Page 40 of One Hot Deal

What does Derek feel?

Chapter Fifteen

Derek

I'm not sure if I should be glad Rupert interrupted us or if I should smack him upside the head.He couldn't know he'd walked in on a serious conversation.Hell, Diana probably didn't realize that either.I started to say "I feel," but I didn't get to finish the sentence.What had I wanted to tell her?

I feel something for you, Diana, something more than lust.

It's probably for the best that she never heard me speak those words.She insists she only wants me for sex, and only until she's pregnant.That won't happen this week.Maybe that gives me some time to ease her into the concept of a real relationship.Back in Diana's bedroom, I'd wanted to tell her a lot more than that.

Out on the lawn, everybody watches Hugh giving Pippa a lesson on how to rock cricket.I'd always thought of cricket as an old person's game, but I must've been confusing it with something else because this is not an easygoing enterprise.No, it's more like a cross between baseball and football—the American version of football.Don't even get me started on the sport Brits call football, and that Americans know is really soccer.

Hugh and I have argued often about whose version of football is the real one.That's how guys bond.Since Hugh is about to become my brother-in-law, I figured we needed to harass each other relentlessly to prove we can survive being in-laws.

I've got the best seat in the house—or the lawn, technically—for watching Pippa learn about cricket.Avery sits on my left, while Diana is on my right.We're all too engrossed in Hugh's attempt to train a teenage girl to talk to each other.But I can't resist razzing the coach.

I cup my hands like a megaphone and holler, "Are you sure you've played this game before, Hugh?Looks to me like Pippa's schooling you."

The teenager flashes me a grin.

Hugh swings his bat in a circle, then thumps its tip on the ground."I was playing cricket before you learned how to drive a car.Oh, wait.You still haven't mastered that skill, have you?"

"I stole your keys, Lord Sticky.I'll be doing donuts around the driveway in your Jag while you're getting pointers from a kid.I'll make sure to drive really fast so all that pea gravel will scratch up your baby."

"Yes, you are so bloody terrifying."Hugh thumps his bat on his palm."Maybe you and I should have a private match."

"Anytime, Lord Sticky, anytime."

My sister leans over to whisper to me, "Hugh is really good at cricket.You don't even know the rules."

"How hard can it be?I played football in high school, and I studied mixed martial arts to get ready for becoming a bodyguard."

Avery looks past me to Diana."Would you tell him?He won't listen to me."

"Why do you think Derek will listen to me?"Diana asks."Men are impossible.They would rather beat each other senseless than resolve their issues in a dignified manner."

I groan."Come on, ladies.Hugh and I don't actually want to beat each other up.But I would like to learn to play cricket just so I can whup Hugh's ass.Gotta hold up the American end."

Diana glances at my ass.

And my sister smirks.

Women.No man understands them, and trying to unlock their mysteries will drive a guy insane.Despite their cockamamie ideas, I love the ladies.Especially the two seated on either side of me.

Hugh goes back to teaching Pippa about cricket, and we all watch the kid getting better and better at the game.She's picking up on it so fast that I bet she'll be whupping the adults in no time.

Just as Hugh and Pippa are wrapping up their coaching session, several cars come up the driveway.I recognize most of those vehicles because they belong to Hugh's buddies, the Brits who all married Americans.The Dixons and Hunters have arrived, and I think I see the Mithorian delegation too.That would be the royal family from the island principality of Mithoria.Bennett Montague and his wife Samantha had RSVP'd for the wedding, and they had asked if their families could come too.

Avery and Hugh said yes, naturally.Once the Scots contingent arrives, Sommerleigh will be stuffed to the gills.Since the house doesn't have enough rooms for everyone, most of the guests volunteered to find accommodation in one of the nearby villages.

Hugh and Rupert rush over to the driveway to instruct the wedding guests where to park their cars.Sommerleigh features a massive garage, so the guests who are staying here will stow their rides in that building.Others are directed toward the far end of the lawn, right beside the garage.

How are all these people going to fit inside the dining room this evening?We can have lunch alfresco, but dinner is a more formal event for the Parrishes.

The rest of the day passes in a blur.I have so many conversations with so many people that I lose track of who I told what, never mind what they might've said to me.Still, it's a lot of fun.Catching up with everyone is great, but I'd like to find some time to be alone with Diana, though it's unlikely I'll get that today.Everybody's excited about the wedding.

We do have lunch outside, and I don't know how the kitchen staff can keep up with cooking and serving all the food, but they pull it off.The guests start out on the patio, then spill over onto the lawn as they split off into smaller groups.

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