Page 26 of Ask Me Something

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because that is non-negotiable.”

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“Not in the fucking cab I’m not.”

His temper had me both smiling and turned on at the same time. “Did you want me to get a hotel room tonight, after all?”

“Of course not.” His voice had immediately lost all irritation.

“All right. Send me your address and have a safe flight.”

“I will, and you drive carefully. I’ll call you when I land, see how far out you are, okay?”

I agreed and concentrated on the long drive ahead of me.

* * *

It was wellpast midnight by the time I arrived at Brian’s house. After parking in his driveway, I sent a text to my parents letting them know I arrived safely, got out of the car and looked up, appreciating the enormous three-story townhouse. Boy, did I miss the space I used to have in North Carolina.

“You having some size envy?” Brian quipped, standing outside the front door. He was wearing a pair of low slung plaid pajama bottoms and a Panthers T-shirt with leather slippers. He looked sexy as hell without even trying.

“I am. I’ve had hotel rooms bigger than my condo in New York.”

“Here, I’ll get your stuff. Come on in.”

He grabbed my suitcase and led me inside. We entered a living area which was modern and spacious, running lengthwise back to a large gourmet kitchen. “You hungry?” he asked, ever the gracious host.

“Ah, no. My mom packed leftovers. Matter of fact, I have extra if you want some.”

He patted his stomach and shook his head. “I’ll pass for now. There are the stairs to the bedrooms. I’ll give you an abbreviated tour tonight.”

I followed him up to an impressive master suite. The centerpiece was the king-sized bed against the wall, which had a massive wooden and steel bedframe. Everything else was also tasteful in rich woods, sort of like Pottery Barn meets Restoration Hardware.

“Master bathroom is that door over there. Laundry is in that large closet in the hall, guest room down the hall with another bathroom. In the basement is the theater room and my office. I tend to hang out down there mostly.”

I nodded and realized we were both kind of awkward. “I can take the guest room.”

“Actually my sister is already asleep in there. She found out I was on the way to the airport and decided to fly out with me. She wanted to be on our plane for the wedding. There’s a pull-out sofa downstairs I’ll sleep on since I’m going to watch TV for a while yet anyhow. I’d like it if you took my bed. If for no other reason, I can brag that you’ve been in it.”

I smiled, and then his words hit me. “Wait, your sister is here?” I wanted to smack the amused grin off his face.

“Are you disappointed we won’t be alone?”

I let out a breath as I realized that all along he’d known there wouldn’t be a possibility of us sleeping together tonight. “You could’ve told me that in the car.”

“I didn’t know until I got to the airport and she decided to meet me there. And I wasn’t going to risk you changing your mind.”

“How was the strip club with Colby?” I decided to change the subject.

He held a finger to his lips and closed the door.

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