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“Lee, I...”
His soft mouth moved over mine as his fingers flexed on my jaw. His tongue swept through my lips, hot and demanding. His frustration was palpable and desperate. My body reacted in kind. My arms wound around his neck and pulled him closer. My leg hitched up, and his free hand gripped my thigh and squeezed. Through my sundress, I could feel the length of him, hard and hot against me, and a needy hum buzzed through my throat.
I moaned against his lips and wondered if anyone would notice if Lee fucked me against my front door in the middle of town. I wouldn’t even care if it meant he would finally put me out of my aching misery.
Lee broke the kiss. My desperate breaths came out in pants. My thoughts were a jumbled, needy mess. “I thought we just agreed—”
His thumb stopped my words with a brush against my swollen lower lip. He leaned down close, and the deep rumble of his voice sent molten waves coursing through me.
“Bootsy just walked by. So technically that kiss was in public.” Without another word, Lee turned, and I stared at the muscles of his back, rippling beneath his shirt as he walked away from me.
Then he turned. “Hey, Annette?”
I blinked and managed only a strangled sound.
Lee grinned. “This is the best day of my life.”
I sank against the brick building. My head swam with questions, but there was one thing I knew for certain.
There was no way my heart was getting out of the next five dates unscathed.
FIFTEEN
LEE
It had beena week since I’d seen Annie, and I was practically crawling out of my skin. Before the gala, I’d never go more than a few days without hearing her laugh or watching her sink her teeth into her lower lip as she concentrated on her pottery wheel. A week was too long.
I sure as fuck didn’t like it.
The sun glistened over the tranquil waves of Lake Michigan as I eagerly made my way to the arranged beach date. As I strolled across the sandy dunes, my heart danced with anticipation, mixing nervousness and excitement. Set apart from the public beach, I smiled at the sight of the other couples scattered across the shoreline.
I walked across the beach, my toes digging into the warm, powdery sand as I scanned the crowd, looking for my girl. Up ahead I saw my cousin Matty. He was a distant cousin, but still a Sullivan by blood. I tipped my chin to him and offered a wave. He returned it and walked on over.
We shook hands and I grinned at him.
“Hey, man, how’s it going?” he asked.
“It’s going. I saw your show the other night. You guys are getting good.” Matty had a band and often played at the Grudge during tourist season.
He gestured toward the area of the beach where the auction dates were getting settled in. “So the rumor is true?” he asked. “You finally woke up and took your shot with Annie?”
I readjusted the backpack on my shoulder. “Something like that.”
Jesus, had everyone been thinking it behind our backs?
“Well, when you get ready for the next flavor of the week, you can send her my way.” A pit opened in my stomach. I stared down at my little cousin and reminded myself that it wouldn’t do anyone any good if I punched him in the face.
“It’s not like that,” I grumbled. My reputation as a player, though probably earned, was getting really fucking old, and I didn’t like the implication of Annie getting caught up in the shitty decisions of my past.
I refused to be the reason she looked bad.
Frustrated and annoyed, I said goodbye to Matty and stormed up the rest of the beach toward the group. I still hadn’t spotted Annie, and a moment of panic skittered through me.
Had she backed out? Changed her mind? Stood me up?
I scrubbed a hand against the back of my neck. Jesus, I felt like a teenager again, worrying about whether or not a girl liked me. I was about twelve seconds away from scribbling on a note,Do you like me? Check YES or NOand handing it to her like a schmuck.
Finally, I recognized her hot-pink-painted toes peeking out from underneath a huge striped beach umbrella. I could recognize those Flintstone feet anywhere, and an affectionate chuckle rolled through me. Annie hated her slightly large big toe. I didn’t really think it looked weird at all, but I still liked to tease her about it.
