Best Dating Rules: A Romantic Comedy (The Best Girls Book 2) (26 page)

He grinned at her. “Do you like this?” Once again he began to delicately stroke the soft skin.

She let her head fall back against the couch and reveled in the tingling sensation that started on her arm and spread throughout her body. It was so nice. And she could stop him any time she wanted to. She was totally in control.

His fingers traveled up her bare arm and across her shoulder to her exposed neck, feathering the skin lightly with his fingertips.

“Mmmmm,” she moaned. “You... you won’t kiss me, right?”

He leaned over to whisper in her ear, “No... No, I won’t kiss you.” He nibbled her earlobe with his lips, and she squirmed in response. “But if you kiss me, I won’t stop you.” His soft breath in her ear sent shivers through her body. His lips skimmed from her ear down her neck.

His mouth felt so good. It would feel so good on her lips. And his mouth was so close. She turned her head toward him. Her mouth searched desperately for his, and his lips willingly accepted hers. His mouth tickled and teased, plying her lips with soft, gentle kisses. He pulled her shoulders, gradually moving backward until he was reclined against the couch and she was leaning across his body, greedily seeking his lips with hers. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed her mouth against his. The more frantically she kissed him, the more passionately he responded, deepening their kiss as he enfolded his arms around her back, pressing her against his chest.

A knock sounded at the door, and she jumped back wide-eyed and dismayed, wiping her swollen lips with the back of her hand. “Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!” she whispered in frenzy.

“It’s okay. Calm down.” He pulled her hands down and set them in her lap. “Nothing happened, and we didn’t do anything wrong. You sit, and I’ll get the door.”

As he opened the door to let Charlie in, she tried to tell herself she was still in control. But she knew it wasn’t true. With every touch and every kiss she gave another piece of her heart. Already she’d be devastated when he moved on to another girl, as she knew he eventually would. Part of her wanted him to declare he would love her forever. Another part of her was absolutely terrified of hearing those words.

Charlie was startled when Spencer answered the door. She whipped around. “Goodnight, Josh. See you later.” She slipped in the door and tried to shut it, but it wouldn’t close. Josh’s foot was in the way.

He grinned. “You see? I told you Spencer would still be here. I get to come inside.”

“Spencer was just leaving,” said Emily.

“No I wasn’t. I was planning to heat some more water for tea. Decaf, anyone?”

“That sounds good,” said Josh.

Charlie sighed. She really needed to talk to her sister, without Josh around. He’d messed up her head tonight. He was just so... so something. What was it? He was arrogant and egotistical. But that was nothing new. He was overpowering—he maxed out her senses. And he didn’t act threatened by her. She’d always thought that would be a good thing. But now she’d met a guy she didn’t intimidate, she wasn’t sure she liked it after all.

Spencer had put a kettle on to boil before returning to the couch to talk to Josh. They leaned back and got comfortable, as if they had no intention of leaving any time soon. Emily caught Charlie’s eyes and rose from her position between the two men. Charlie knew her intention as soon as she headed her direction. While the guys were deeply engaged, discussing something earth-shatteringly important, like who’d win the World Series, Charlie and Emily slipped out the apartment door.

Giggling softly as they’d done as young girls, they raced for the stairs. “Which way?” said Charlie.

“Up one flight, and then we’ll take the elevator.”

They hurried, breathless and panting, and then rode the elevator up to the open rooftop terrace.

“What do you think they’ll do when they realize we’re gone?” asked Charlie.

“I don’t know, but I was desperate,” Emily confided. “We need to talk.”

“Okay, you first. No, maybe I should go first.”

“Go ahead,” Emily encouraged.

Charlie let out a breath. “He... He gets me to do things I don’t want to do. He doesn’t back off when I yell at him or say no. He... He confuses me—I can’t think straight. And then to top it all off, I’m leaving tomorrow, so I’m probably getting all worked up over nothing.”

Emily chewed her lip. “Okay... Advice or sympathy?”

“Advice now. Sympathy later.”

“Well... I think you shouldn’t close the door on the possibility he’s the one. You have so many things working against this relationship, especially with the distance between you. If it lasts, it would have to be amazing. And you have to give amazing a chance.”

Charlie thought for a moment. “Okay, and I’m going to confess something, because I don’t know what to do about it.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “He kissed me in Spencer’s living room, and he’s been trying to do it again ever since.” She opened pleading eyes to her sister. “What should I do?”

Emily laughed. “I thought that might be what happened. But you haven’t let him kiss you again?”

