Page 68 of Down & Dirty

Cory hesitated, his eyes on me for a long second while I stood frozen to the floor. But then a sort of heated affection bled into his gaze and he leaned down to place a delicate kiss on my lips, nothing like the one from the other night. This was reserved, careful even. And I could have sworn I felt him tremble when he cupped my cheek with his palm. He held himself there just a second longer before he pulled back to look into my eyes.

Elle’s tiny squeak behind us made us both turn around. She had the roses clasped to her chest, beaming at me with glittery eyes. “Congratulations.” She handed me back the flowers.

“Thank you,” I said, practically rolling my eyes. It was as if she’d forgotten this was all fake.

But as Cory pulled me closer and placed a lingering kiss to the top of my head, I could sort of understand her confusion.

CHAPTER 23

SKYLAR

“What’s that?” I asked as Cory and I got out of the car he’d hired to take us to the airport.

He gave me a half smile, laughing under his breath. “It’s a coat, Sky. Have you been in California so long you’ve forgotten they make these?”

“No, jerk. I know what a coat is. But that looks like a woman’s coat?” And it was the second one he had draped over his arm while the driver pulled the rest of our bags from the trunk. Even my earlier version of Cory, vain as it was, wouldn’t have neededtwocoats for a five-day trip.

Cory paused to hand the driver a tip and thank him before he turned back to me. “Did you bring a coat Sky?”

It was with tremendous restraint that I released a long breath, instead of letting my frustration get the better of me. It was too early in this trip to start fighting with him.

“Of course,” I said calmly, holding up the jacket in my hand.

He nodded, stepping up onto the sidewalk beside me. “Yes, I saw that. It’s a very nice fall jacket. Almost a shacket, if you will. Shirt, jacket combo.”

“I know what a shacket is.” I ground my teeth at the arrogance in histone. And on his face. But even still, there was a playfulness in his eyes that kept my temper from truly building.

“Well, I hate to break it to you babe, but that thing isn’t going to cut it where we’re going. And since I don’t fancy a trip to the ER with you for hypothermia or frostbite, I figured I’d make sure you were properly equipped.”

He held the coat up by the shoulders, letting me see how nice it was. Thick cuffs at the sleeves, with little thumb loops. Dense down filling and a hood with faux-fur edging. The thing was long, as if he expected us to be going to the artic or something. But all my irritation quickly evaporated.

He’d brought me a coat.

“That was,” I looked down, a little embarrassed I hadn’t planned better. After packing for Micah’s trip with Tommy, I’d barely given a thought to the weather in Maine. I’d been too worried about making sure I had outfits that would look good on camera. And quite frankly bulky sweaters are hard to style. “That was very thoughtful of you. Thank you,” I finished, looking up at him apologetically.

He dropped the coat down and reached for me, cupping my cheek and tracing his thumb across my blush. “No worries. I just wanted you to be comfortable.”

It might have been in reference to the weather, but I got the sense he meant more than that. He was just as nervous about me coming home with him as I was. And I appreciated that too.

“I will be,” I reassured him, holding out my hands for the coat. He handed it over, a triumphant grin on his face as we gathered the rest of our things and headed for the entrance.

“There are gloves in the pockets,” he said coyly as the doors slid open.

I could only laugh. He thought he was so cute. And dammit, he was.

CHAPTER 24

CORY

The short line at the rental car counter was a blessed sight after such a long flight. But before we got there, my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I glanced down at it quickly, pulling up short at the name on the screen.

I turned to Sky, who’d stopped beside. “Hey, can you pick up the keys?” I fished my credit card out of my wallet. “It’s all booked and paid for. I just need to get this.”

“Sure,” she said, taking the card and heading for the desk while I swiped to accept the call.

“Happy Thanksgiving,” I said, shifting my bag to the other shoulder.

Cass’s smooth voice floated through the receiver. “Happy Thanksgiving to you too. You headed to Maine?”

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