone else might think they are.”
“And what’s your secret dream?” he teased, taking her hand in his. “If you’re so eager to hear mine, tell me yours.”
She gave him a wicked smile.
“You want to win American Idol.”
She laughed. “I have no such delusions. I can hardly carry a tune.”
“You want to climb Mount Everest.”
She shivered. “No way. That sounds like a nightmare. I hate the cold. One of the benefits of living in Seattle. Despite all the rain, it hardly ever snows.”
“I give up. Tell me.”
Her smile softened. “It’s stupid.”
“If it’s your dream, it can’t be stupid.” His fingers squeezed around hers in encouragement.
She swallowed, looking nervous. “I want my mom to accept me for me instead of trying to change me into what she wants me to be.”
“How can that be stupid, Megan?”
“Because I shouldn’t have to want it in the first place.”
He looked into her eyes for several seconds. “I told you that my business is in trouble, big trouble, and now I find myself facing a very difficult decision. I have two choices, neither of them good. If I make one decision, ten employees lose their jobs—two of whom will have a very difficult time finding new ones—but if I choose the other, someone very important to me will probably get hurt in the process.” He sighed, not looking happy.
“You’re in a real catch-22, huh?” Someone important to him. Noah? Could this be why his brother had shown up?
“Yeah.”
“So is that why you’re hiding out with me? Avoiding the decision?”
He watched her for a moment. “No. There’s really nothing to be done at this point except for me to decide. Unless I get a miracle.”
“And you have to make your choice this weekend?” When he nodded, she asked, “Have you made a decision yet?”
“No.” His voice was gruff, and she covered his hand with her own, her thumb rubbing back and forth over his knuckles. “Like I told you, I’m leaving this trip up to fate. You’re the answer I was given. I can’t help thinking that has to mean something.”
Horror washed through her. “Me?”
“There’s absolutely nowhere else I’d rather be than with you. You were my gift from fate.” When she started to protest, he stopped her. “Let’s make a deal. We’ll avoid talking about your mother and my business so we can make today as happy as possible.”
She made a face. “Avoiding any talk about your business is a whole hell of a lot easier.”
He gave her a wicked grin. “Ha! You definitely have the home court disadvantage.”
“Just for that, I’m not going to take you to get a new phone,” she said smugly.
His voice softened. “Who am I going to call? The only person I want to be with is here with me.”
“Let’s get out of here, Romeo,” she said with a small smile.
“But we have to pick up the tuxes at eleven.”
Her smile stretched into a grin. “I know.”
Josh paid the bill and they walked out of the restaurant, his arm around her waist, holding her hip to his. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, “Do you know how distracting it was sitting across from you knowing you weren’t wearing underwear under your dress?”
She laughed, but a wave of lust washed through her. “We need to shower and change clothes.”
“Your mother mentioned she was going to pick up the flowers and check on the cake this morning before stopping by to make sure everyone’s tux looks okay.”
“So . . . we have an hour and a half in an empty house to go back, shower, and change?”
He stopped next to her car, pulling her to his chest. “And other things.” He kissed her with more intensity than she’d expected, but she wasn’t about to complain.
“Definitely other things,” she murmured against his lips.
He broke free and opened her car door. “Tell me we’re close to your parents’ house.”
“Define close.” He released a long groan and she laughed. “Ten minutes. Tops.”
“Paybacks are hell, Megan Vandemeer.”
And they were, but deliciously so. He took advantage of the fact that she was stuck behind the wheel and pantyless by skimming a hand along her thigh, lifting the hem of her skirt, and shifting higher.
“God, you’re so wet,” he groaned.
She let out a soft gasp as his fingers began to coax her close to a climax but never quite there. By the time she parked in the driveway, she was hot with desire and could think of nothing but getting him inside the house and stripping off his clothes.
She took his hand and pulled him upstairs and into her bedroom. Pushing him against the wall, she reached for his jeans. A devilish grin lit up his face as he watched her. “You’re so determined.”
“You drove me crazy all the way here. It’s my turn now.” As she lowered his jeans, she dropped to her knees and helped him step out of the pant legs.
He looked down at her, his eyes hooded with lust and desire as she licked the length of his erection, then looked up at him. His gaze met hers, and he released a low groan when she licked him again while cupping his balls. He leaned the back of his head against the wall and reached for her hair, grabbing loose handfuls as she took him into her mouth. She set the pace, but he soon became impatient.
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply as he unzipped her dress and pushed it off her shoulders and down to the floor. “I’m so torn,” he said, dragging his mouth from hers and moving to her ear. “Part of me wants to have you in the shower, and the other part of me wants you on the bed.”
She pulled his mouth back to hers. “Bed.”
He grabbed her thighs and lifted her as if she were weightless. She straddled his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck and back, kissing him as he walked the short distance to her bed. Laying her down sideways on the mattress, he hovered over her, his hand cupping her breast as their mouths still connected. He started to roll to his side, but she didn’t want to wait. She wanted him now.
“No,” she murmured. And she reached down and guided him inside her.
He accepted the invitation, lifting her hips and plunging deep into her with one thrust. She arched her back and rose up to take him in, wanting him deeper, needing more. Her legs tightened around his waist, but he pulled them loose, lifting one to hook the back of her knee over his shoulder. She gasped as his urgency increased and her body responded, wanting more.
He had her close within a minute, but she held on, fighting her release, wanting it to last, wanting to come with him. His hand covered her breast, his thumb and finger pinching her nipple, and it was enough to push her over the edge. She cried out, her fingers digging into his back as his movements grew more frantic, and he came too, pushing hard against her as he groaned.