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“You can relax.”
“Now that no one is gawking at us, yes.” She smiles—until her phone, tucked in her small purse, buzzes.
“You going to answer that?”
Corinne shakes her head. “It’s either Parker or my bestie, Ash. I don’t want to listen to my brother rail; he can wait until I’m ready to talk.”
“And Ash?” I think I remember her name when I skimmed Owen’s report.
“She’s probably calling to ask if I’ve lost my mind. She knows when I’m dating someone, so she’s fully aware that I barely know you. I’d rather not lie to her.”
“Is she tight with your brother?”
She scoffs. “Ash thinks he has a stick up his behind. She’d gleefully shove it deeper if it didn’t mean touching him.”
“I like her already.”
“We’re total opposites.” Corinne grins fondly. “Her favorite words all start with F. She tells me constantly that I’m too polite and that I try too hard to make everyone happy. I hate fighting, and I usually give in to cut down on strife.”
“And that’s not Ash?”
Corinne shakes her head. “A lot of people—especially men—consider her a ball-busting something that rhymes with itch. But she has a sweet side…once you dig for it.”
I’ve dated a few like her. I usually enjoy sparring with them. But my “fiancée,” now nervously smoothing her dress over her thighs, is making me work for it in a different way. Bashfulness isn’t something I’ve been attracted to in the past, but I’m fascinated now. What would it take to make her throw caution to the wind and give herself to me, body and soul?
“What about you? I don’t know much, other than what you’ve told me.” That’s not strictly true, but close enough.
She nods. “I don’t know a lot about you, either.”
“That won’t fly at our engagement party.”
“You’re right. But we can’t use sex to ‘learn’ each other.”
“No.” I turn to her through the shadowy car. “You enjoyed the orgasm I gave you, though. Admit it.”
“It was good.” She shrugs. “I’ve given myself better.”
Is that the new bar I have to hurdle to impress her? No problem. “Then I’ll try harder.”
She freezes. “Wait. I-I wasn’t challenging you.”
I just smile. Even if she didn’t mean to, I’m determined to dazzle her in the future.
At a stoplight, I check my emails. Duke’s pops in with a large attachment that must be the surveillance footage. Lisa texts to inform me that she just dropped off everything from Corinne’s hotel. She put the suitcase in my bedroom and the case of beads and craft items in a spare.
Perfect.
I darken my phone and pocket it as the light turns green. “Since we have to get to know each other before tomorrow, we should start exchanging information. What do you drive?”
“That’s your first question, my car?”
I shrug. “It just came to mind.”
“My brother’s hand-me-down.”
“That old red Honda?”
“You know it?”
“Hell, yes. We had more than a few four a.m. runs for food in that piece of shit.”
“After a lot of alcohol?”
I don’t think of Parker fondly anymore, but the memories…yeah. “Those were good times.”
“Is that why my car still smells faintly like vomit on a really hot day?” She slants an unhappy glare at me.
“I plead the Fifth.” I grin.
“I’m not surprised.”
“Where were you born?” I ask.
“Greenwich, Connecticut.”
“Close to your grandparents’ place?”
She nods. “Just a few miles away. What about you?”
“LA. Until I moved to Maui, I’d never traveled much farther than from one end of the Valley to the other. What’s your favorite color? Mine is gray.”
“That’s not a color. It’s a shade.”
I scowl. “What’s the difference?”
She sighs like I’m hopeless. “I expected you to say blue or green…”
“Because that’s common? Are you going to tell me yours is pink?”
“Raspberry,” she corrects.
“That’s not a color.”
“It is. It’s a dark, vibrant reddish-pink,” she defends.
“But still pink.” I laugh. “When is your birthday? Sometime in June, right?”
She nods. “The thirtieth. And yours is…in the fall? I remember Parker throwing you a party once upon a time.”
“My twenty-first.” That was a bender I barely recall. “I was born November eighth. Um…favorite movie?”
“That’s an impossible question to answer. It depends on my mood.”
“What? There’s only one favorite movie. That’s why it’s your favorite.”
“You only have one? Really?”
“Yes. It’s always Fight Club.”
She wrinkles her nose, looking adorable. “I’m more of a Pride and Prejudice girl.”
“You would love my buddy’s wife, Echo.” I roll my eyes in teasing fun. “She always picks the romantic flicks. Give me action—of all kinds. Favorite pie? I’m a sucker for blackberry.”
“I wouldn’t turn that down, but peach with cinnamon ice cream…” She sighs like her love is almost sexual.
“If you’ll make those sounds, I’ll get you all the peach pie with cinnamon ice cream you could want.”
“Stop it. I’m already embarrassed that I moan. Next question,” she prompts…but I see a smile playing at her lips.
“Ever broken a bone?”
“No. You?”
