Chapter Four
SALLY SPENT HALF the night lost in dark, sexual dreams with Gage as the object of every filthy one. She woke up wet and needy and lay awake wishing he’d come through the adjoining door between their hotel rooms, unable to stay away from her. But that door stayed closed until the morning, when he asked her to join him for breakfast. They always ate breakfast together when they traveled, but this time sitting across the table from him was mental torture. She couldn’t stop thinking about kissing him. And Gage being Gage, he took every opportunity to hold her hand and look at her with those eyes that said, I want to be inside you. By the time they got to the new youth center, her insides were humming like live wires. She needed the distraction of setting up the office to keep from attacking him.
The first delivery truck showed up more than an hour late, giving her plenty of time not only to think about what she wanted to do with him, but also to visualize him doing the dirty things he’d done to her in her dream. The rest of the morning was riddled with mixed-up furniture orders and missing products, enough to almost keep her sidetracked from her lust-ridden thoughts.
She pressed her cell phone to her ear, filling Danica in on the issues they’d run into. “We should have it all sorted out by the time we leave Friday,” Sally reassured her while simultaneously directing furniture deliverymen to the office that would be used for the new administrator. “The network is scheduled to be set up tomorrow, and as long as there are no issues, I hope to start interviews right after that.”
“Great. I wanted to talk to you about the grand opening. Kaylie’s schedule is crazy, and she has only a few weeks off from her tour. She wants to spend the time at home with the kids instead of traveling to the opening. But she said there’s a local band called Surge that is amazing.” Danica’s younger sister, Kaylie Crew, had become famous when her newest pop-country album hit the charts last year.
“Great. Send me the information and I’ll try to connect with them.”
“I’ll text it after we get off the phone. They’re playing tomorrow night at someplace called JJ’s Pub. Think you guys can make it?”
Two of the movers headed back out to the truck, while another maneuvered a desk on a handcart through the glass doors.
“Hold on, Danica.” Sally directed the movers to another office, then focused on Danica again. “I have to check with Gage about his schedule. He’s out right now meeting with a local sports club, but I’m sure it’s fine. If he has a meeting, I’ll go.”
“Do you still think this week will be enough time?” Danica asked.
Gage’s voice sailed through her mind. There’s just you and me. Let’s explore what this is together, take a leap of faith…Let’s hold hands and make out until you can’t forget how it feels.
“I hope so,” she said honestly.
“Do you think you need more time?”
“No. We should be fine. Besides”—she stopped short of blowing Danica’s surprise by saying, Do you really think I’d miss your baby shower? Blake had gone to great lengths to set up Danica’s surprise baby shower, which was taking place two weeks after they returned to Colorado. “I want to get a few things done before Rusty gets home for the holidays, and Gage is hosting Christmas this year for his family. I promised I’d help him get ready.”
She mentally ran through the other things they needed to get done. Gage’s younger brother, Blue, was marrying his fiancée, Lizzie Barber, right after the New Year. She and Gage needed to find a gift for the wedding. Sally had known Gage’s family nearly as long as she’d known him. She’d gone with Gage to the weddings of his brother Duke and his sister, Trish, this past summer. The ceremonies were beautiful, and she couldn’t deny that she’d allowed her mind to wander down the what if path. What would it be like to be married to her best friend? To be part of his big, loving family? And while the answers had been blurry at best, one had continually shone through—those dreams would not be worth the risk of Rusty losing Gage altogether if her and Gage’s relationship went south.
“I still can’t believe Rusty is not coming home until Christmas week. Remember the first year he went away to college? He couldn’t wait to come home for winter break.”
“That was before he had his own apartment, a job, and a close group of friends. I know I’m supposed to tell you that you should be glad he’s independent. It means you raised him well.” Danica sighed. “But all I can think about is how glad I am that I have years before Chessie goes away to college. I can’t imagine how it will feel when she and our new baby have their own grown-up lives and we’ll only see them on the holidays. Thank God you have Gage,” Danica said. “You’d be so lonely without him.”
Sally hadn’t thought about the way Gage had filled the time Rusty had once occupied, but Danica was right. Where Sally had once been busy driving Rusty all over town, hounding him to do homework, or connecting for dinner, now her schedule was her own. And more often than not, she worked late, grabbed something on her way home. Or joined Gage for a quick bite at a local café or at one of our houses. She would be lonely without him, not just because of the time they spent together, but also because of the way he made her feel happy and loved. Even when she was alone, she never felt truly alone.
