Page 50 of The Payback Plan
Which meant, she was going to have to stay and suck it up. Redouble her commitment to the payback plan. What Oliver had done was worth more than one lousy month of irritating inconveniences. She needed to stick to the plan, see it through.Thenshe could walk away.
You’ve been a godsend.That’s what he’d said. Well… she’d see about that.
Lifting her head, Paige stared at herself in the mirror again, her curls rustling as they settled around her face. ‘You can do this,’ she told her reflection. ‘It was just a kiss.’
An alcohol induced one at that and tomorrow morning she’d shrug it off like it was nothing and they could put it behind them like two mature adults.
But first, she needed to brush her teeth one more time.
* * *
After a night of half-formed dreams involving Oliver kissing her in just about every nook and cranny in the houseandevery nook and cranny on her person, Paige woke not only feeling guilty but also horny. The taste she’d sampled last night had morphed into something far more erotic in her dreams, making her excruciatingly aware of her body.
Even the damn sheets tangled around her bare legs were weirdly stimulating.
Gritting her teeth, she grabbed her phone and navigated to the WhatsApp group as she did every morning. There was the usual overnight chatter full of plans and logistics. Bella was in the process of setting up a king blow to Chase that she was excited about and Astrid seemed to have the Aiden situation under control. Paige wanted to join in the conversation but guilt weighed heavily on her shoulders.
Bella was getting on with her part of the deal – getting even with Chase for Astrid. The other two were also making inroads, even if just in the planning stages. And what was she doing? Kissing Oliver bloody Prendergast. She was not only failing to uphold her end of the bargain, she wasconsortingwith the freaking enemy.
Paige shut the app down and groaned into the pillow. She couldn’t bring herself to join in, not when she’d done something so egregious. She felt like the worst kind of friend. But, even more than that, she felt like all three of them would be able to read between the lines and know something was up.
For now, avoidance seemed the best strategy. At least until she could get some distance and perspective from the kiss. Although God alone knew how she was going to do that when her body tingled at the very thought of it and she was living in close proximity to the guy who’d dished it out.
A guy who’d, yes, jilted her friend at the aisle but who’d also, without hesitation, opened his door to her. And a hamster. And a dog. And been very sweet with a bunch of old ladies. A guy who was still struggling with the loss of his father and unpacking a lifetime of baggage in what had been a complicated relationship.
A guy who, had she met independently, she probably would have liked – a lot. Hell, even Bella had said he wasn’t a bad guy.
Buthehaddone a bad thing and that should be her only focus.
* * *
Oliver finally appeared at ten in the morning. Paige knew he was on the approach before she heard him because Pavarotti stopped running on his wheel and rushed to the side of his cage like a groupie. Then, as if to confirm it, the fine hairs on her nape prickled the way her skin had been prickling all morning at the thought of him.
‘Morning,’ he said from behind her somewhere, the click of Casper’s toenails audible as he got closer.
His greeting sounded pained, his voice a little husky and Paige smiled at the distinct lack ofgoodin front of his rather stilted greeting. Excellent, he had a hangover. She hoped it was a doozy.
Sure, she may have kissed him back but he’d started it and she waspissed.
Closing down her browser window, she took a steadying breath and pushed the chair back hoping for a horrendous scaping noise but it glided with effortless Scandi efficiency and quiet – of course.
‘Coffee?’ she asked, sparing him a quick glance only as she entered the kitchen where he’d leaned his ass against the edge of a counter top. Casper wagged his tail at her.
‘God, yes please,’ he muttered, shoving a hand through his sexily dishevelled bed hair.
Of course. When she was hungover she woke up looking like a scarecrow.
Turning her back on the way his Calvin Klein boxers rode high on thighs that would have been perfectly at home in an anatomy textbook, Paige clunked her mug on the counter as loudly as she could without breaking it. Pulling one off the nearby mug tree, she slapped it down too.
‘Must you make so much noise?’ he grouched.
Turning, she shot him a sweet smile. ‘Hungover?’
He eyed herSorry for having great tits and correct opinionsT-shirt warily, choosing to grunt in response to her question and not comment on the slogan.
Grimacing, he said, ‘Who knew vintage cognac had a kick like a mule?’ Closing his eyes for a beat or two, he opened them again. ‘I don’t suppose you have anything for a headache, do you? I could have sworn there was a packet of pills in the main bathroom.’
There had been. She’d tossed them out this morning praying like hell they’d be needed.Ask and you shall receive. Clearly, she was doing God’s work.