“No. But he’s very determined to kiss me again before he leaves. Even if we stay out here for three hours, he’ll probably still be waiting in the apartment for me.”

“Sister, I don’t think I can help you. So far, I’ve kissed Spencer twice since I decided not to kiss him anymore.”

Charlie clapped her hands as she laughed. “Good for Spencer.”

“You traitor—you’re my sister. You know I’ll get hurt when he does his thing and takes up with someone new. The more I kiss him, the more it’s going to hurt when he leaves me.”

“Okay. Advice or sympathy?”

“Advice. You’re crummy at giving sympathy. You already laughed at me.”

“Okay, here it is. Sister, he’s not going to leave you. If anyone ends this relationship, it’ll be you.”

“But Grace has told me he always goes from one girl to another. I can’t get my hopes up he’ll stay with me. What if I fall in love, and then he ends it? I have to guard my heart.”

Charlie struggled with her secret knowledge. How could she help her sister without betraying Spencer? “I talked to him, and I really believe he’s not a player anymore. Look how long he pursued you. A player would’ve moved on to someone who was less trouble.”

“Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Josh is a way worse player than Spencer, and you told me to give him a chance.”

“You’re right. He’s really bad. Well, if we ever catch either of these boys cheating, I say, No second chances.”

“Agreed,” said Charlie.

“Let’s go back down and kick them out so we can get some sleep.”

“Okay, but I’m still going to have to kiss Josh goodbye unless you can think of a way out of it.”

“Was it that bad?” teased Emily.

Charlie remembered the assault of his lips and her thudding heart, and she couldn’t help smiling. “I don’t know—I’m pretty sure I passed out from the shock of it.”

As the girls approached the apartment, they found two scowling boys standing outside. “You left us,” said Spencer.

“We’re sisters,” Emily reasoned. “We had to talk.”

“And we’ve decided it’s time for y’all to go home,” said Charlie. “It’s almost midnight, and I’ve got an early flight and y’all have to work in the morning.”

“You’re right,” said Spencer as he pulled Emily into his arms and held her close, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He held her a moment longer before she pulled out of his arms and slipped inside.

Charlie’s heart pounded as she watched Spencer walk toward the elevator, leaving her alone with Josh. She’d put it off all night. She could do this. It was only a kiss. She’d kissed three other guys before. None of them had made her feel dizzy like Josh did, but that was probably a matter of the circumstances. Josh had caught her by surprise, and she’d been angry at the time. Plus, he’d kissed her in Spencer’s living room, where anyone might have walked in and caught them. Now, in the apartment hallway so late at night, they weren’t likely to be disturbed. She took deep controlled breaths to slow her heart rate.

Josh pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. For several long minutes he held her, rubbing her back with his hands. She could feel his heart pounding against hers, even as his movements appeared calm and relaxed.

“You’ve done something to me—I don’t know what. You’ve cast a spell or something.” His voice was gravelly.

“Please, Josh. Don’t use your lines on me. They won’t work.”

His laugh was bitter. “I’ve never used lines like that—I’ve never had to. I don’t think I’ve ever even pretended to really like a girl. This is all new territory for me.”

“So you’ve only done the meaningless sex thing?”

“A lot of it,” he confessed, “But I’d take it all back if I could. I’m sure a guy like me is pretty offensive to a girl like you. I know I can change.”

“We’ll see, Josh. Seriously, let’s wait and see. Give yourself a week or two, and you’ll work me out of your system. I think I’m just an anomaly.”

“It feels more like cancer to me. I think you’ve metastasized, and I’ll never be able to get rid of you, even if I wanted to try.”

“Okay. Whatever you say. But don’t worry—I won’t get my feelings hurt when you realize this relationship is way more trouble than its worth.”

“You’re definitely a lot of trouble.” He cupped her cheeks with his hands and tilting her head back. “But like I said before, you’re worth it.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and touched their lips together, ever so lightly. Then he brushed his lips across hers and planted tiny kisses around her mouth. He continued to tease her lips until she found her own mouth surging toward his, seeking his warmth. But he held her at bay, gently stroking her lips with his own until they parted. He caught her lower lip between his, and she felt tingles radiating from her mouth down her spine.

When his tongue found hers, he groaned and pressed his mouth against hers more forcefully, his hands tangling in her hair. His breathing became ragged as his kiss raged against her senses. She felt the same dizzying sensation she’d felt the night before. Her knees became jelly, and she started to fall away, but one of his arms dropped down on her back and crushed her against him. All the air left the room, and she gasped for breath through her mouth. But he captured her lips again, and played with her sanity until it was gone. Time froze. She had no idea how long he kissed her. It could have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes.