She watched the movers carrying in more furniture. “Yeah. He’s a good friend.”
“You know,” Danica said with a mischievous arc to her voice, “you’re all the way out in Virginia, alone with Gage. You two could finally take your relationship to the next level.”
“Danica, you’re my friend, and I appreciate you wanting to see me and Gage together, but you’re also our boss, and I’m sure you don’t really want us to jeopardize our working relationship.”
“What? Hello? Where have you been for the past few years? I’ve practically pushed you two to finally take a chance on each other.”
Sally walked to the far end of the room, away from the movers. “You don’t mean that.” Do you? Please tell me you do. “What if we got together and then broke up? It would be awful working together and watching him get together with someone else.”
“Seriously? That could happen tomorrow. I know you love your job, but you two have been playing cat and mouse for years. It’s time to eat the cheese.”
“That sounds disgusting.” Sally laughed.
“Eat the meat?”
“Ohmygod. What happened to the conservative woman I met years ago?”
“Blake Carter happened,” Danica said sassily. “My man’s got a dirty mouth.”
Sally absently touched her lips, remembering the feel of Gage’s delicious mouth on hers, and his voice followed. I know I’ll never forget the look in your eyes as you wrapped your silky thighs around my waist, arching up so I could hit the spot, and—
“My man has a dirty mouth, too.”
“What?” Danica said.
Oh shit. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “Um. I said that man’s got dirt on his mouth. The mover. I’d better go see what’s going on. Sorry, Danica. Can we catch up after I get things under control around here?” Holy cow. She was losing her mind.
Several hours later, Sally sat on a couch in the reception area poring over résumés of the final candidates for the administrator position. Her stomach growled so loud it startled her. Gage had called earlier and asked her to have dinner with him. She knew he had several meetings, but it was six thirty, and she was beginning to wonder if he’d forgotten he’d asked. She looked at the fading ink on her finger, and a wave of longing washed through her.
The sound of the door to the gym opening down the hall sent Sally to her feet, her heart racing as she tried to remember if she’d locked the outside door. She heard Gage’s determined footsteps seconds before he appeared from the hallway. Their eyes connected, and an irresistible smile spread across his handsome face, sending her already speeding heart into overdrive.
He tossed his coat on the desk, faded denim hugging his powerful thighs as he ate up the distance between them. He stood before her in a dark button-down, the hint of a five o’clock shadow peppering his cheeks. Her stomach fluttered like a teenager with a crush, only her thoughts were nothing like a young girl’s. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his mouth, or his dirty talk, since she’d spoken with Danica. And the more she thought about him in that way, the more she wanted him.
When he took her hand, one strong arm circling her waist like she was his, she swore the temperature amped up fifty degrees. He pressed his warm lips to her cheek, and she closed her eyes, soaking in every second of his touch, breathing in his rugged, sexy scent.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hi.” She sounded breathless. How could she be this nervous with just a hello? They were only having dinner together, and they’d eaten together a million times. But not after I spent all day contemplating my boss’s approval of taking our relationship further.
“How did your meetings go?” she asked to distract herself from the dire urge to kiss him until neither one remembered their own name.
“Fine. But I don’t want to talk about work.”
He was looking at her like he didn’t want to talk at all. His smoldering gaze raked down her chest slow as sap dripping from a tree. Long, adrenaline-drenched seconds passed before his eyes met hers, lingering with lethal calmness, prolonging the intensity of the moment so long she felt unsteady, even in his arms.
GAGE HAD MADE a mistake last night. He’d allowed his past to steal some of their time. He wasn’t about to let anything come between them again, not when everything he wanted was right there in his arms. Sally was special, and what he felt for her was miles above what he’d ever felt for any other woman. He didn’t want her to feel like someone came before her in his heart, but he hadn’t wanted to lie, even if his love for Stacy didn’t compare to his love for her. Did that have any bearing on why Sally was suddenly fidgeting with the ends of her hair?
“I’m making you nervous,” he said carefully.
“No, you’re not. Why would you say that?” Fidget. Fidget.
“Bird, it’s just me.” He took her hands and placed them on his chest. “When you get nervous, put your hands here. Let me play with your hair.” He tangled his fingers into her long locks, angling her beautiful face up, and brushed his lips over hers. “I want to give you something to be nervous about.”
“Gage,” she whispered as he lowered his lips to hers.
