Page 40 of Always Been You

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

As if on cue, her stomach growled.

"I'll take that as a yes." His mouth lifted in a crooked grin.

"Don't you need to get back to Whisper Lake?"

The traffic was only going to get worse the later he waited.

His face was still unreadable as he said, "I'm not going back."

"What?"

"I'm your ride."

"My ride?"

"I told you, I drove Kade here so he could drive Ali back. And I'm driving you back."

"I'm not leaving until Sunday."

"I know."

"It's Friday."

"I know."

It seemed as if Jess's heart started playing Double Dutch at that moment. "Where are you staying?"

Ethan glanced at the queen bed that Ali had been lying in when Jess left.

"You're staying here?"

Ethan shrugged. "I tried to get a room, but everything is booked because of the conference."

"Convention," she corrected again. Her voice shook, but she hoped that he didn't hear it. "There are other hotels."

"Are you scared to have a sleepover with me?"

Damn. Why did that question have to sound so freaking sexy coming from Ethan's perfect lips? The lips she'd been fantasizing about kissing again ever since she'd felt their magic. And that's what those lips held. Magic. His kiss had some kind of voodoo power over her. They were like Pringles, and now that she popped she couldn't stop. She craved them.

And she didn't trust herself to be alone in a hotel room with him. She might resort to begging for him to put her out of her misery. But she couldn't say that.

So, she lied. "No. But if you snore, I'm going to smother you with a pillow. I need my sleep."

"I don't snore," he spoke with a calm authority that had her insides doing somersaults.

"We'll see." She shrugged and set the bag down on the table as her stomach growled again.

"How does Winston's sound?"

Jess's mouth watered at the mention of the name. It was the best steakhouse in the city. Kingston had told her it was near impossible to get a reservation. Which meant there was no way that they were going to get a table.

"Amazing. But it's Friday night, and we don't have a reservation."

Ethan didn't blink. "It's not a problem."

Jess couldn't help but smile. "How is it ‘not a problem’?" she asked, mimicking his voice.

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