Page 19 of Mess With Me
He smirked. “I bet you have a great sex life.”
“Excuse me?”
His attempt at humor had flatlined. “I mean, you’re in a relationship with yourself, so you know exactly what you like.”
“Oh, I guess so!”
They laughed.
“Sorry if that was inappropriate,” he said.
“Not at all! I love inappropriate. I always say a vibrator is better than a man and it’s true!”
“No—” he started.
“You’re actually really funny.” Her gaze wandered from his bare shoulder to his bicep. “I don’t remember you being funny before today.” Her voice came out hoarse and she cleared her throat.
He dropped his voice to a husky tone. “I think therightman would definitely be better than a vibrator.”
A moment of charged silence.
He glanced over at her staring at him, lips parted, eyes wide. He winked.
She sucked in air. “Well, that’s not—I mean, I don’t…”
He chuckled, low and dirty.
“Of course a man would say that,” she retorted. “Menvastlyoverestimate their prowess, no offense.”
“Whenever someone says no offense, they mean offense.”
“No, really, no offense.” She stared straight ahead, smoothing her hair. “So how come you’re funny today and not when I saw you before, you know, at Garner’s for drinks with the guys, parties and stuff.”
“Usually I’m tired when you see me after pulling some long shifts. Today was an easy morning.” He paused and then just decided to go for it. “So hiking club meets every other Sunday. You want to go again? Or we could go sooner, just the two of us.”
She spoke quickly, the words tumbling over each other. “I’ll let you know. I’ve got a lot of things I want to try. I need to keep my options open. How’s Cali doing?”
He deflated. “She’s fine.” Keeping options open sounded like a no to him, but he didn’t give up that easy. “You did say you enjoyed yourself today and you’ll only get better the more you hike. I’ll give you my number, so text or call, whatever, if you change your mind.” He waited while she pulled out her phone, and spoke slowly and clearly as he told her his number. Then he told her to text him so he knew she had it right, which was mostly so he could get her number. He’d check it once he parked.
“Aww, you are cold!” She rubbed his arm and he warmed at the spot. “Look, you’ve got goose bumps.”
“Maybe a little,” he admitted, hoping she’d keep touching him. He had a lot of skin exposed, being shirtless and all. Her fingers wandered the shape of his arm from shoulder to elbow, her touch soft, until she suddenly seemed to realize what she was doing and snatched her hand back.
He smiled. That felt like a yes.
5
Ethan knew it wasn’t the subtlest of moves showing up at the Happy Endings Book Club meeting for the sole purpose of running into Ally, but he figured the more he saw her, the more chances he had of hooking her interest. It had been four days and he hadn’t heard from her about going on another hike, but that could mean she just didn’t want to go hiking again. Nothing against him. He went to the counter of Something’s Brewing Café and ordered some coffee to go. He couldn’t stay long. He was in uniform on his way for a night shift. One of the guys had called out sick because his wife was in labor. Ethan was one of the few single cops on staff and didn’t mind picking up some overtime. Even if he didn’t have to work, there was no way he’d stay long enough to actually participate in a girly romance book club. His goal was simple, see Ally and exchange a brief hello.
His coffee was served up by the red-haired owner, Shane O’Hare. “Thanks, Shane. Your coffee is the best.”
Shane smiled. “That’s our new house blend, all fair-trade, organic.”
“I’m sure it’s fantastic.” He turned at the sound of women’s laughter as they filed in, walking close in the way women friends did. He spotted Ally right away with the blond Carrie. They could pass as sisters and seemed as close as ever to him. Ally wore a soft-looking light blue sweater that clung to her beautiful breasts with black jeans and canvas high-top sneakers—one red, one green. He loved that quirkiness.
Ally spotted him and rushed over. “Looks like I have a stalker.” She smiled cheekily.
He smiled back. You’d have to be a corpse not to return one of Ally’s smiles. “I was here first. Maybe you’re stalking me.”
