Page 92 of Tempt Me Forever

"I want to do so much more."

I had no doubt. "I should go before anyone knocks at the door. Oh, now I remember the reason why you can't kiss me like that. Because then everyone will see my lips."

He shook his head, then rested his forehead in the crook of my neck, putting one hand on my waist. "I just want to stay like this with you," he said.

"I think I can accommodate that."

“Fuck, this feels good. Are you sure you need to go back to your office?”

I pushed him gently, winking. “People might notice if I’m missing.Might.”

He pressed his forehead to mine, swallowing hard. “Thanks for inviting Suze with you.”

“Of course.”

***

On Friday, I pickedup Suze from her house. She’d found a sitter for Michael, and our girls' night was starting in one hour. I thought I'd ease Suze into everything by having her ride with me.

She was already waiting in front of the house when I arrived and hopped into the car as soon as I stopped. "Go, go, go, before I change my mind."

I didn't need to be told twice. I pushed the gas pedal.

"Okay. How are you doing?" I asked her.

"First of all, thanks so much for doing this. I know I need to get out of the house—for more than work, that is—but I also feel super guilty when I do, so I usually just stay home. And then I end up driving myself crazy indoors. Drake has been so good to me, helping me out."

I briefly covered her hand with mine. "You're doing fine. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I'm so happy you and my brother got over your initial dislike of each other."

"Oh, he blabbed about how much he disliked me, huh? Tell me more."

Suze blushed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause friction between the two of you."

I chuckled. "Don't worry. You aren't. I was well aware of his opinion of me. It's not like mine was much better. I thought he was an ass, but a gorgeous one.”

“He liked meeting your family.”

“They’re amazing. But we can be a bit much. I wish Mom could have met him.”

“She’s abroad too? I think Drake mentioned your dad’s living in London.”

“No, she passed away a long time ago.”

Suze frowned. “I’m sorry.”

“I miss her a lot, but the family rallied around us when we were growing up. Still, it was tough. But I know she’d like Drake.”

"Aww, I’m glad to hear that." She paused for a second. "Are you sure the girls won't mind that I'm crashing your evening?"

"No, you're not crashing it. I'm the one throwing it. Well, me and Reese, my sister. She's already at her place, making cocktails. Liz arrived earlier too. She wanted to make a cake and insisted that it would be better if she just made it at Reese’s place rather than bring it over from her bakery." I smiled at her before looking back at the road. "It's so good to have a group of girls to hang out with. You can join us anytime. I mean it."

We chatted a bit more about Drake on the way to Reese’s apartment. By the time we arrived, all the girls were already there. Kendra opened the door with Megan right behind her.

"Helloooooooo, and let this evening start," Megan exclaimed. "I should probably introduce myself. I'm Megan."

"She's Luke's fiancée," I explained.