Page 59 of Wicked Games We Play

I stood on my tiptoes and crashed my mouth into his, silencing his words and kissing him hard. His tension softened the instant our lips touched, and he kissed me back, melting into me.

Breaking our contact, I slid my hands down his arms before dancing away from him. Pushing the leaves aside to make an opening to step through, I turned back over my shoulder, giving him my best flirty smile. “I love you, Noah. Now let’s go inside.”

* * *

“Noah!”Elle shrieked from across the reception, thrusting the plate with cake she was eating into Ryder’s chest. His hands immediately grabbed onto it as she took off running toward us. I took a few steps back and leaned against a table, watching the man I love reunite with his best friend after months of not talking.

The whole my ex-husband’s new wife was my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend and childhood best friend thing probably should have raised some red flags, but evidently one of my favorite colors was red. Also, just to add one more thing to the list, I used to be close friends with her, too.

Elle’s dress made it difficult for her to hurry, but she was laser-focused on making it to Noah and the moment she was in his orbit, she flew into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I can’t believe you’re here! How are you here?”

Noah returned her embrace, clutching her in a massive hug, and chuckled. He pressed a kiss to her hair before taking a step back to release her. “Sorry to crash the party, but did you really think I’d miss your wedding, Elle? Obviously, I cut all the corners I could and half-assed my assignment just to make it back in time.”

Playfully, she punched him in the chest. “Oh sure, just blame it on me.”

“You, and maybe someone else, too.”

She peeked in my direction, a small giggle rumbling through her chest as she did. “Makes sense.”

Noah followed her line of sight, his eyes fixating on my lips before he pulled his hungry gaze back up and tossed me a wink.

“What does?” he asked, turning his attention back to Elle.

“Why you smell like sex,” she laughed, shrugging.

I froze in place, my eyes growing wide. The feeling of being caught washed over my body, making my blood run cold, even though we hadn’t technically been caught. At least, not caught in the act. My mouth popped open to say something, but a roar of Noah’s laughter stopped me, directing my attention to my focus to him.

He met my stare, speaking to Elle as he concentrated on me. The room faded with his words, and it was suddenly just us. “It’d been five months without my light in the dark. She was my priority.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN

“Mom! Your friend is here!” Jordan’s muffled voice came through the closed door, yelling for Lily.

When I rang the doorbell, the curtains on the window by the door immediately flew to the side and his face came into view for milliseconds before the curtain shifted closed again. A silent laughter rumbled in my chest while I waited for Lily to open the door.

Lily had introduced Jordan and me to each other at his dad’s wedding a week ago, but tonight would be our formal introduction with dinner at their home. Tonight would be my ultimate test. If Jordan didn’t give me his blessing to date his mom, well, I’d be royally fucked. He was the man of the house.

Life without Lily for five months had been like living in hell. My undercover assignment had been, as far as I was concerned, a complete and utter joke. Because I was the new guy at the metal plantation, I needed time to earn the trust of those around me before they would spill the secrets that I needed to hear. I became someone they could not only trust, but one who they turned to for a respected opinion, which I found laughable. But, it allowed me to learn who was who, which led to me gathering all the intel I needed to bring back to the department.

Learning that it was the Italian mob who ran the metal plantation had been a surprise. Though I never caught a glimpse of the man behind the curtain, the one who ran the show, I learned that their operation was run by a man who they referred to as fallen angel, or sometimes justcaduto, and they were laundering money. A fuckton of money, from what I concluded. Gathering enough intel to come home was like pulling teeth, and the assignment had taken two months longer than expected. I practically danced with excitement when I got clearance from Wes that could get the fuck out of that miserable hellhole.

The worst part about everything was not being able to speak with Lily. If we could have communicated more frequently, it would have been bearable, but for the safety of everyone, I did what was asked of me and kept communications to an absolute minimum.

Except for that one night. I had to hear her voice. It was either call or get in the car that minute and drive to her, which would have been riskier.

Adjusting the bouquet of pink peonies in my hand, I rubbed a shaky palm over the stubble on my face, a semblance of the beard that was growing back. Finally, the lock on the door disengaged and Lily opened the door.

“Hey, you,” she said with a smile, pushing up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around my neck.

I dipped my head to hers, holding her lips prisoner as I pinned her to the doorframe and kissed her like I hadn’t just seen her yesterday. When we broke apart, we were both breathless.

“What’s for dinner?” I asked with a smirk, loving the way her lips swelled and her cheeks flushed.

She swatted at my chest, and I caught her wrist, pressing the stems of the peonies into her grasp.

“They’re beautiful, Noah, thank you. Dinner is Italian sausage. Your favorite,” she quipped, “and for dessert, I have your other favorite.”

“Lava cake?”

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