Naughty Little Wishes (Birthday Dare) (17 page)

Drew stared at her mother’s back, then shifted his attention to her.

She cringed. Straw in her hair and crap on her boots, but he looked…
wonderful.

She’d added the black T-shirt and jeans to his wardrobe. Not that he had a choice of what to wear. The day the truck came, she’d talked him into giving away more than suits and ties to charity.

As he walked toward her, images flashed. The first time they’d met at the barbecue. Picking him up in the rain. Living together and disagreeing on everything. Burrowing into his chest as he told her a bedtime story. Making love.

Tongue tied, she latched on to the first question that popped up. “How did you find me?”
Lame, so lame…
and obvious.

“Jasmine.” He looked around. “I thought she was crazy for giving me all those landmarks, but now I understand. Without them, I would have never found this place.”

“No, not easy.” Could she at least form longer sentences? What did mom say? Listen first, then apologize. Was she still listening or should she start apologizing? Did she have to name everything? That could take hours. Damn, he smelled so good.

He took her hand, and her mouth jolted to life.

“I’m sorry. I should have told you. I never—”

He yanked her forward and planted a possessive kiss on her lips. Bone-melting desire weakened her knees.

The kiss ended, but moments passed as she searched for words. “I was trying to apologize.”

“Don’t. I know you weren’t trying to hurt me. When it happened, I wasn’t ready, but you were right. Shana and I did need to talk.” He cupped her face. “But you should have done one thing first.”

“What?”

“Communicated.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “You should have told me the plan and let me decide. You have to give us a chance to agree to disagree, and still find a way through it. Do you think you can do that next time?”

Next time?
“I promise.” She tamped down excitement. “Is that what you came all this way to tell me?”

“That’s part of it.” He stroked the pads of his thumbs across her cheeks. “If you’re still crazy enough to think about it, I’d still like to explore our options. Something a lot less casual than we talked about.”

A wide grin pushed up her lips before she could stop it. “I’ve been told crazy is my middle name.”

“I’m serious.” He lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “I want us to take a real shot at being together, not a fling.”

Someone to kiss good-bye in the morning, have dinner with at night, and snuggle with on lazy weekends…
domesticated bliss
. “Okay, I’m all in, but can I please take a shower before we talk? I’m a hot mess.”

He held her by the waist and flashed a sly grin. “Need help.”

She laughed. “I’m doing it alone, and you better wipe that smile off your face. My mother walked onto the porch. She brought you iced tea.”

His smile dimmed. “Why does she have a shot gun?”

“She’s impatient about getting dinner started. You are staying?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course you do.” Sincerity crept in. She rested her hands on his chest. They’d have to start with honesty, especially about the past. “Can you stick around for a few days? I’d like to show you the ranch and tell you more about Corey.”

“Sure I can.” He gave her a half-smile. “I need to tell you about my passenger-seat phobia.”

“Passenger-seat phobia?” She waited for the punch line. “You’re serious.”

“As a heart attack. It’s been a problem I’ve faced since the accident.”

Realization dawned. “So my driving wasn’t the problem when I picked you up from the side of the road.”

A chuckle burst from his mouth. “Oh no, your driving was absolutely the problem.”

“Hey”—she punched him playfully in the stomach—“there’s nothing wrong with my driving.”

He deflected her blows. “I know. You’ve been handling monster trucks since you were knee-high to a cow.”

“Smart-ass.”

“Would you stop? Something tells me your mother has an itchy trigger finger, and I’d like to avoid getting a load of buckshot in the ass.”

“Then stop teasing or you won’t get the surprise I’m planning for later in our hotel room.” She trailed her fingers along his zipper, smiling at the rise of future compensation.

“Won’t your parents have a problem with us not spending the night?”

“They’ll understand.” She wound her arms around his neck. “Tomorrow’s my birthday and I have a full bag of Naughty Little Wishes.”

Drew’s gaze darkened with a look of pure seduction. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, and more importantly I have a birthday dare to settle.” She rose on her toes and brushed soft kisses up his cheek to whisper in his ear. “And the only one I want at my party is you.”

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Acknowledgments

Thank you to my own real-life hero for patiently listening to every version of this story. To Heather Howland, Kari Olson, and all the wonderful people at Entangled Publishing—thank you for your guidance and support. Team Nina and all the awesome readers—I appreciate you coming along for the ride and enjoying another birthday dare. I can’t wait to do it again. Last but always first, I’m grateful for the love of Life, Breath, and Inspiration—you know who you are.

About the Author

Nina Crespo
lives in Florida where she indulges in her favorite passions—the beach, kickboxing, a good glass of wine with her own real-life hero, and dancing. Her lifelong addiction to romance began in her teens while on a “borrowing spree” in her older sister’s bedroom where she discovered her first romance novel. Curiosity about people and places, including what’s beyond the stars, fuels her writer’s imagination. This wellspring of inspiration allows Nina to create sensual contemporary stories and steamy paranormal tales, which she hopes will feed your own addiction for love, romance, and happily ever after.

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