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“Did you call me to talk business or to figure out your plan of action for getting into my panties tonight?”
“I consider both to be business, Miss Thompson, and I am in the business of getting into your lovely panties and between those luscious thighs of yours.”
The line goes dead, save for Claire’s heavy breathing. It almost sounds like she’s panting. I won’t tease her, because I wouldn’t put it past her to slap me upside the head the next time she sees me, which will be in approximately eight-and-a-half hours.
“I’m keeping my distance from you tonight,” she finally says, and I can practically see her sitting up straighter, shifting her shoulders back and jutting that stubborn chin of hers out.
“No you aren’t.”
“Yes I am.”
“’Kay. Like to see you try.”
“Well, you will see me try.”
“And I’ll see you fail.”
“I’ll see you fail!” she nearly shouts.
I laugh out loud, my chin hitting my chest. “What does that even mean?”
Her sweet laughter rings in my ear. “I don’t know. I just like to argue with you.”
“No shit.” I chuckle, rubbing my jaw. My cheeks hurt from all the smiling I’ve been doing in the two weeks I’ve known this little firecracker. “So you wanna take on Andre? Is Dex good with it?”
“Yeah, he’s good. Actually, he didn’t really even look at it, just waved his hand and told me to sign it. Apparently he knew your contractor would be better than the ones I picked out.”
“I’ve got connections.”
“I bet you do,” she murmurs.
I pull my phone away from ear as it vibrates. A text from Troy Galvin rolls through, letting me know he’s on his way to the restaurant. “I gotta go, Claire. Got a meeting. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Yeah, okay. See you tonight. From across the room. Where I’ll be. Keeping my distance from you.”
“I don’t see how that’s going to be possible. I don’t plan on taking my hands off you all night.”
She mumbles something about how I never listen to her and I laugh.
“See you tonight, pretty little strawberry.”
“Bye Avery,” she says softly before she hangs up.
“Shit, this place is bumpin’ tonight.” Wyatt climbs out of the limo and fixes the button on his gray suit jacket, surveying the scene before us.
Despite the fact that the event only started fifteen minutes ago, there’s a huge line on the sidewalk surrounding Cherry Lane, and music is pouring out the doors and onto the bustling street and the patio. The weather is perfect tonight and, by the looks of the crowd, they’re going to need the extra patio space we’re about to pay for.
“Wyatt! Avery!”
We turn to see Charlee scurrying over to us. She beams and throws her arms around both our necks at the same time, pulling us together until we bump heads.
“Come with me,” she coaxes like it’s a secret, dancing toward the patio and beckoning us with her hand to follow. Wyatt checks out her ass, and I drive my elbow into his side.
The patio is quiet still but looks incredible, strung up with twinkling lights and a few fires going even though the sun hasn’t quite finished its descent yet. Charlee leads us through the patio door, helping us effectively skip the long line out front.
I spot Claire instantly.
“Fuck.” The word tumbles aimlessly from my mouth as my gaze floats up and down her stellar, picturesque body. If I could say more than fuck I would, but my brain can’t seem to formulate a single thought as I stare at her.
