Page 120 of Right Number, Wrong Man
I’ve never beenone for dancing. Now I reckon I just never had the right partner, cause with Hailey it felt right.
She fit perfectly into my arms and while we danced, her bright smile and misty eyes were meant for me. Just me.
Not for Mike. Not for Jax.
For me.
There was something soft in her gaze I’ve never seen before and I let myself get swept away by it—until that gussied up bitch interrupted us. I would’ve liked to tell her my opinion in some harsher words, but I didn’t have it in me to ruin the party mood.
I tried to rekindle the spark between Hailey and me on a walk around the sunflower field, but our conversation never amounted to more than talk about Gracie. No luck bringing up her love life, either.
After the incident on the dance floor, we both didn’t feel like going back to the party. And now that we’re standing in her hotel room, the king size bed looks awfullysmall.
Hailey groans, massaging her temples. “I’m going to kill my best friend! Why didn’t she book a separate room for my plus one? I mean, seriously…One bed! What is this, some cheesy ass romance novel?”
I chuckle. “Sleeping in the same bed as me makes you think of romance?”
She laughs and rolls her eyes, pink scrawling across her cheeks. “Slip of the tongue. I meanthorrornovel, duh!”
She’s spot on, though. This situationisromantic—with a touch of horror on account of the negligible fact that I had to murder my own brother and a serial killer to finally get a date with her.
Aplatonicdate.
Though that last dance didn’t feel all too platonic to me with her raspberry breath on my mouth and our hips pressed together. I don’t have a clue what I would’ve done if we didn’t get interrupted.
Probably kissed her, got her mad, get slapped, ruined our friendship, and blew my chance to find out about her lover boy.
Overall, though, tonight has been like straight from a Hallmark movie, including the meddling best friend. I can’t take credit for Andrea’s ingenuity, but I do appreciate it. I ought to send her flowers with a thank you card.
Putting the half-empty bottle of bourbon on a side table by the window, I plop into the armchair next to it. “No big deal. I’ll sleep here and you take the bed.”
Honestly, I wanna crawl beneath the sheets with her and explore every inch of her body with my tongue until she comes in my mouth.
Hailey pouts. “That armchair looks uncomfortable.”
“Had worse. Being a soldier ain’t no vacation and I’ve spent days outdoors in any weather.”
“Well, you’re not on a sniper missionright now, so we have a problem. I can’t let you sleep sitting up and I can’t let you drive home either. You’ve had too much to drink. I’m pretty sure the hotel is fully booked, too.” She sighs. “But we’re civil now.Friends. We can handle this like adults.”
I get up, taking off my Stetson. “How ‘bout this: We both take the bed, but we sleep on top. Dressed. Then you got nothing to fear.” I hang my hat onto the bedpost and offer my hand to shake. “Deal?”
“Pah, I’m not afraid of anything! And I’m sure as hell not afraid of you!” She gestures wildly and I bite back a laugh. “I just thought it’d be super weird for you to sleep in the same bed as your brother’s widow.”
Cute, she still thinks I got morals.
I shrug. “Ain’t a problem for me.”
“Okay! Fine. Cool. That’s totally fineandcool with me.” She nods to herself, chewing on her lip. “I’ll get ready for bed then.”
“And while you’re doing that, I’ll grab my bag from the car.”
“Okay. Fine. Cool,” Hailey repeats, staring at me like a doe in the headlights. “I’ll have a shower!” She spins and grabs her weekender from the bed before locking herself in the bathroom.
My heart races when I leave the room, my courage evaporating with every step.
I’m spending the night in one bed with my dream woman, but I can’t touch her cause I gotta play the kind, understanding friend.
Fuck me.Or rather, nobody’s gonna fuck anybody—and that’s exactly the problem.
