Page 119 of A Whim and a Prayer

Hating to see that sad slope of her brows and the nervous uncertainty clouding those gentle hazel eyes, he reached in and brushed a soft kiss to her lips, surprised when she lunged to take it further, heating his blood all over again.

“Please tell me you could love me too, Beck,” she whispered, punctuating it with a tease of her tongue that poured gas on the fire.

He groaned and kissed her back, deepening it until they finally broke apart for air, their breathing totally out of control as he cradled her face in his hands. “That’s a given, Miss Barton, but I’m not quite there yet, although a few more kisses like that could get us in trouble with a tip of the scales.”

“Oh, good,” she said with a grin, lunging to bring on another.

He halted her with a steady clamp of her arms, holding her back with a jag of his brow. “Whoa, young lady—we keep on with this, and we’ll be engaged by morning.”

She giggled as she delivered a smile that was more than a little smug. “Ah, so you’ve discovered my ingenious plot, have you?”

Setting her back a few inches, he gave her nose a playful tap. “Yes, ma’am, and since I’m obviously the responsible adult here—”

“Yes, I know.” She slipped him a shy smile. “It’s one of the things I forgot to mention…”

“I say we call it a night.” He glanced at his watch and winced. “It’s after two, Cari Lee, and as you recall—we didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night.”

“But sooo well worth it, don’t you think?”

He laughed as he cuffed the back of his neck. “I do, but somehow I don’t think I’ll feel the same at the crack of dawn tomorrow.” He reached to open his door.

“Beck—wait!”

He turned, door halfway open. “Yes?”

She faced him with a tentative smile, scuffing her lower lip with her teeth. “Can I ask you something first?”

“Sure.” He closed the door again to give her his full attention, something he didn’t mind at all. Because from the onset, he’d quickly discovered that the more attention he gave to Cari Lee, the less he thought about Winnie in the same way, which is exactly what he wanted to do.

She avoided his eyes as she picked at her nails, her voice soft and shy. “You said falling in love with me is a given, so I guess I needed to know.” She peeked up with that little-girl look he always found so attractive in Winnie but couldn’t act on it.

With Cari Lee he could, and the thought instantly prompted him to reach out and take her hand in his, slowly grazing her palm with his thumb. “Yes?”

“If we did fall in love ... and became serious enough to … you know, marry … would Winnie still be your best friend?”

He blinked, the question catching him off-guard as his gaze drifted over Cari Lee’s shoulder. “I’ve always thought so,” he said quietly, almost to himself, suddenly considering the scenario for the very first time.

“I only ask, Beck, because … before I commit my heart any further, I need to know for sure.” She disengaged her hand from his to hug her waist in defensive mode, and instantly, he felt the loss of her warmth. “Because if so, I’m not sure I could handle my husband being best friends with the woman he loved before me.”

Beck’s Adam’s apple ducked hard because he understood completely, pretty sure he’d feel the same way.

“So, I guess we both need to make a decision, Beck,” she whispered, punishing her lip with another nervous scrape as she clutched her waist all the more, “before we go any further …”

A decision, yes. One that had been haunting him ever since Winnie had made hers. He looked up at Cari Lee then, and his heart flooded with affection as he cupped a gentle hand to her cheek, making his decision right then and there, just like Winnie had with him.

And with a hard clamp of his jaw, he pushed Winnie from his thoughts completely as he took Cari Lee in his arms to kiss her, more fiercely and deeper than ever before.

Chapter Eighty-Two

“Winnie?”

She jolted awake on the Campbell’s sofa, mind in a fog as she stared bleary-eyed at Beck, who stood in the doorway, hand frozen on the light switch as if about to turn it off.

“What are you doing here?” He moved toward her like an apparition, all blood drained from his face as he sat down beside her, his massive hand warm on her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

She lunged into his arms, squeezing with all of her might. “Oh, Beck … yes, everything’s more than okay!” Letting go, she folded her hands to her mouth in joy, thinking Beckett Campbell had to be hands-down the most attractive man in the world, especially in a tux, edging out Cary Grant altogether. “Oh, Beck, I have so much to tell you!”

Glancing at his watch, he stood and distanced himself, avoiding her eyes as he kneaded the back of his neck. “That’s great, Pooh, but it’s almost three in the morning, so can we talk tomorrow?”