Chapter 35: Chapter 35

“Never did I think I’d hear the word penis that many times from your grandmother’s mouth in one night.” Emma laughs from the passenger seat of my car as she stares out the window.

I pull into the driveway of Moore’s house, trying not to cringe at Emma’s comment. Hearing the word penis come from my Gram’s mouth once was enough for me to last a lifetime. Tonight, she felt the need to ask why there was nothing penis-shaped or why there weren’t strippers far too many times for my liking.

“She really is something,” I say, trying to wipe the memories from my mind with a grimace.

“I love her. She’s a national treasure that must be protected at all costs.”

I laugh, wondering if Gram would love Emma calling her that or if she’d make a snide comment asking if Emma was calling her old. “Let’s change the subject from Gram’s disappointment on Peyton’s lack of a penis-themed bachelorette party.”

“I’m sorry.” She laughs again, shaking her head as I put the car in park. “It’s just so funny. She’s hilarious, and I’m obsessed with her.”

I wish you were obsessed with me. My eyes go wide with the thought as I try to push it aside. I need to rein myself in and remind myself I only just met her. I shouldn’t be thinking any of those things about her, but I can’t help it.

“Can I walk you in?” I ask Emma, turning to face her.

She nods, the whisper of a smile on her lips. We stare at one another, searching each other’s eyes for I’m not sure what.

The summer breeze picks up around us. It was the perfect night to keep the top down on the car. I loved taking the back roads on the way home from the marina. Normally, I like to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, always in a rush to get to the next thing. But tonight, after the party, I wanted to take things as slow as possible. I wanted to savor the moment with her.

I wanted the chance to commit to memory the way her hair blew in the wind, the way she’d let out the cutest giddy noises when I took a turn a little faster than I should, or when she’d closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat to feel every curve we took in the road.

I love how she seems to live in the present and wants to enjoy every second of it. I need more of that in my life.

“Let’s go in, then,” I finally get out. My voice is hoarse, clogged with the overwhelming feeling that she’s someone I’ll think about for years to come.

“Can we just sit out here for one more minute? It’s beautiful out.”

I nod, reaching across the center console and grabbing her hand. I let our intertwined fingers rest in her lap as we sit in silence in the middle of the driveway. It’s peaceful and just another time she’s forced me to slow down and appreciate the small things, like a beautiful summer night sitting next to the perfect girl.

“I really love your family.” Emma finally speaks up.

I look over at her, expecting her to be looking at me, but she isn’t. She has her eyes closed and her head against the headrest. I don’t know how I managed it, but somehow, I got the most beautiful woman on the planet to pretend to be my girlfriend, and I’m well aware of how lucky I am that she said yes.

“They love you,” I respond, just now remembering she’d said something. I was too lost in admiring her high cheekbones and slightly upturned nose to respond right away.

She smiles but still doesn’t open her eyes. “That makes me happy. I feel bad. I was wrong about you guys when we first met at the club.”

I let out a small breath of air. “Don’t feel bad. You weren’t wrong. There was just more to us.”

Her eyes finally open, and my chest hitches at the sight of her big blue eyes aimed right at me.

“Thank you for sitting out here for a little longer.”

I squeeze her hand, loving how perfectly it fits in mine. “I’d sit out here as long as you wanted, if it meant spending more time with you.”

Her eyelids flutter shut for a moment as she shakes her head. “You’ve got to stop being so honest. Especially when everything you say is so perfect.”

“Only with you,” I confess. I lift her hand and bring it to my lips. I press a kiss to the back of her hand before I turn it over, exposing her wrist to me. I begin to pepper kisses down the inside of her wrist. She lets out a contented sigh, her lips turning up in a slight smile. “I’m not always the most open person with others.”

“Trust me, I know,” she responds sarcastically. I continue to trail kisses along the inside of her wrist, letting my tongue peek out occasionally to tease her. “Your grumpy demeanor doesn’t go unnoticed.”

I shake my head, dropping her hand and leaning across the center console to place my face close to hers. “Will you ever drop the grumpy nickname? You make me sound like one of Snow White’s dwarves.”

Emma laughs, the sound like a melody. “Oh my god. Now I can’t get the mental picture of you whistling and marching through the meadow out of my head.”

“What am I going to do with you, Emma Turner?”

“Take me inside.”

I smile before leaning in and stealing a kiss. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” I respond as I pull away.

I’m quick at opening my door and rounding the car so I can open hers. She waits for me to open it, eagerly taking my outstretched hand as I help her out of her seat.

We’re quiet as we walk to the front door. She doesn’t stop and turn to face me at the door like she has in the past. She goes straight to pressing the code into the lock. The door swings open, and she takes a step inside. I wait at the doorstep, not sure if I’m supposed to go back to the guest house or if I can go inside and spend all night taking my time with her.

She turns to shut the door and frowns when she finds me still standing on the welcome mat. “Why aren’t you coming in?”

“You didn’t invite me in.”

“Are you a vampire? Come in, Preston.” She dramatically waves me forward with a roll of her eyes.

I stare at her, confused as I step inside. “What? No, I’m not a vampire. I was just trying to be a gentleman.”

She closes the door before leaning against it. Her purse drops to the ground with a soft thud as she keeps eye contact with me. “I don’t want you to be a gentleman. You’ve been making promises all day about what you want to do to me, Rhodes. It’s time you make good on your promises.”

I swallow as the playfulness between us seems to disappear, replaced with a thick sexual tension as my mind races with all the things I said I wanted to do to her once I got her alone again.

Emma lifts a foot and begins to undo one of her heels.

“No,” I speak up, my voice echoing off the high ceilings of the entryway. “The heels stay on.”

She smiles before putting her foot back down. Her fingers drift up her thighs as she bunches the smooth fabric of the yellow dress. “And what about this?”

My pulse thumps erratically in anticipation of what’s to come. I’ve been dreaming about getting that damn dress off her all night, and now’s the time.

“The dress needs to come off. Now.”

I close the distance between us, taking her face in my hands and yanking her to me. She yelps, but her mouth is still ready for me the moment our lips connect. Her hands drop from her dress and instead grab at the lapels of my suit jacket. She tugs me lower as her mouth opens up even wider for me.

She’s been thinking about doing this again as much as I have, and I fucking love it.

I grab the fabric of her dress and begin to lift it up, needing to see every naked inch of her again. She grabs me by the hands. “Wait,” she pants, her breaths becoming more labored by the second.

“What is it?”

“Make one more promise to me before we do this again.”

I kiss along her collarbone, loving the taste of her skin against my tongue. “I’ll promise you anything you want, rebel.”

“Don’t leave tonight. After this happens—” She lets out a shaky breath. “After we do this again, just tell me you’ll stay after.”

My lips pause against her shoulder at the vulnerability in her tone. I straighten my spine and bring my eyes to hers. “I’ll be here in the morning, Em. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I promise you that.”