Suddenly his arms gripped her shoulders and pushed her away. She blinked her eyes, waking from a dream, as reality filtered back into her consciousness. Gazing at him through her lashes, she saw his face had a look of alarm, and he was breathing heavily.

“What was that?” he said. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know,” she mumbled, hurt and confused by his question.

He pulled her back into her arms, squeezing her until she fought to breathe. “I can’t believe that was only a kiss,” he said. “Just a kiss. I can’t feel like that from a
kiss
.”

She trembled in his arms, and he soothed her, rubbing her back. “I’m sorry, I scared you. I scared myself, too.”

“So I guess... I guess it wasn’t good? I don’t know. I haven’t kissed that many guys.”

“I think it was beyond good. Did any of those other guys even survive? I almost went into cardiac arrest.” His brows arched together. “You liked it, too, right? I mean, it was totally amazing, right?”

She shrugged, smiling. “It was so-so.”

“Maybe I should try again, if that didn’t impress you,” he threatened, chuckling. “Except I don’t think my heart can take any more of that. “

“Okay.” She attempted to extricate herself from his arms. “See ya at Fall Break, if you’re not busy.”

“I really don’t want to let you go.” He held on as she wriggled in his grasp. “Wait... Just... Can I hold you for a minute? Just a minute more?”

Reluctantly, she nodded and relaxed in his arms. She was uncomfortably aware of the heat of his body against her and embarrassed by the rapid pounding of her heart. But his embrace was gentle, caressing her back, nuzzling his face in her hair, until she was ready to melt right where she stood.

He bent down and gave her a parting peck on the forehead before he released her. He placed his hands on either side of her face and forced her gaze upward. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” she rasped through her cottony throat. Scrambling inside the apartment, she tried to clear her addled brain. It was a good thing she was leaving tomorrow, and he’d soon forget about her. She surely didn’t want to have to deal with Josh again—not after a kiss like that.

“But, I’m read
y
to go back to work,” Anne complained. “I’m going crazy here. And if you say you don’t need me, I promise I’ll get my feelings hurt.”

“But the doctor hasn’t cleared you yet,” insisted Steven.

“She said I could do whatever I feel up to doing. That should certainly include work.” When Steven opened his mouth to argue, Anne jumped in, “Look, I haven’t thrown up since a week ago. I can eat more now. And I’ve gained five pounds.” Anne pooched her stomach out attempting to impress him with her weight.

“You’re still seven pounds below normal. You’re at thirteen weeks and you don’t even look pregnant.”

“
He’s
three inches long and weighs an ounce. I don’t need to look pregnant yet.”

“
She
needs her mother to be careful. What if the symptoms come back?”

Anne smiled. They had this argument all the time. She wanted to have a boy, and he wanted a girl. They had decided not to find out the sex before the birth, so the argument was going to last a long time. If she didn’t miscarry.

“We’ve got the nausea under control. If the oral meds quit working, I’ll go back on an IV. I promise. I’ll take good care of him.”

“You won’t try to hide the symptoms like you did at first?”

“I promise. And I’m second trimester now. We’ve got a lot better chance of making it.”

“
She’s
a fighter. I knew she’d make it.”

“
He’s
a fighter—just like his dad.”

Steven chuckled. “Temporary truce. I need to talk to you about something.”

Anne’s mouth went dry. His face was serious, and she could tell he was attempting to hide his worry. “What? What is it?”

“So, the DA had to drop the charges on Becca. They ran a search warrant based on the information I gave them, but they came up with nothing. I’m convinced she’s the one who drugged Emily’s wine. But she probably got rid of the evidence after I accused her of attempted murder out there at Harriman.” He started pacing. “I should have kept my mouth shut so they could have surprised her, but I was so angry. And I was trying to intimidate her so we could find out what lie she told Emily.”

“It’s not your fault. Emily’s life is all that mattered. Even if you can’t make her pay for what she did, you saved Emily.”

“Yes, but... We still thought we might have a chance at proving our case. There was one person at the bar who claimed to have seen her at Emily’s table. And Denning admitted he left the table for a minute when his friends were leaving the bar. The DA thought he might get her to cave in and confess, but she lawyered up and isn’t talking.”

