Page 60 of Love Unexpected
“Hey, do you have a quick second? I wanted to run something by you.”
“Sure.” I followed him into the living room. He’d also changed into pajamas—plaid flannel pants and a Red Renegade t-shirt I’d never seen before. I itched to ask him about it. Where had it come from? Which concert tour? What year? But I wasn’t allowed to like Red Renegade. Not until I’d assumed my identity as Ana.
I dropped the bag that held my toothbrush and face wash onto the chair and followed Isaac to the couch where his laptop was set up. But not before noticing the way his eyes moved down my body as I approached. My hands moved to the inch of skin exposed at the base of my tank. What would it be like for him to touch that skin? For him to...
Isaac cleared his throat, effectively snapping my attention back to the moment. “Right,” he said. “So I just wanted you to see...” His words trailed off as he started clicking on his laptop.
I dropped onto the couch next to him, knowing distance was probably what was needed, but still sitting close enough for our legs to touch. It did very little to help cool the heat in my cheeks, but then, from the looks of it, I wasn’t the only one who was flushed.
Isaac wouldn’t meet my eye, so I followed the direction of his gaze to his laptop. A picture of some sort of prize pack filled the screen.
“What’s this?” I finally said, willing a giant dose of normalcy into my voice. I was fine. Everything was fine. So the room was bursting with sexual tension. We were adults. We could control ourselves.
Isaac cleared his throat one more time, his hands gripping his knees. “This is a prize pack we gave away on the show a few weeks back. A new PlayStation, the newest FIFA soccer game, and a soccer ball signed by Rao Cortez.”
“Okay.”
“I was thinking I could give one to Shiloh.”
Understanding dawned. “Oh, that’s an amazing idea. He would love it.”
“Does he have a PlayStation?”
“An older one, I think?”
“Awesome. Sweet. It obviously won’t get here for a couple of days, but I’ve already sent an email to PlayStation and to Cortez’s PR people to see if we can put together one more prize pack. I’m positive they’ll say yes. The spot on the show was a big success for them.”
“That’s really amazing of you,” I said. He wasnotmaking it easier for me to feel less attracted to him.
“It’s nothing,” he said dismissively. “Just a few emails.”
“Still. Shiloh could use some cheering up right now. This will feel huge to him.”
Isaac grinned and my heart squeezed. “So I was thinking I could sneak into his room in the morning once he’s up and dressed, surprise him, tell him about the prizes, then get Rao on a video call to wish him good luck with his game. Of course, I’d need you to be filming the whole thing on your phone, so I can use my phone to make the—”
“Wait, hold up. You want to film it?” The warmth in my chest cooled just slightly. Becauseof coursehe wanted to film it.
He shrugged. “Yeah. Of course. Fans love this kind of stuff.” He studied my face for a moment. “But maybe that’s not the best idea this time?” he said slowly.
I truly believed Isaac’s motives were pure. But did he genuinely feel like every single thing he did needed to be for public consumption?
“This is why we left Tyler back in Nashville though, right? No cameras?”
“Right, but this wouldn’t be a part of the road trip, it would just be a side thing. And Shiloh would get to be on the show. He’d love that, right?”
“What Shiloh would love is meetingyou.And not because he’s part of some promotional opportunity. You don’t even have to give him anything, Isaac. Just talk to him. Ask him about his soccer. Spend five minutes interested in his life and just be present. Not because you have to. But because you want to.”
He scoffed and leaned back, his posture defensive. “Thatiswhat I do. That’s always what I’ve—” He sighed and didn’t speak for a long moment. “At least thatusedto be what I do.”
I reached a hand out and placed it on his knee, willing myself not to tremble from the contact. “You do good work, Isaac. I don’t mean to doubt your motives. But when there is always some promotional thing worked in, when it always has to involve people, viewers, seeing what you’re doing, your motives might get lost on the people you’re interacting with. What would it feel like if this was a moment that’s just about Shiloh? Andyou,too.You can have meaningful moments off camera too, you know.”
He kept his gaze down for a long moment even as he slid his hand over the top of mine, the one still resting on his knee. “You like to challenge me, don’t you?”
I swallowed, feeling like I couldn’t quite catch my breath. “Is that a good thing?” I whispered.
He met my gaze, his lips lifting into a small grin. “I haven’t decided yet.” He shifted forward, angling his body and bringing his face closer to mine. There was a question in his eyes. And also...desire.Lots of it. I wasn’t rolling in experience when it came to reading a man’s desire just from the look in his eyes, but there was no confusing what I saw in Isaac’s expression. He leaned forward until his nose brushed against mine, lifting his hands to either side of my face. “What’s happening, Rosie?”
Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to let an opportunity like this one pass me by. Forget the road trip and the stupid promotional stops. Isaac wanted me and the blood pumping through my veins told me I wanted him too. I leaned into his touch, tipping my face until our lips finally touched. The kiss was... explosive. Raging. A torrent of heat and desire that nearly overwhelmed me. Isaac’s hands slid down the bare skin of my arms then around my waist where his fingers slipped under the hem of my tank top, pressing against my back. I leaned even closer—any space between us felt like too much—my hands moving to his chest then over his shoulders and up to his face.
