Page 59 of The Off-Limits Rule: Extended Edition

After tonight, though, I’m buckling back down. Lucy and I will take a major step back from each other until I get everything settled with Drew. I’ll help her show off a little in front of her baby daddy, and then it’s back to friends only.

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be happy to drive by your place right now and make sure everything looks all right if you want.” In fact, the door to the house is opening, and Lucy steps out, allowing me to confirm that, yeah…everything’s looking real good.

“I thought you were on your way to pick up your date?” Drew asks.

“Oh yeah, I am. Your place is kind of…in the neighborhood, so it’s cool.” Ah, shit. I’m becoming a worse liar as I get older.

“You all right? You sound a bit weird all of a sudden.”

Byweirdhe means I’m breathing heavy and slowly losing my mind at the sight of Lucy in a little black dress. Must be new. This one definitely wasn’t in her closet the other day. I gotta get off this phone before he somehow assesses my blood pressure over the line. “Yeah, I’m good. Listen, I gotta go, man. Don’t worry, I’ll watch out for Lucy.”Won’t take my freaking eyes off her for one second.

Her blue gaze meets mine through the windshield right as the wind catches her long auburn curls. She’s wearing black flats tonight instead of heels, but her curves still sway with every step. Now that I know what those curves feel like under my hands, they are twice as attractive.

She opens the door, and I put my finger to my lips to keep Lucy quiet just before Drew says, “Cool, man. Thanks for looking out for her.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I flip him the mental bird because he’s completely ruining my night of justified betrayal by dumping a load of sentimental crap on me. I’m no longer thinking about Drew, though, because Lucy steps up into my truck and the hem of her dress hitches up a few inches when she settles onto the bench.

“Yep, super-good friend over here. Talk to you later, Drew.” I hang up and let out a long, exaggerated groan as my head drops back against the headrest. I roll it side to side and find a concerned-looking Lucy as she tilts her face to the same angle as mine.

“Hi,” she says simply.

“Hi.” I grin and take her in completely (just once) from head totoe. My eyes take a nice slow perusal inch by inch, and I’m not proud of it, but I whimper like a sad dog that’s begging for a treat it can’t have. “You look gorgeous.”

When my gaze reaches her face again, Lucy’s lips are slightly parted, and her eyes are…you guessed it, wide. She snaps her mouth shut, swallows, and then proclaims, “I’m wearing hideous underwear.”

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the reasons I’m falling for Lucy.

“Not going to help, but I applaud your efforts. Let’s do this, Marshall.”

Chapter 27

Lucy

Do you know what’s awkward? Me and Cooper.

We both sit stiff as boards and don’t say more than two words at a time for our entire twenty-minute drive.

“Good day?”

“Yep.”

“Levi good?”

“Yep. You?”

“Mm-hmm.”

His knuckles are white from where he’s gripping the steering wheel. I think maybe he’s upset at me, or having second thoughts about this fake date, until we speed into the parking lot and Cooper all but jumps out while the tires are still rolling. He flings my door open, reaches in, unbuckles me, and then tugs me out. I squeal, trying to keep up with him as he puts his hand on my lower back and propels me toward the restaurant. “Cooper! What are you doing?”

He doesn’t answer, only barrels us through the front doors. The moment they close behind us, he grabs my hand and yanks me into a somewhat secluded corner of the waiting area. He puts his hands on my jaw, backing me against the wall. “There,” he says with a mischievous grin. “We’re officially on our fake date. The off-limits rule is suspended, and for the next two hours you’re all mine.”

I suck in a breath as Cooper dips his head and lays a hot kiss on the base of my neck, making sparks fly across my skin. “Cooper!We’re in a restaurant.”

He stacks another kiss above the last, making himself a little trail up my neck. “You smell incredible. How do you always smell like this? Sweet and soft and like berries…or…I can’t figure it out.”

“People are staring!” I say in a whisper-hiss, but I feel my desire to care losing the fight as Cooper’s hand slowly glides from my shoulder down to my fingers, where mine and his intertwine.

“Good. It’ll really sell this relationship to Trent.”

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