Page 76 of Most Likely to Score
“I’ll help you brainstorm, but I think you know what to do,” Trevor says.
I complete the thought. “Be honest.”
That’s who I want to be—the guy who handles things right. I want to do the hard work to earn the rewards. That’s what my dad taught me.
In this case, the hard work lies in communication, being open with people I care about, people I do business with.
But that also means that if Liam cuts me off, I have to be willing to let the deal go. Saying the words out loud tonight for the first time—that I’m in love with her—yields a stark and beautiful kind of clarity to the dilemma.
I might want both Jillian and the contract. But if I can’t have both, I choose her.
First, though, I have a wedding to attend.
30
JONES
It’s like prom, only so much better because I like Jillian way more than Cassie Perkins, the girl I took to the dance. We had a fun time, danced to a couple songs, laughed at a few jokes. But I didn’t feel this stirring of excitement down to my bones when I picked her up.
The limo Harlan and I rented stops at Jillian’s home in Hayes Valley. Dressed in my dark navy tailored suit, I bound up the steps and ring the bell. A minute later, Jillian appears at the door, and I’m speechless. I drink her in, and I want to eat her up.
Sexy but classy, the black dress she wears clings to her, hugging her curves alluringly. The V of her neckline offers the tiniest peek of her cleavage, a hint of flesh. I groan my appreciation. “I want to take that off. Kiss you from head to toe, get my mouth all over every square inch of your skin, skip the wedding, and spend the night with you.” I lean closer. “Inside you. Exploring you. Having you.”
Her lips part, and her breath comes in an unsteady rush. Her hand moves to her chest. “If you talk to me like that, I don’t know how I’ll make it through the wedding.”
“If you keep looking at me like that, I don’t know how I will.”
“How do I look at you?”
“Like you want all the same things.”
Gripping the railing in one hand, she answers in a soft, sexy voice, “You know I do.”
Somehow, I muster the strength to tear myself away from her porch and the possibility of what’s behind door number one—her, alone with me, tonight. I offer her an arm and walk her to the car.
Harlan lounges in the back, tipping his imaginary hat as he says hello. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse that I picked him up first. I decide on blessing for now, because maybe he’s the roadblock I need.
We pick up Katie next, and as she slides into the car wearing a pale pink dress, it’s safe to say Harlan’s eyes pop out of his head. “How do you do?” He extends a hand as if to shake hers, then dips his head to kiss the top of her fingers.
“My, my, what a gentleman,” Katie remarks.
“I can dance, too.”
“You don’t say,” Katie tosses back.
He shrugs and shoots her a lopsided grin. “I enjoy dancing. It’s one of my many talents.”
“What are your others? Besides running, blocking, and tackling.”
“I can bake pies like nobody’s business.”
Katie’s eyes light up, and she hums her approval. “I’ll be saving a dance for you, Mr. Pie Maker.”
I glance at Jillian, and she simply shrugs happily. I have a feeling this won’t be the last I hear of Harlan’s interest in Katie.
In front of three hundred friends, family members, colleagues, and professional athletes in a swank hotel ballroom overlooking the Pacific Ocean, Sierra’s fiancé tells her he’ll love, cherish, and honor her for the rest of his days. A few rows in front of us, Kevin leans in closer to the woman he cheated on Jillian with, and dusts a kiss on her cheek.
I seethe inside. He never deserved Jillian. But I let the anger fade because his actions gave me this chance. Seated next to Jillian, I lean in and speak softly. “You look beautiful tonight. Stunning.”
