Page 73 of Recklessly, Wildly Yours

Me: I also hate my publicist for making today such a long day.

Me: And I hate Leigh for conspiring against me with Judy to make today happen.

Ethan: Anything else on that hate list?

Me: I hate running.

Me: I hate the gym.

Me: I hate my trainer.

Me: I hate that pizza is bad for me.

Me: And I hate that tomorrow is Friday.

Ethan: What have you got against Fridays?

Me: Nothing.

Ethan: Is this part of the conversation going to make sense anytime soon, baby?

Me: It should be Tuesday tomorrow. Next Tuesday to be exact.

Ethan can’t get here until then and it feels like a thousand years away.

Ethan: I’ll be on a plane tonight.

Me: No, don’t do that. I won’t get home until around midnight and then I have to be back up at four tomorrow morning. And you’ve got work tomorrow too.

Me: Shit, I have to go. Bossy McBossy has arrived xx

I drag myself through Thursday. A breakfast, six interviews, a lunch, and a dinner later, I arrive back at my hotel at 11:45 p.m. I kick my heels off before the door of my suite even closes behind me, muttering, “I hate you,” as I fling them far and wide. They killed my feet today; tomorrow, I plan to buy ten pairs of flat shoes. Once I’ve got the heels off, I yank my dress over my head and discard it while muttering, “I hate you too.”

I’m halfway into the living room of my suite, wearing only my panties and bra, when Ethan’s deep voice startles me. “I don’t know, Miller, I really fucking like that dress.”

I jump, my hand going immediately to my heart as I look at him. “Jesus, Ethan. You just shaved years off my life.” He’s sprawled on the sofa watching me intently and damn, even in my exhausted state, I swoon at how sexy he is. “Why are you here?”

He gets up and comes my way, all swagger and hotness, and I wish I looked as good as he does at this time of night after a long-ass day. “You told me you needed me.”

I frown. “I told you not to come.”

He snakes his arm around my waist, his eyes still firmly on mine rather than my half-naked body, and pulls me to him. “Before that, you told me what you needed.”

Still frowning, I grasp his shirt while leaning in close to inhale his scent. God, he feels good, smells good. “I’m pretty sure that before that, I just spent a whole lot of time complaining.”

His eyes are still on mine. Intensely focused on me. “I read between the lines.”

I stare up at him, blinking as my brain finally gets her shit together and figures out what he’s saying. As she does this, my heart starts getting her shit together too, and I suddenly feel a whole lot breathless.

Ethan read between my lines.

I grip his shirt harder. “I know you weren’t finishing work until seven tonight, so that means you must have gone straight to the airport, and I also know that you have to start work tomorrow at eight, which means you’ll have to be up early for that flight.” My heart is being so extra right now, racing so fast I’m sure she’s skipping a lot of beats. “And I’m so exhausted that I will pass out the second I find my bed, so pretty much, we’re gonna spend our time together asleep. This was a lot of effort for that.” No one besides my mother has ever gone to this much effort for me.

He grazes his thumb along my jaw. “It really wasn’t, and I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it sooner.”

My eyes go wide. “You say that like you would do it again.”

His gaze has dropped to my lips. “I will.” His eyes meet mine again as his hand slides into my hair. “I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

---