Page 33 of Don't Game Me
His phone rang again. He yanked it out of his pocket and read the screen. “It’s your mom.”
Her gaze passed from shell-shocked to fear. She muttered, “Your phone rang. Not mine. Wasn’t mine. Couldn’t do it.”
What the hell did that mean? She expected a call but didn’t want the call. Perhaps, she meant she couldn’t do what just happened between them. He agreed with that. But he’d never seen her look so terrified.
“Your mom doesn’t know what happened, and if she did, she probably wouldn’t be that upset.”
“Mom?” Confusion clouded her eyes.
“What’s going on, Becca? You know I’d never push you into anything you don’t want to do.” His phone resumed its ringtone again.
“Just answer it,” she said. Her head fell back against the wall as she gazed at the ceiling.
“This is Jake,” he said gruffly into the phone.
“Where are you two? We’re leaving for the church in minutes. Never mind coming with us. Too late now. We’re in the car already. You’ll have to meet us there. Did you get everything sorted out?” He could hear some shuffling noises in the background.
He cleared his throat. “There were some kinks with the printed material, which we had corrected. It took them a while to fix the mistakes. We’ll pop by the hotel, change, and be there on time.”
“Good.” The phone call ended.
“Becca, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Let’s dress and get to the rehearsal before my mom has a conniption fit.” She unbuttoned her jeans. They hit the floor as she walked away.
Holy shit. His stared transfixed at the minuscule black thong separating two perfect globes of her ass. Hoarsely, he said, “I’ll just change in the bathroom or something.”
How the hell was he going to keep his hands off her now?
10
Becca was strung tight. As Jake pulled into a parallel up the street from the church, she blurted, “Are we going together as a date or not today?”
Why even ask? It didn’t matter anymore. She was about as close to Jake as she could get, not that it mattered. Being close was supposed to facilitate an opportunity to steal information. When presented with the perfect opportunity to do exactly that, she’d chickened out.
“We’re driving in together. I’ll give you a ride back to the hotel.”
“All right. Whatever.” She fiddled with her earring.
“What the hell is going on with you?”
“We’re going to be late.” She whipped out of the car and jogged to the church’s side door.
He beat her to the door and held it open for her. Her mom rushed them before he could push his question further. Based on the storm clouds in his gaze, he wasn’t done pressing her.
Mom wrapped her tight and squeezed. She effused in a tone that sounded like she’d jacked herself up on three espressos and a bag of jellybeans, “I’m so glad you guys made it in time.”
Becca hugged back. “I’m glad you sent Jake along. They messed up some things, but he…” She met Jake’s gaze momentarily while she stepped away from Mom. “He got tough and made them fix it. I couldn’t have done it without him.”
A high-pitched laugh escaped her mom, but her face didn’t express joy. “Everything’s going to be great.”
She couldn’t interpret Jake’s expression before he turned away and headed to where Noah stood with the other guys. Her mind tormented her over what just happened between them. One minute they’d been arguing and the next she’d been close to shattering. She’d forgotten everything in those few moments, which had been wonderful.
Her mom babbled about the caterer. Something about the wrong cheese dip, but Becca couldn’t fully understand her other concerns.
“Let the wedding planner do her job, Mom.”
“Never hurts to triple check things.” Her mom whispered, “You’re worried about catching the bouquet at your cousin’s wedding last year, aren’t you? No one here will judge you.”
