Page 66 of Hat Trick

I tip my wineglass to my lips and down it in onego.

“You had me thinking about something the other day,” I say, setting the glass down on the marble and pushing onto myfeet.

Gwen’s blue eyes follow me. “You mean, you can think about something else besides yourpenis?”

Laughter climbs my throat. “Minx.”

She lifts her hands. “Just asking a question for womankindeverywhere.”

“Yeah, well, how does womankind feel about mypenis?”

My cock strains against my jeans when she trails her gaze down my chest to my crotch. “We like him, a lot.” Her mouth tilts upward. “He’s just so damnpretty.”

I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with a woman over talk about dicks. Hell, it’d almost be preferable if thatweren’tthe case. But with her blue eyes shining with mischief and her wineglass still clasped in one hand, I know that there will never be another woman who matches me like Gwendoes.

In some subconscious way, I’ve known that for years. It’s why I only ever involved myself in superficial relationships where the “deepest” we got was just burrowing under the covers. From the start, Gwen has captivated me like no one else—showing, in return, that I’m the right man for her has proved marginallyharder.

With a finger to her chin, I angle her face to best receive my kiss. My lips slip over hers, soft and easy, and my palm moves to the back of her head. She moans against my mouth. I hear theclink!of her glass hitting the marble just before she turns fully in the stool so that she can rest her palms on myhips.

I try to imagine what we look like together—a tatted-up man with hard edges but with, according to her, pretty-boy model looks. A redhead with smooth, creamy skin and the kindest heart behind her steel exteriorwalls.

A guy from Southie. A woman from Boston’s upperelite.

Romeo and Juliet, Boston-style.

I nip at her bottom lip and then pull back. Her skin is flushed, and I doubt I’m any better when I rasp, “I have something for you. Then, after that, be sure you have a plan for your fantasy kiss. I’m going to deliver on it, one-hundredpercent.”

I leave her sitting on that stool, her fingers pressed against her lips, her legs spread because I’d taken my place between them. The urge to turn back around and make love to her on the kitchen island isstrong.

But she deserves something from me first—it belonged to her father and now it should belong toher.

26

Gwen

Marshall reentersthe kitchen with a small cardboard box and a blank expression on his face. Without a word, he pulls up the stool beside mine and sits down. He’s lost his ball cap, and his brown hair looks like he’s spent the last five minutes raking through it with hisfingers.

Is henervous?

I eye the closed box on hislap.

Should I benervous?

Swallowing hard, I force the question that’s begging to be spoken. “Is this a partinggift?”

Pewter eyes blink back at me. “Why the hell would you thinkthat?”

“I-I don’t know.” But I do know. In the past, my relationships have always come to a close with some sort of trinket. Bracelets, necklaces, gift cards—yes,gift cards—and a host of other items have all been shoved into my hand as the man I was dating decided it was time to go on his way. The fact that all those men left doesn’t bother me. Our arrangements were always temporary, at best. No, it was the fact that they felt inclined to give me a little “something” before they took off that made me feelcheap.

I’m not proud of the way I lived my life for so long. Even so, when a guy you’ve dated presses a gift card to The Cheesecake Factory into your hand on his way out the door, you grow accustomed to feeling . . .trashy.

“Gwen.” Marshall’s hand lands on my thigh and gives it a quick squeeze. “Look at me,honey.”

I risk a peek up at his handsomeface.

With his brown hair tousled beyond repair and his gray eyes practically searing me with their intensity, I know that whatever he says next is the realdeal.

“I’ve wanted you for six years.” The words are said softly but with a sharp edge. “There’s no fucking way I’d walk away now, not when I finally have you where I wantyou.”

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