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His lips twitched around a smile. “I’m not pissed. I just think it’s obvious how good we are together. That’s why I think we should go out more. It would make things more believable.”
Vicky rested her elbow on the back of the sofa and carefully nudged his hand off her leg. “We can probably work something out.”
“Is that your way of brushing me off?” He looked down at his hand as if he was stunned she hadn’t launched herself at him. It had been touch and go there for a while.
She needed to devise her game plan and snap her sexy back into place. It was definitely at low ebb. If she crawled all over Cory now, she had no doubt whatsoever that their hot sex would screw with her already-addled brain until she fell so far she couldn’t climb back out. Taking the night to think would allow her to clarify her goals for this experiment. Setting the parameters in her mind for what she wanted to achieve would minimize risk.
Dirty deliciousness with an option to buy long-term. Sounded about right.
“Of course not. I just didn’t realize how late it was.” She struggled to keep her voice even as she got to her feet. “Speaking of late…” She trailed off and feigned a yawn. “I should get to bed.” Alone.
“Early day tomorrow?” His tone was rigidly polite, as if they hadn’t fucked in the hay two hours ago.
Better yet, as if she didn’t wear the proof of his lies on her body. The red marks from his lips on her neck. The bruises blooming on her hips from his rough grip.
The three little words he’d uttered that were practically imprinted on her psyche.
“Not earlier than normal, but busy. Jill and I are going on a buying trip for Friday’s shoot.” She tried to sound cheerful. “Keeping her busy and out of trouble is my life’s work. At least until she’s thirty or so. Only eight years to go.”
Rising, Cory let out a stilted laugh. “Why?”
“Because I told someone I cared about that I would,” she snapped as if that explained everything. Now that she’d decided it was time for him to leave, he needed to just go before she changed her mind.
She didn’t want to talk anymore tonight. Particularly not to him. She felt way too raw and vulnerable.
Her cell rang and she snatched it off the coffee table. “Hey, Dill. Is Nellie okay?”
“She’s fine. She and Jake—and Lex, who’s in full fret mode—went home to relax. It was just those Braxton-whatever contractions. And gas. Man, I hate when my mom’s right.”
Dillon’s tone was so dry that she had to chuckle. “In this case it’s a good thing though, since her being right means Nellie and the baby are okay.” She added a little happy dance. “Tell Nellie to give me a call when she’s got some time. I told her I’d help her plan out the nursery.”
“Will do. Pass on the info to Mr. Inscrutable if you don’t mind.”
Vicky snuck a look at Cory, biting her lip. “Sure thing, handyman.” Her endearment made Dillon laugh and Cory scowl. “Thanks.”
She turned off her phone and started to speak, but Cory cut her off. “Nellie had some sort of women’s issues this evening, I presume? The baby is fine?”
It only took ten sentences for Cory to sound like a jerk. She had to hand it to him. “You presume correctly.”
“Glad to hear it.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth. “You only met the lot of them tonight, right?”
She frowned. “Nellie and Jake and Lex? Yeah. I’ve seen them around when I’ve stopped into Divine Flowers, but this is the first time we got to hang out.”
“Yet they’re your new best friends.” He shook his head. “You are a wonder.”
Before she could respond, he tilted his head. “You’ve told Jill and Bryan and your sister about…us?”
“Yeah. Seems like necessary info for my family and a close friend, doesn’t it? The photos told a good part of the story and I filled in the rest. Especially since if I hadn’t, they would’ve heard the scuttlebutt around town and then gotten pissed.”
Rather than looking less uncomfortable, he looked more. “I know this is awkward for you, lying to your friends and family. Even lying to mine bothers you. I’m sorry to put you in that position.”
She slanted him a sly smile. “The only position you put me in tonight involved being legs-up in the barn. I didn’t mind.” When his serious expression didn’t change, she gave him a not-so-gentle push toward the door and yawned again. “Sorry to be such a bad host.”
“I’m not a guest.”
“No. For now, you’re the love of my life.” She stepped around him to pull the chain off the door and opened it to a chilly wind. It really was late, and she probably should’ve asked him to stay. Knowing he wouldn’t alleviated some of her guilt. Some.
She looked back and found him studying her, his eyes hooded. “Maybe we should both take some time to think about what that means, Cory.”
