Chapter 24
Reese
I look down at the half-eaten Irish cream triple chocolate cupcake sitting in front of me and realize that this is the best fucking cupcake I’ve ever made. Hands down. I grin to myself.
Jesus, this smokin' hot sex is turning me into a badass.
Leo Montgomery is my lover. Just the thought of it makes my pussy do cartwheels.
I crawled out of his bed at 2:45 this morning after three orgasms. Yup–-three! He walked me across the lawn to my back door. He cupped my cheeks in his massive palms and he brought his lips down on mine and he kissed me. I stepped into my house feeling like I was hitching a ride on angels’ wings.
And—yes, yes—when I peeked into the mirror, I looked like something a cat had dragged out of the gutter, but who cares? I felt like a million bucks. I’m running on zero sleep but I’m flying high because who needs sleep after THREE MINDBLOWING ORGASMS?!
“So these are the options I'm looking at for bridesmaids dresses. What do you girls think?”
I push aside my empty wine glass and glance over Sophia's shoulder at the assortment of fruity, pouffy frocks on the computer screen. With the rose-colored glasses I'm wearing these days, every damn thing is beautiful. She could put me in a frog costume with wooden clogs and a pink rhinestone tiara and I'd be okay with that because I'm walking on sunshine.
Nova sets her sketchpad aside and inches closer. Her face goes sour as she stares at the screen. “No, just no. Try again, Princess.”
Disappointment radiates from Sophia's eyes. "You don't like any of the them?”
"I'm insulted that you would even imagine me wearing one of those atrocities." Nova swipes another cupcake from the tray.
Sophia cocks her head to the side and examines the dresses again. ”They are pretty ugly, aren’t they?” She giggles daintily into her fist.
"I wouldn't lie to you, honey. They're hideous." Nova wears her trademark tough love expression.
Sophia sighs. “Josh’s mother suggested them and when I say ‘suggested’, I mean ‘demanded’."
“Attack of the future mother-in-law?” Nova swallows a gulp of wine.
“The woman is driving me crazy with all her unsolicited opinions.” Sophia looks like she's in agony. “I don't know how I'm going to tell her that you girls hate those dresses.”
“Oh hun, that really sucks.” I squeeze her shoulder. ”What’s Josh was saying about all of this?”
She grunts. “Joshua is so not involved in any of this. Except for insisting that we get married in Vegas instead of having a nice church wedding here in Copper Heights like normal people. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm getting married to myself. All of the planning, all of the decision-making falls on me. Meanwhile, he just sits around on his phone, tinkering about with his little luxury nail clipper startup.” How she keeps a straight face talking about Josh’s entrepreneurial endeavors is a mystery to me. “I know that owning his own business is a dream of his, but getting married is our dream so we should be doing this together.” Sophia’s usual put-together persona has slipped out of place. She’s frustrated and letting it show. Seeing her like this is disorienting.
Nova asks the question I wish she wouldn’t. "Are you sure you want to marry this guy, Soph?”
Her posture goes defensive. "Of course I want to marry him. I love him." Now she's even more upset." I just wish he’d stop being such a guy about this.” She pulls on the ends of her hair.
"As long as you're sure..." Nova looks unconvinced as she picks up her pencil again and strokes the tip across the course paper of her sketchpad.
Right then, there’s a knock at the back door. Leo’s face appears in the glass. My heart immediately begins to drum an excited rhythm. I leap out of my chair and slide the door open just a little, angling my body in the hopes of getting a little privacy. Still, I feel my friends’ eyes on us.
“Hey…” I say in a low voice as my eyes coast over his handsome features. I’m still not over how hot he is.
“Hey…” He wraps his arms around my waist and lets his palms slide over my ass as he buries his face in my neck.
I take a step back and clear my throat. That’s when his eyes move past my shoulder and he notices my friends. He straightens up and grins. “Oh, hi ladies.”
Those two bitches don’t even try to hide their surprise. “Hi Leo,” they singsong in unison.
His eyes move back to me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize that you had company,” he tells me.
“Cupcake Sunday…”
He lightly taps his forehead as if he’s suddenly remembering. “Cupcake Sunday. Right.” He smiles and I feel a little breathless. “Brent just inexplicably decided to take an afternoon nap so I just thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to hang out. But you’re busy.”
“Yeah, I—“
“Don’t worry about it. Go back to your girlfriends. I’ll catch you later.”
He starts backing away and I stop him. "Wait."
Pausing his movements, he watches as I grab cupcake from the counter and hand it to him. "Happy Cupcake Sunday," I whisper.
He takes my hand and brings it to his lips. With his eyes locked on mine, he sucks espresso frosting off of my knuckles. "Delicious," he hums in a low, gravelly voice that vibrates between my legs. "Happy Cupcake Sunday."
Oh, my heart.
He puts a chaste kiss on my cheek and leans over my shoulder. "Have a good evening, ladies." He backs away from the door.
When I turn back to my friends, they’re wearing identical smirks.
Nova sidles up to me with her arms folded across her chest. “Well, well, well—looks like the neighborhood just got a little friendlier, huh?” She cocks a brow like she just sniffed out some major conspiracy.
“Don’t start,” I say as I grab my wine glass and fill it to the top.
Sophia shakes her head, clearly disappointed in me. “So you just weren’t gonna tell us that you’re seeing the hot guy next door.”
“I’m not exactly seeing him. In the traditional sense.” My cheeks warm up as I slide back into my chair.
“What exactly are you up to, Reese?” Sophia questions with a lifted brow.
Nova’s grin spreads wide across her face. "Looks like our little Reesie has got herself a fuck friend."
I cringe. "I prefer the term 'lover' please. Much less derogatory."
My friends share a look.
"As you wish, classy bitch." Nova crosses one leg over the other and reaches for another cupcake. "That doesn't exempt you from giving us details, though."
"Yeah, why didn't you tell us about this?" Betrayal covers Sophia’s face.
I shrug, feeling a tiny bit of guilt. "I wanted to be discreet. That's how these things work. Isn't it?"
"How long have you been hoarding this information?" Sophia presses.
My shoulders hunch up. "Two weeks."
Nova leans forward. “Well, I don’t want you keeping all that stuff pent up. It’s no good for your cardiovascular health,” she says generously. “Spill them beans!”
Laughing, I tell them everything. Starting at the hug in the garden to the kiss on the back porch to the nightly rendez-vous that have me creeping out my neighbor's back door at 3:00 every morning.
"Oh my god. I have a lover." I giggle into my hand. "Does that make me slutty?"
"Yes!" Sophia barks just as Nova yells, "No!"
"Exploring your sexuality without the burden of commitment makes you interesting, adventurous, worldly." That's Nova’s take on the matter.
Sophia rolls her eyes. "It's all fun and games until you end up on one of those early morning talk shows where nobody knows the father of their kid."
Nova waves her off. "Those shows are scripted. Grandma and I sat in the studio audience that time we visited New York. I was so disappointed." Her attention comes to me. "Having a lover is the most liberating thing you can do for yourself," she tells me. "There's only one rule...Don't fall in love."
Simple.
One simple rule.
Except, as I bring my wine glass to my lips, I'm gut-clenchingly aware that not falling in love with a man like Leo won't be simple at all.