The first touch was electric, sizzling through him as he took the kiss deeper. Her fingers fisted in his shirt, and he cupped the base of her skull, sliding his other hand to her lower back and holding her sweet softness against him. She followed his lead, her tongue gliding over his, her body moving with the rhythm of his hips. He’d promised himself on the way over that he wouldn’t take things too fast. He’d respect her need for space and time and let her lead their intimacy. But she made the sexiest little noises, and when her thigh rode up the outside of his leg, he couldn’t resist spreading his hand over her ass. This wasn’t a kiss of a woman who didn’t want more. This was a lustful, greedy taking. A kiss that topped all others, it was real and hot and so damn hungry.
Hungry.
Hell, he’d promised her dinner.
Groaning, he reluctantly forced himself to pull back. Her lips were swollen and pink, and God, he loved them. The lusty look in her eyes brought his mouth back to hers, softer this time, lingering in the heady space between taking and giving.
“Wow,” she said breathily. “Just…Wow. Is that how we say hello now?”
“Do you want it to be?”
She reached for her hair and he grabbed her wrist, stopping her midair, and laced their fingers together, waiting for her answer. He was a patient man, but she’d unleashed the darkest parts of him. The parts he’d kept chained up for far too long.
“Maybe,” she said. “We’ll see how good the next one is.”
He kissed her harder, more demanding, until she clawed at his shoulders as she’d done the other night. He was right there with her, groping her ass and pressing her body impossibly closer. He didn’t want to stop for dinner, didn’t want to eat anything but her. But this was Sally, and blowing it wasn’t on his agenda. He reluctantly eased his efforts to an intoxicating rhythm.
When they finally drew apart, they were both unsteady.
“That was…” She touched her lips as if they burned for more. “Pretty good. We’ll have to keep practicing.”
He chuckled. “My pleasure, my demanding little bird. I’ve got something to show you.” With a hand around her waist, he led her toward the gym.
She cocked her head. “What do I hear?”
He opened the door, and the sounds of an Etta James song greeted them. He guided Sally into the candle-lit gym. An awed expression settled over her features as her gaze swept over the two hundred white balloons covering the gymnasium floor and the wedding canopy he’d erected in the middle of the room. White and peach silk drapes hung from the frame. Bouquets of roses and tendrils of ivy decorated the corners. Beneath the canopy, he’d set a table with dinner for two on silver platters from the finest restaurant in Oak Falls. A small wedding cake sat in the center of the table. He’d had to practically beg to get the cake and balloons on such short notice, but the smile lifting Sally’s lips was worth it.
“Gage,” came out in a whisper. “How…?”
“Don’t you know me yet?” He led her farther into the room, sending balloons scattering around them. “There’s nothing I can’t do. Especially for you.”
“But how did you do this with all your meetings? How did I not hear you setting it up?”
“I only had two meetings, but I figured this was worth a little white lie, and I was in super-stealth mode.”
“It’s unbelievably gorgeous. I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say a word, babe. I don’t know how much of our wedding either of us will ever remember, and I can’t change that. But I can give you a night you’ll never forget.”
He swept her into his arms as “At Last” by Etta James began playing. They’d danced together so many times, they fell effortlessly into sync. Balloons floated into the air like a river of white. Sally melted against him, fitting perfectly in his arms and looking at him like he was her whole world again. He’d never get enough of that look, and when she was with him like this—in mind and heart—he knew they’d be together forever.
“This song…” Her voice was full of wonder. “It’s beautiful and telling.”
Etta James sang about love coming along and lonely days being over. He really did feel like his life was a song right then. “I’ve made no effort to hide what I want with you. I’m done pretending I’m okay with only being friends.”
“Oh” came out full of wonder. “I didn’t know you were so romantic.”
“Only for you, bird.”
Their dance became a slow rock, a blending of their bodies, an acceptance of the love between them.
“When you said there was a lot about me you didn’t know, I thought you were wrong,” Gage admitted. “But this afternoon, as I was getting ready to surprise you, I realized there’s a lot of me you haven’t gotten to know, because I’ve been holding back. I’m done holding back, Sally. You’re getting all of me, and you’ll need to slam the brakes if I come on too strong, because I swear I feel like I’ve been let out of jail, and holding back is the last thing I want to do.”
“Gage, you know I’m worried about how our relationship will impact Rusty and what that means for us in the long run. But I don’t want you to hold back. You were right. We’re here without anyone getting in our way. I want to take this leap of faith with you and see where we end up.”
“Aw, baby…” His voice trailed off as he choked up, but no more words were necessary as he danced with his wife.