“That’s okay. Surely this will scare her enough to keep her from ever doing anything like this again.”

“That’s the thing. The DA said this girl is pretty vindictive. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t try to retaliate somehow.”

“But she seemed like a nice enough girl.”

“You and your daughters are way too trusting. You always believe the best about people. Usually it’s a wonderful thing, but sometimes it can be dangerous. This is one of those times. I think we need to warn Emily. Actually, I should probably warn Spencer instead. Emily’s probably already forgiven Becca and invited her over for tea.”

“Oh, I don’t think she’d invite her for tea—”

“I’m being sarcastic.” He pushed both hands through his hair. “I’m only saying she’s too trusting and too forgiving.”

Anne smiled and wrapped him in her arms. “But she has a great dad to take care of her now.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do, but I need cooperation.”

“Uhmm, hmmm,” said Anne, unbuttoning his shirt.

“What are you doing?” he asked with a grin, watching her determined efforts.

She looked up with a sultry smile as she undid the last button. “I’m cooperating.”

Spencer felt sorry for himself. It was Friday night, and he was out on a date... with Josh. And Josh didn’t look any happier about the situation than Spencer. What a pair they made. But Josh was as good an option as any, since Emily had some pressing engagement with her laundry tonight. Three weeks—three weeks since he’d had a single moment alone with her. She’d always managed to arrange their dates so there were friends along or they were in a crowded public place. And when he took her home, she would insist she needed to go check on her mom. They hadn’t been alone together since the night in her apartment after the climbing date. And never alone meant never kissing. Frustrated didn’t begin to describe him.

So when Grace had begged him to take Josh somewhere to give her a chance to be alone with Brad, he’d reluctantly agreed. Why not? Josh had evidently sworn off other women since his encounter with Charlie. Consequently, he was moping around with Brad and Grace. Brad complained his once fun-loving friend had turned into a moping grump.

“Can you believe it?” Josh griped. “Brad told me I needed to get laid. Here I am, trying to change, trying to be the sort of man Charlie deserves, and he’s fighting against me.”

“Does she know you’re trying to change? I mean... Is she encouraging you?”

Josh squeezed his eyes shut with a grimace. “She won’t talk to me. I call her every day, and I always get her voice mail. Then she texts back about being really busy.”

“Sounds like a brush-off to me. Sorry man.”

“She’ll give in eventually, won’t she? I mean, you said it took a while with Emily. Right?”

“Maybe the two of them are plotting together. Emily hasn’t ditched me, but she’s avoided being alone with me for three weeks.”

“That sucks, man.”

“Yeah,” Spencer agreed glumly. “Want another drink?”

“Good idea. Waitress,” called Josh. “Bring me a double.”

“Uhmm... A double?” asked the teenaged blond girl.

“Yes. A strawberry-banana-yogurt slush, with a double vitamin shot.”

Spencer chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t want to go somewhere and get something a little stronger to drown your sorrows?”

“No. I’m on call tonight. Thanks for hanging out, by the way. I guess Brad and Grace are getting tired of me. I never realized how much time I spent chasing women before. I guess I’m going to need a new hobby.”

“Emily says Charlie’s still convinced you’ll forget about her soon.”

“She’s wrong.” His scowl disappeared as his eyes widened. “You could help me—you could call Emily to tell her I’ve changed. You could tell her I’m not a player anymore.”

“I’ll do better. I’ll call Charlie and tell her. I’ve been wanting to get her advice anyway.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Charlie’s number.

“She won’t answer,” said Josh. “She texted me she was going to a movie with friends tonight.”

“Hey Spencer,” Charlie’s voice rang out. “What’s up?”

“Uhmm...” Spencer cringed at Josh’s angry expression. “I was calling to ask some advice about your sister. She, uhmm, she’s making sure we’re never alone together.”

Her laugh was so loud he pulled the phone back from his ear. “Oh, right. She’s enforcing that no kissing thing.”

“She told you about that?”

“Yeah, she told me. Sorry. Are you having a tough time?” He was irritated at the lack of sympathy in her voice.

“How do I fix it? I can’t go without kissing her. I’m dying here.”

Her laughter was musical. “You’re not going to die, Spencer. But… she’s protecting herself. She’s still convinced you’re going to drop her for some other girl.”

“I’m not.” He couldn’t hide the hurt in his voice. “I was thinking about... getting a ring.”

“Really? That’s awesome! I bet she’d quit worrying if y’all were engaged. Oh, and if you want to surprise her, I know what she likes. I mean we’ve talked about what type of diamonds and settings we like for years.”

