Page 6 of The Proposal
“You won’t if you keep it up,” Ella says. “I know you talked him into going with you to Miami. He went, so it’s his fault. But you’re the freaking Pied Piper of bad decisions.”
Renn sighs, turning on his playful smile. “Look, El, I’m sorry. I should’ve consulted you first.Of course. But my brother Tate scored tickets to a Beau McCrae concert, and they’re impossible to get. Can you really blame us?” He bats his lashes. “Please forgive me.”
Ella growls at him as Brock pulls her back onto his lap.
“Tickets to Beau McCrae? Sounds like I need to meet Tate,” I say.
Renn turns slowly toward me and lifts a brow. “Tate’s boring.”
The sentence sounds harmless, a vague description of a sibling being altogether uninteresting.But it isn’t. There’s a challenge embedded into the casualness of those two words—and I’m not sure why it’s so damn hot. But the fire he lit inside me earlier has been doused with a bucket of gasoline.
“Really?” I ask, smiling sweetly. “Because Tate soundssuperinteresting to me.And impressive. Beau McCrae tickets?Wow.”
Renn’s jaw sets into a hard line.That’s the real wow here.
“Oh, he’s impressive, Blakely,” Ella says, goading Renn. “You should follow Tate on Social. It’s a good, shirtless time.”
Brock buries his head in her neck, making her squeal.
“Ooh, will do,” I say.
“Do you even followme?” Renn turns his palms to face the sky, annoyed.
“I don’t know.”Absolutely, I do.“Doyoufollowme?”
He drops his hands to his thighs. “I follow three people, and two of them pay me to.”
“Okay, so the short answer isno,you don’t.”
“Let’s get back to the suite subject,” Brock says. “It’s hot as hell out here.”
I drag my eyes from Renn’s and face my brother. “I don’t know why you think you can just barge in and take over my birthday party. It’s rude.”
“Because I’m me.”
“This was a girls’ weekend.”And my last chance to be wild and free. “You weren’t invited.”
Renn stands, stretching his arms over his head. It takes everything in me not to watch the hem of his shirt slip up his abdomen. “I invited him.”
What? “Um, you weren’t invited either.”
“I saw your face light up when you saw me coming,” he says, his smile smug. “Don’t pretend you want me to leave.”
I’ll ignore that. “We have plans tonight. Don’t we, Ella?”
She snickers at the memory of our earlier conversation—when she was adamant that Brock could kick rocks. “Yeah. That’s true. We do. Or we did.”
“We do.”
“So incorporate us into your plans.” Renn takes a step closer. “I’m a good time. Promise.”
I bet you are. Not that I’ll ever find out.
“Careful,” I say, tilting my chin to look up at him towering over me. “You’ve promised me that before and never followed through.”
His eyes blaze. “Tell me when, cutie.”
Our gazes slam together. The air between us crackles.
