Page 73 of This Thing Between Us

I shook my head once. “I don’t give a shit.” My mouth found the soft skin under her ear and Whitney practically curled into me before taking a clarifying breath and pushing me away.

“Seriously, we need to stop.”

I approached again. “Do we have to?”

Whitney gave me an exasperated sigh. “Yes.”

Pulling it together, I brushed off the haze of lust and looked at her. Her hair had been mussed and the skin around her lips was red from kissing. It seems I’d left a mark on her neck, so I pulled her hair forward to cover it up without alerting her of its presence.

“I’ll see you later back at the house. Wewilltalk about what happened at the winery.” I turned away from her not trusting myself not to kiss her again and finish what we started.

Chapter 24

Whitney

“Be cool, Whitney,”I said under my breath as I turned off my car, which was now parked in front of a sprawling suburban home. I didn’t realize coaches in Haver’s Creek made that good of money. Or that they had need for such a large house despite being single and not having a family.

Not that single people couldn’t have big homes. But this one just seemed obnoxiously large.

I shook my head, refocusing on my task. My car smelled delicious, filled with the goodies I baked all morning in Jack’s kitchen. While Janine technically only ordered cupcakes, I couldn’t help but also make a few dozen cookies for the team to eat as well.

What?I baked when I got nervous and despite going over the plan for the umpteenth time that morning with Jack, I still had a few nerves I couldn’t shake off. And after today, I wouldn’t have this as an excuse for not talking to Jack about how our mouths keep meeting and our feelings for each other. Old feelings swirled with new feelings, and it certainly made for a feelings tornado.

Needing a confidence boost, I dug through my purse to find my favorite lipstick. The one I wore for important client and vendor meetings. I skillfully applied the perfect shade of red to my lips.

I blotted my lips with a tissue, then ran a finger around them, making sure everything stayed in place. A flash of my teeth in the rear-view mirror revealed my pearly whites were clean of my favorite MAC lipstick.

An alert sounded on my phone just as I put the lipstick in its secure toiletry bag. I rolled my eyes at the sender: Jack.

Jack: I don’t think this is a good idea. Just drop off the cupcakes and head home.

Oh hell no. We worked too hard for this, and I wasn’t about to let this bastard get away with hurting the young men on the football team. I had attended last night’s football game and I couldn’t help but remember Jack on the field. What if it had been him?

Whitney: I said I’m going to do this. I’m not backing out now. Those boys deserve better.

I lifted the AirPod and placed it in my ear, making sure to fluff up my hair to hide the little white piece of tech.

Jack: Call me, Whit. Promise me you won’t do this.

I intended to call him, but not for the reason he wanted. After locating my phone, I called up my contacts and pressed his name. The phone rang a second later.

He answered on the first ring.

“Hello, Jack,” I said, putting on my professional voice.

A hard chuckle sounded from the other end of the line. “Don’t ‘hello’ me. I changed my mind. I don’t want you to do this.”

I clicked my tongue. “Jack, you’ve got cold feet. It’s totally normal. Don’t worry about it. I can handle myself.”

Jacked released a heavy exhale and when he spoke, his voice was low. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I felt an odd catch in my chest. I recognized the feeling from when we were younger, and he insisted on taking care of me.

I must have zoned out because I heard Jack calling my name.

“Sorry, Jack, you cut out there for a second, repeat that last part for me?” I slid my phone in my pocket, confident my Bluetooth connection would keep the call going.

“I said be careful, drop the dessert and leave. Also, I’m taking you out on a date tonight.” I imagined Jack sitting in his office at the station, the door closed, his mouth close to the phone as he waited for me to get going.

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