Page 17 of One Week Wingman

Not that she knows it yet.

Ninety minutes of driving later,I cross the county line into Ashford Falls, Connecticut. And realize what Roxy’s been on about all this time.

“Well, Toto,” I quip to myself as I arrive in town. “I guess we’re not in New York City anymore.”

Understatement of the year.

I grew up in the English countryside, so I know small, but this is an entirely different beast. Tree-lined streets. A quaint town square decorated in hay-bales and pumpkins. And is that…? I peer through the windscreen of my rental car as I cruise through town.

Yes, a gazebo.

I have to laugh. I’ve clearly been transported to some type of Hallmark movie. There’s no Starbucks. No McDonald’s. It looks like the kind of place where people spontaneously burst into song and dance routines, and I’m half-tempted to stop at the classic looking diner and see if there’s a barn-raising scheduled for later in the week.

But I’m a man on a mission here, so I keep driving, making my way to the address I nabbed from Roxy’s personnel file. I park the car, and head up to the front porch through the perfectly tended garden. I ring the doorbell, planning my approach.

“Hello there?” A woman who I assume is Roxy’s mom—she looks like Roxy but with silver hair and a rounder face—opens the door, her smile warm and welcoming. “Can I help you?”

“I hope so,” I flash a smile. “You must be Lorna. I’ve heard so much about you from Roxy.”

She brightens. “Are you a friend of hers?” she asks.

“You could say that.”

“Mom?” Roxy’s voice comes, as she enters the foyer, barefoot in jeans and a vintage T-shirt. “Did you want me to—”

She sees me, stops dead. Surprise and confusion flashes on her face. “What are you—” she starts asking, but I don’t let her finish the question.

“Darling!” I exclaim. “I missed you!”

Then I sweep her into my arms and claim her lips in a passionate kiss.

5

ROXY

What the hellis happening right now?

One minute I’m looking at the impossible sight of Sebastian freaking Wainwright standing in the doorway of my childhood home, chatting with my mother, and the next thing, he’s kissing me. Not a quick peck on the cheek, or a chaste press of the lips, but a full-on, all-out, breathless hot make-out, right there in the foyer.

And my god, the man can kiss.

He pulls me into his arms, easing my lips open and sliding his tongue deep into my mouth. One hand is my hair, the other planted hot against the small of my back, pinning me tight against the firm weight of his chest.

His taut, solid, muscular chest…

I swoon. Since when was Seb so…ripped? I mean, I always thought he had a fine enough body under all those designer suits, but I never paid close attention. Now, I don’t have any choice, seeing as how I’m crushed against it with his tongue in my mouth.

His sensual, capable tongue…

I’m melting into a hot, horny puddle on the floor when I hear somebody clear their throat. Reality slams back in.

The foyer. My mom!

I reel back and try to catch my breath. Which is tough, considering Seb just stole it from my lungs.

Sebastian. Who is here. How?

“Surprise!” he announces, giving me a private wink. “It turns out, I could make it after all. Since you’ve been wanting to introduce me to your family,” he adds, with a look, like, ‘Get with the program.’

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