They danced until Sally’s stomach growled too loud to ignore. They talked and drank champagne, sharing filet mignon and salmon.
“I’m too far away.” Gage came to Sally’s side. “And I’ve never seen you smile so much. I need pictures with my bride.” He crouched beside her chair and leaned in close for a selfie.
“I take back what I said about you not being pushy.”
He took another picture as he kissed her cheek.
“How many pictures are you going to take?”
“As many as you’ll let me.” He took another. “Too much?”
“No. I like your pushy love. I don’t know if I’m really ready for it, because there are so many complications if it goes wrong. Not just for Rusty. I really like my job, and our friendship, and I don’t want to screw any of that up. But I have loved you for so long, I can’t imagine not loving you. And even if it’s only for now, while we’re here and it doesn’t impact anyone else, I want to pretend it’s real.”
Her cautiousness might make another man upset, but Gage was so full of love for Sally, her love for her son and friends just made him fall that much harder for her. “After next week, you won’t be able to pretend you don’t love me.”
“Maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself. Your ego might be getting too big for this gymnasium. Get the camera ready, hot stuff.” She leaned in for a kiss. “You’re not the only one who gets to be pushy.”
They kissed and laughed, and kissed some more. It was like he’d untethered something inside her that allowed her to be freer with him. Even with her stipulations it was forward momentum, and he intended to keep it moving in that direction. When he reached for the cake she grabbed his phone.
“We need pictures of our wedding cake.” She took pictures of the little plastic couple on the top of the cake and of the sides of the cake where he’d had the baker write their names beside a heart.
She handed him the knife, and he covered her hand with his, taking the phone from her.
He focused the lens on their joined hands. “Now, that’s a picture.”
“You know, if word gets out about this, your brothers are going to give you the hardest time about being so sappy.”
“If word gets out about this, it means you decided you were all in, and I won’t care what anyone says.”
“We have a lot of things to figure out before we jump ahead. This is a start. If we’re as good together as a couple as we are as friends, then it’ll be easy, right?”
She reached for her hair and stopped, placing her hand on his chest instead. That simple motion made his insides turn to mush. He’d always known she trusted him, but this—taking this leap of faith with her heart, when her worries about her son lay in the balance—was huge.
He eyed the cake, and she raised her brows, a smile playing at the edges of her mouth.
“Shall we?” he asked, and cut them each a piece.
“Don’t even think about smashing that in my face,” she warned with a fierce look in her pretty eyes.
He handed her a piece of cake. “Would I do that?”
“Heck, yes, you would do that. Look at all of this. We’re standing in a sea of balloons, listening to romantic music by candlelight beneath a wedding canopy in a building we’ve been in for less than a day. You even got me to drink champagne, which is really amazing considering I vowed not to have another drink around you for at least a lifetime. I don’t think there’s anything you won’t do.”
He laughed, loving her more with each passing second. “Here’s to us, sweetheart.”
He lifted the cake to her mouth as she reached up and smashed her piece to his lips and chin. She squealed when he did the same, and tried to dash away. He trapped her against him with one arm, nipping at the pieces of cake and icing hanging off her lips. She went up on her toes and licked the cake from his chin, her laughter quieting to something much more seductive.
“Kiss me, secret husband,” she whispered. “Kiss me like you never want me to forget this magical moment.”
He kissed off the remaining cake and traced her lower lip with his tongue, loving the needy sigh she emitted. When he did the same to her upper lip, she clung to the back of his neck, pulling him into a scorching-hot and heavy kiss. She tasted like sweet sugar and sinful nights, and he couldn’t hold back. His hands moved over her body, wanting to touch all of her at once. She was right there with him, succumbing to the inferno blazing between them, touching him like she owned him, and he fucking loved it. She pushed against him, arching her back, thrusting her magnificent breasts so hard he couldn’t resist taking what she was offering. He tugged her shirt from her jeans and pushed his hand beneath, filling his palm with her lace-covered breast. His cock throbbed as his thumb grazed over her taut nipple, straining against the material.
He tore back from the kiss long enough to say, “You’re killing me.”
Their mouths collided as he backed her up against the wall, sending balloons flying around their feet. A seductive beat played around them as he devoured her, grinding against her hips with wicked intent. She moaned and mewled, spurring him on. He fisted his hand in her hair. Gorgeous blond ropes tumbled over his fingers, and no part of him wanted to hold back, but he had to be careful—too much more of this and he’d strip away those sexy jeans and bury himself to the hilt. She was his best friend, and he’d waited years to have her. He wasn’t about to make love to her for the first time they’d both remember in a gymnasium, but he needed more, and he needed it now.
