Page 116 of Strictly the Worst

“Linc? Myles is looking for you,” Julia calls out from the shore. “Something about Holden and Blair’s gift.”

We’ve all gone in on their honeymoon together. Of all the places in the world, they chose Alaska. I guess they want to be alone. Myles plans to give it to them tonight.

“Okay,” I say, nodding at my stepmom. “I gotta go. Call you later?”

“I’ll probably be in bed by ten,” Tessa says. “I’m exhausted.”

I check my watch. “I’ll call you in an hour then.”

And I don’t care what my mom thinks. I don’t care what Jared thinks either.

I’m fucking obsessed with this woman. And I’m not letting anybody ruin that.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

TESSA

I’m woken by soft lips pressing against mine.

“Huh?” My eyes fly open to find Linc leaning over me. He’s dressed in his tux, and his hair is disheveled. “Linc? What are you doing here?”

I’m laying in his bed, because he insisted I stay at his apartment tonight after Angela and I had dinner. He’d ordered three courses from a new restaurant in Manhattan and had it brought over with the car he sent for us.

Angela and I had pretty much spent the whole meal giggling about how sweet he is. Because nobody’s ever done something like that for me. And when she left I spent an obscene amount of time in his huge tub, playing with every jet until the muscles in my back finally eased.

“I couldn’t sleep without you,” he says. “Decided to come home and get some shut eye.”

I’m fully awake now. I take in the way his black tie is hanging around his neck, the top button of his white shirt unfastened. He’s still wearing his dress pants but he doesn’t have his suit jacket on anymore.

His shirt sleeves are rolled up, revealing tan skin and a Rolex. For a second I wonder if I’m having some kind of dream, because he looks too good to be true.

“You’re supposed to be at your brother’s wedding,” I whisper, as he pulls his tie off and starts unbuttoning his shirt. And yes, I stare at him without embarrassment as he shrugs it off, then pulls his undershirt over his head.

Dear God, I think I might combust.

“I was. Things were winding down. I decided to hop on a copter and come see my girl.”

“You took a helicopter?” My voice lifts an octave. “How much did that cost?”

“I hitched a ride with a friend of my dad’s. He lives in Manhattan.” He shrugs as though this is an every day occurrence.

Maybe it is. I’m trying not to think about that too much.

He unfastens his pants, sliding them down his hips. I can see the outline of his thigh muscles where they meet his shorts.

“Won’t your family be worried?” I ask him. “Won’t they notice that you’re not there in the morning?”

“We have a brunch planned. At eleven. And I’ll be back in time for that.”

My eyes widen. “In Virginia?”

He smiles as he pulls off his shorts. “Yep. I don’t suppose you want to join me?”

I start to laugh. “No.”

“Spoilsport.”

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