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“Pick a place.” She handed him the menus before hopping on the stool across from him.
Rather than look through them, he slid them back across to her. “You decide.”
What was he up to? She’d spent enough time with him to know he wasn’t this easygoing, yet since she walked into his brother’s office yesterday, he’d left every decision up to her.
“Are you trying to earn brownie points or something? So far you’ve left everything up to me, including the wedding date.”
“Depends. Is it working?” he asked with a wink.
“I can’t answer that until I know what you plan to use the points for.” She selected the menu for her favorite pizza place in the city, well at least her favorite one that would deliver, as well as the one for the best Indian restaurant in Providence. “Which do you prefer?” She held them both up for him to see. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll take away any brownie points you might have earned.”
His fingers brushed against her hands as he took both menus, and a shiver traveled up both arms and down her spine. Like a jack in the box, she bolted off the stool. “While you look them over, I’ll get us something to drink.” And maybe I’ll look you over,
she mentally added. She didn’t bother to ask what he wanted. More than likely he’d give her an answer similar to all his other ones tonight.
“If you really don’t care, pizza sounds good.”
She traded him the menu for a bottle of sparkling water. “You’ve earned yourself one point since I felt more like pizza tonight.”
The grin he gave her almost stopped her heart, and she resisted the urge to use the menu as a fan. “I’ve got to start somewhere, and one point is better than none,” he said.
Like an idiot, she nodded. “I left my phone in the other room.” A moment or two alone might help get her hormones back in order, otherwise she risked hopping onto his lap.
Before she managed to escape, he stood and pulled his cell from his pocket. “Use mine.” He held out the device, leaving her no choice but to accept it and make the call from the kitchen, forcing her hormones to remain in chaos.
She kept her eyes focused on the menu as she placed their order, but she didn’t need to be looking at him to know he had his eyes locked on her. Every cell in her body knew his gaze lingered on her. In return, the gentle butterflies that had been flying around since she got home tonight turned into soaring eagles.
“They’ll be here in about thirty minutes.” Handing the phone back to him, she made the mistake of meeting his gaze. There was no missing the spark of interest in his green eyes. It was the same look she’d seen there the afternoon he’d joined her by the rooftop pool. The only difference being that tonight his T-shirt made his eyes an even more brilliant shade of green.
“My parents are expecting us on Saturday. Mom was disappointed I hadn’t introduced you to the family yet. Since my brother and his family will be in town this weekend, it seemed like as good a time as any. I already let Addie know we won’t be able to make it.”
It wasn’t the only thing her mom had been disappointed about, but there was no point in sharing all of her mom’s views, especially the one regarding whether or not Josh was the type of person she should be marrying. “Since Uncle Mark is doing the ceremony, we can hold the wedding and reception anywhere we want.”
You’re in big trouble if you say it’s up to me. Curious to see what he’d do, she kept the thought to herself.
“I’m open to ideas,” he said, “but if it’s available, Cliff House would be at the top of my list.”
“You earned yourself another point. Cliff House was on my list. I’ll call my cousin Callie tomorrow and see if we can use it.” Since Uncle Warren had much more important responsibilities, his oldest daughter handled everything pertaining to the mansion. Traditionally the mansion always passed down to the current owner’s eldest son. However, her cousin Jake had already made it known he didn’t want it, so eventually, the mansion would belong to Callie. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
Courtney crossed one more item off her mental to-do list. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“Don’t have any at the moment.”
“We need to get a marriage license. I have some free time in the afternoon. If you have your birth certificate, we can go to City Hall before lunch and get it.” Most people didn’t carry their birth certificate around, but since he’d planned this whole arrangement out before yesterday, he might have come to Rhode Island prepared.
Josh’s cell phone buzzed. Shaking his head, he glanced at the screen but didn’t pick up the device. “It’s in Maine. Instead of waiting until the weekend, I’ll drive up tomorrow and get it and everything else I need.”
As much as she wanted to visit Bar Harbor, maybe letting him make the trip alone was a better idea. If she went with him, it would mean being trapped in the same car with him for a minimum of ten hours round trip, and who knew what kind of effect that would have on her decision to keep the bad girl in her gagged.
After readjusting her pillow, Courtney flipped on her back and stared into the darkness. She wasn’t sure exactly how long she’d been in bed, but it felt like hours. Hours of staring into the darkness while her mind remained centered on the bedroom down the hall. Okay, well not the bedroom but the man sleeping in there. The one she’d teased and joked with while they watched a movie after dinner. The one who sat next to her and somehow managed to touch her countless times. Sometimes it had been his leg brushing against hers when he shifted his position. Other times it had been his arm as he scratched an itch. No matter where the contact happened, it left her skin tingling. She’d finally gone to bed, not because she was tired, but to get away from Josh before she gave in to the temptation and kissed him.
Unfortunately, the distance wasn’t helping. Instead of falling asleep or concentrating on what awaited her at the office tomorrow, Courtney kept thinking about how much more enjoyable Josh could make her time in bed. Thanks to all her firsthand knowledge, she knew the precise answer.
“I give up.” Courtney switched on the bedside lamp and kicked off the blankets. She’d make a cup of tea and watch television. While neither one always put her to sleep when insomnia struck, they helped pass the time. Tonight maybe she would get really lucky and the combination would distract her enough to get in a few hours of sleep.
With a cup of freshly brewed chamomile tea in hand, Courtney scrolled through the classic episodes of I Love Lucy. While the show might be outdated in many ways, it still made her laugh. Often when she had a lot on her mind and couldn’t sleep, she switched on an episode, even though at this point she’d seen them all numerous times. After selecting the episode where Lucy and Ethel got jobs at a candy factory, she tugged a throw blanket over her legs and willed thoughts of Josh from her mind.
“That’s one of my favorite episodes.”
