Page 9 of Snow Place Like Home
“I know how much you love my dogs, and there might not be another chance to see them,” I said awkwardly.
Oh my gosh. Could I be any more obvious?
“Are you asking me to come inside and see SJP and Clooney?” He smirked.
“I mean, no.” I cleared my throat. “Well, yes. It’s just, if you want to see them, this might be the only time to make that happen. But only if you want to.”
Please make me stop talking.
“Absolutely.”
Abso-freaking-lutely.
Ace Bonetti just admitted that he’d had a crush on me when we were in high school. And now he’d agreed to come inside.
I wasn’t freaking out at all.
Not. At. All.
Chapter Four
Ace
Sarah Jessica Parker jumped up and licked me a few times, and I laughed as I hugged her and then tugged off my coat. I’d told the driver he could head home, since the hotel I was staying at wasn’t too far from here, and I could walk it.
I dropped my coat on the bench in the entryway as old man Clooney moseyed over to me, taking his sweet time, and I bent down to scratch the top of his head.
“Do you want a glass of wine, hot tea, water?” she asked, and she appeared nervous, which was cute as hell, especially considering she was still dressed as a reindeer.
I was ready to get out of this ridiculous costume, so I unzipped the back and let the top fall down my shoulders. I had a white tee and a pair of jeans on beneath. I kicked my feet free, removing the silly suit, as Goldie stood there gaping at me.
“You need to relax. I clearly have clothes on underneath.” I chuckled. “I just can’t handle wearing all that green fur for another minute.”
“I’m relaxed, I’m completely relaxed. See, totally relaxed,” she said, waving her hands around.
Clearly not relaxed.
“I can see that.” I gave her a playful look.
“And I’m ready to get this thing off too,” she said as she walked toward me and turned around. “Can you get the zipper for me?”
She tugged her long blond hair over one shoulder, and I breathed in her lavender scent as the tips of my fingers grazed the soft skin at the back of her neck. I brushed my finger over the little sun she’d had tattooed right beneath her hairline. I’d come home from college, and she’d begged me not to tell her parents or Jack and to take her to the place where I’d gotten a few tattoos during high school. I found the zipper, slowly pulling it down as I listened to the sound of her breaths coming faster now. Once the zipper was down, I slid the brown fabric off her shoulders, and she stayed completely still. I leaned down, my lips teasing the shell of her ear.
“Do you remember the day you did this? You were so fucking nervous. It was adorable.”
She whipped around to face me. “Hey. It’s the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done.”
“Thanks for letting me tag along for it.” I moved closer.
“You held my hand the whole time, and it was just a little sun that I’d drawn. I was a bit dramatic back then.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did you know that I was going to tell you that I liked you as more than a friend that day?” A nervous laugh escaped her plump lips.
“And why didn’t you?”
“I was afraid you’d reject me,” she whispered.
