Page 43 of Pin-up Girl

“Paying you back?” I racked my brain. What the fuck was he talking about?

“For the five bucks you borrowed. Plus interest.”

The five…? I laughed. “For lunch, twenty years ago? All right. In that case, I get the better part of the deal.”

He promised to send me measurements for Dee, and I said the instant I got those, he’d have someone make up a few shirts and send them his way.

We talked a little more, but it was late, and Clint needed to get to bed so he could be up when Dee woke up.

As Aubrey and I went to leave, Clint grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him. He pressed his lips to her forehead. “Speaking of debts, you still owe me a conversation.”

“We’ll have it. Promise.” She smiled.

There was the jealousy again. White hot and searing away my reason. I kept the thoughts and my reactions to myself, and Aubrey and I headed out to my rental car.

I didn’t have much to say on the way back to her place. My mind was a jumble of thoughts. Not just about what I saw between her and Clint tonight—the obvious connection—but about her comment that my company’s clothing was too bulky for something like ballet.

I had the idea. I know how to make it work. Thinner, more flexible textiles. Rather, I had everything but the fiber. I hadn’t been able to find anything that was thin enough to work, but still carry the kind of information it needed for the monitoring.

The onslaught of ideas got shelved as I pulled up in front of Aubrey’s shop. I twisted in my seat to face her. “I had a lot of fun today.”

“Yeah? The part where we spent a few hours deflecting my grandmother’s expectations, or the part where you and I were supposed to hang out and you had to watch me”—she flushed—“dancing with someone else instead?”

I’d do that second one again. And again… “The part where we spent time together.” I tilted her chin up and brushed my lips over hers.

It was meant to be a brief kiss. A short good night, but the instant I connected with her, a zing ran through me. A spark of desire that wanted more of her soft lips. Of her taste and scent. I pressed in harder, and she kissed back with the same intensity.

When I finally pulled back, she hovered her fingers over her lips as she watched me with bright eyes.

“Go. Sleep.” What was I saying? “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

I couldn’t help but watch Aubrey’s ass as she walked inside.

What was I doing, not inviting myself up to spend the night? What held me back?

She was married.

It wasn’t real, according to both of them. But watching the way she played house with Clint…

I had to know she was mine before I unlocked the rest of myself.

13

aubrey

Warm fuzzies lingered in my thoughts in the morning. For a day with so many ups and downs, yesterday’s ups were pretty freaking incredible.

I didn’t know how I felt about Brodie and Clint going all caveman, though. On the one hand, it did a woman’s ego good that they went head-to-head over me. It was a little hard to believe, but I’d been there, so I had to trust my own eyes.

I headed into my kitchen to start the coffee brewing while I got ready for today. The guest room door was open for the first time in the morning since Sylvie had arrived.

Despite the fact that she spent the night in whatever hotel room Grandma got for her, making whatever wedding plans were next on the list, Sylvie would be working this morning. There was no way my dedicated, driven sister was going to take a day off.

This part of my morning routine was automatic. Grab the jar with beans, and scoop out enough to grind. Once they were the right coarseness, into the filter they went, I poured water in the reservoir, and the coffee was brewing. I was running low on beans, which I got from Sebastian. Sure, he sold tea, but he had a great local source for fresh coffee, so a lot of us bought from him.

He usually delivered, but hadn’t been by in a while. Probably because Sylvie was here. I’d have to stop by his shop later and refill my stash.

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