Page 169 of Foreplay on Words

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he asked as he leaned across the table toward her and licked his lips. From where I was sitting, I could see her eyes dilate as she met him halfway, their faces only inches apart.

“In your dreams, pretty boy,” Kristine told him, but it didn’t sound all that convincing.

Evan and I exchanged a smile, and he squeezed my thigh. This was getting interesting. Maybe I would be winning the bet after all. By the time we finished our tester flight set of beers, we were all feeling a little happier.

“We gonna try to see if we can get in a tour of the Oxford?” I asked as I glanced at the time on my phone.

“I’m up for it. We’ve got time,” Evan nodded.

“Ugh. Actually, Is just filled my inbox with pages to proof. I can’t. I’ll head back to the hotel and just see you guys tomorrow,” Kristine sighed loudly as she angrily tapped at the screen of her work phone. Isobel was notorious for sending emails at the most inconvenient times. She never worked normal hours, often sending back annotated pages in the middle of the night.

“Want some help? Two sets of eyes might help you get through it faster,” Sam offered as he placed his hand on Kristine’s back. She didn’t flinch away or step out of his touch. Obviously, she’d gotten over her animosity toward him from earlier.

“Just us, baby?” Evan asked me as I wrapped myself around his arm, nuzzling his shoulder.

“Sounds perfect,” I nodded, my voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. It was nice to spend time with him doing things typical couples would do. He hadn’t even shown any signs of his anxiety cropping up. He was almost a different person than when we ventured out to the farmer’s market months ago.

“We’ll see you two nauseating lovebirds later,” Kristine sighed as she tucked her phone away and stood from the table.

Evan

Denver

Sam and Kristine returned to the hotel in an Uber after we said our goodbyes at the brewery. Chase and I headed out on foot in the other direction—to the Oxford Hotel. A tour was just about to start when we arrived, but I was awed by the architecture and restorations they’d done to the building.

“Oh wow, look at her,” Chase sighed, and I followed her eyes. There was a couple getting wedding photos taken in the lobby.

“There is a wedding today, so we’ll have to sneak into the ballroom quickly, but we can get started,” the tour guide explained as he ushered us toward a set of double doors.

Chase had a hard time taking her eyes off the gorgeous couple getting their pictures taken, seemingly fascinated by how they interacted with each other.

“This place is so romantic...” she sighed as we stood along the edge of the ballroom, watching the staff get everything for the reception into place.

Despite our packed schedule, my romantic plans for Chase were coming together, Adrian surprisingly working behind the scenes to get things set up for me once we headed back to the East Coast.

The ring my father gave me in Chicago was always tucked into the breast pocket of my blazer in a little pouch next to my heart. I couldn’t risk Chase finding it before I was ready, so I’d left the box with him for safekeeping.

A few times over the last few days, I’d had to halt and divert wandering hands as Chase hugged or touched me, but I don’t think she had any idea that a proposal was coming.

I had a hard time paying attention to the tour guide as he told us the history of the building and the several renovations it’d undergone in the last twenty years. My hand kept drifting to my pocket, fingering the ring inside.

The dreamy look in Chase’s eyes made me second-guess my plans for New York. I was ready to throw it out of the window and get down on one knee now. But I had a goal and couldn’t wait to see it through. We just had to get through the next stop on the tour—Seattle––first.

“Wait, where are we going today? I thought we were going to a bookstore,” I asked nervously. We had arrived in Seattle, and this unexpected, last-minute surprise was unsettling. My ability to cope with the demands being put upon me had been tested, but this was not something I agreed to when we reviewed the schedules.

“Change of plans,” Diana shrugged. “Adrian set this one up, and I’ve got to say... with the subject of the book, it makes sense. He even sent a package to Sam with outfits for the both of you.”

Kristine stifled a laugh as she looked over at Sam, and I was deeply worried by the shit-eating grins on their faces.

An hour later, the five of us exited the hired car in front of our next venue. From the outside, it looked pretty tame.

I was pulling at the seams on the sides of my newest pair of leather pants. Kelly would have a field day if she knew I now owned four pairs of leather pants.

“I feel like a naughty librarian,” Chase laughed as she pulled at the hem of her mid-thigh, flared leather skirt.

“You look...” I blew out a breath and took a good look at her outfit. She wore a fitted white T-shirt tucked into the skirt, her hair curled in loose waves, sky-high black ankle boots, equally bright red lipstick, and a pair of red glasses perched on her nose. I was afraid these tight pants weren’t going to contain my reaction.

“Like a hot fucking badass author with a sexy boy toy,” Kristine laughed as she smacked me on the ass. I glared at her, not wanting anyone but Chase’s hand to be doing the spanking, but she was unfazed.

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