He kissed her neck as he lifted her shirt up over her breasts, and she grabbed his ass. Oh yeah, baby. Possess me. Their eyes caught for a hot second, and then hers fluttered closed and she bowed off the wall. Her skin was flushed, her lips parted, and her breasts strained against pink lace. Christ, she was the sexiest woman he’d ever seen. He placed openmouthed kisses along the swell of her beautiful breasts and tugged the lace down on both sides, freeing them for him to taste. He dragged his tongue around each taut peak. Her hands slid off his ass, falling limply by her sides, like it was all she could do to remain standing. He cradled her breast and lowered his mouth over the peak, sucking hard. A cry escaped her lips, and he eased up.
“Don’t stop,” she panted out.
He’d dreamed about touching her, tasting her, but nothing came close to the sinful noises she made as he lavished her other breast with the same attention. He wedged his knee between her legs, and she ground against him. Fuck. He was painfully hard, and soon there would be no stopping him. Like a movie on fast-forward, in his mind he was stripping off her jeans, kneeling between her legs, and feasting on her sweetness. He wanted to hear his name sail desperately from her lungs in the throes of passion, the way it had when they’d made love. He remembered that sound. He might not remember every second of that night, but hell yes, he remembered his name coming off her lips, and there was no way he’d ever forget it.
The thrill of the memory snapped his brain into gear. They were both panting, ready to fuck, only he didn’t want to fuck her in a gym. He wanted to love her, take her, and yes, eventually fuck her many, many times in every location when the feeling hit, including a goddamn gym. But not the first time they’d both clearly remember for the rest of their lives.
He kissed her breasts, every fleck of skin, telling himself to back off and fighting himself in equal measure. But he knew what he had to do, and he righted her bra and lowered her shirt, trying not to feel like a dick because of the confusion—disappointment?—in her eyes. It was awkward, stopping when they were both so revved up, but he loved her too much to chance doing the wrong thing.
“Not here, baby. Not like this.”
“Oh, um, no. Of course not.” She stepped away, her hair curtaining her face, but not before he caught sight of the blush on her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this.”
He reached for her, but she moved around him. Goddamn it.
“We need to clean up. No janitors on board yet,” she said with feigned casualness.
He pulled her into his arms, and he felt her embarrassment like a barrier between them. It killed him knowing he’d caused it. “Sal.”
She stared at his chest.
“Baby, look at me.” When she met his gaze, the pain in her eyes cut him to his core. “Sally, I want you right here and right now, but what I want more than that is to wake up with you in my arms every single day. I can’t take a chance that you’ll regret anything that we do.”
She huffed out a breath and drew her shoulders back, her confidence filling the space between them. “Gage, I don’t know how to navigate the dating world, so maybe I’m considered a slut for saying this, but I’m thirty-eight years old. If I give you the okay to touch me, then trust me, I’ve weeded through the regrets and made a decision.” A smile lifted her lips and she added, “That is, as long as I’m not three sheets to the wind on hard liquor in Vegas.”
“Well, hell, bird. I was so worried about you waking up tomorrow and regretting doing it in a gym, I didn’t think about that.” His arms came around her again, and he went in for another kiss, ready to play, but she twisted away.
“The moment passed.” She crossed and uncrossed her arms, as if they were foreign objects and she had no idea what to do with them. “None of this is easy for me. Other than the night we were drunk, no man has so much as seen me naked since Dave. It was a really big deal for me to build up the courage to let you do as much as we just did, so forgive me for being flustered and ridiculous.”
“I know it was, babe. And it was a huge deal for me, too. That’s why I stopped. I don’t want to mess this up. I’m sorry that I read you wrong, but you are not ridiculous. I’m just an idiot.”
She sighed heavily. “Can we just clean up and go back to the hotel so I can take a hot bath and enjoy my mortification alone?”
He waggled his brows in an effort to lighten the mood and take the emphasis off of what an ass he was. “How about taking a bath together?”
She rolled her eyes, and a soft laugh slipped out. “See? Getting used to each other in this way is going to be a lot harder than you thought.”
The hell with pussyfooting around. He hauled her against him so she could feel what she did to him. Heat rose in her eyes. “I’m glad you noticed. Hard is very good, and I look forward to getting used to you as often as you’ll let me.”