“But I’ll have to save the money. I can’t get one that soon. You really think she won’t kiss me again until we’re engaged.” Spencer felt as if he’d been given a death sentence.

“Hopefully, you’ll find a way to convince her you’re not going to leave her for another girl. But let me warn you. We made a pact—no second chances.”

“Meaning what?” Spencer could tell Josh was straining to hear Charlie’s words.

“If we catch a guy cheating one time, that’s it. No second chances.”

Josh waved at Spencer and silently mouthed, “Tell her about me.”

“Uhmm, speaking of chances, are you giving Josh a chance? Because I think he’s trying really hard.”

Charlie groaned. “He thinks he wants me, but he doesn’t. For goodness sake, he chased my sister before he went after me. He’ll forget about me soon, and he’ll be with some other girl. Or maybe he’ll be with two or three girls. Who knows?”

Josh was shaking his head angrily and gesturing. Spencer said, “But he... He’s changed. He’s really trying hard. He’s not going out with any other girls. Ask Grace—she knows.”

“I just think it’s futile.”

“No it’s not,” muttered Josh.

“Ohmygosh! Is he there? Is that Josh? Spencer! How could you?” The phone clicked, and Charlie was gone.

“My life sucks.” Josh let his head fall onto the table with a thud.

“Mine, too. Emily’s going to hear about that phone call and give me a dressing down. Why do women make everything so complicated?”

“It’s our punishment as men. We have to suffer because Adam took that apple from Eve.”

“I hate that guy,” muttered Spencer, and Josh nodded in agreement.

Emily loved watching her mom and Steven together. He was so devoted and sweet. She was truly happy her mom had found love again after being alone for so long after she was widowed. They never acted jealous or mistrustful. They had absolutely no doubts about each other’s fidelity. She was actually a little envious.

She and Spencer were having lunch with her parents in the back room at Papa’s Place in celebration of Anne’s first day back at work. Her mom looked happier and healthier than she had since the last fateful lunch at Papa’s.

“So, I’m not a hundred percent back to normal, but I can take oral antiemetics and vitamins and antihistamines now. And we’ve finally found a combination that works pretty well.” She munched happily on a stuffed baked potato, having not been brave enough to attempt eating the spicy special of the day. “And, I can start exercising again.”

Steven frowned at this. “But you’re not supposed to overdo it.”

Anne waved him off. “I’m dying to get outside and do something. I thought we could go do some little easy hike next weekend.”

“Hmmm… I think you’re speaking at that HER fundraiser Saturday night. Are you sure you’re going to want to hike Saturday morning?”

“That’s next Saturday? I forgot. What am I supposed to say? How long do I have to speak?” Her face was as white as her napkin.

“Just twenty minutes.”

“Ughh! I’m nervous already.”

“Perhaps I could pretend to have appendicitis,” Steven suggested playfully, referencing a ploy he used to help distract her from her nervousness during a presentation.

“I guess I’ll give Henri a call, so he’ll be there to comfort me afterwards,” she teased.

“I still don’t like that guy.” Steven scowled.

“Who’s Henri?” asked Spencer.

“He’s this French jerk that went after Anne and tried to steal her from me. I was insanely jealous.”

“Not any more jealous than I was of Michelle or Ellen,” declared Anne.

“Which is ridiculous, since you were the one who wanted me to date Ellen. But that’s another story.”

“This is crazy,” said Spencer. “I’ve never heard this stuff.”

Emily twirled her sphaghetti on her fork. “How did you decide you could trust Steven, Mom? After all, he had quite the reputation in the social columns and tabloids.”

“Let me answer that.” Steven took a drink of water. “You know, I never minded those rumors, and they were mostly true in the early days. But even though I’d pretty much given up that lifestyle ten years before, my reputation made it hard for Anne to really trust me.”

“It was really hard for me to believe he loved me,” her mom admitted. “I didn’t feel special enough for him to choose me. I was nobody.”

“No. You were amazing. You’re still amazing.” Steven raised her hand to kiss her knuckles. He turned back to Emily. “But it took a lot for me to convince her she was the only one for me.”

“You guys are so sappy,” said Emily.

“I need to talk to both of you about something serious,” said Steven. “It’s about Becca. There’s evidence she may’ve been the person who drugged your wine, but not enough evidence to get a conviction. And the District Attorney who handled the case warned me he thought she might try to retaliate.”

“What else could she do?” asked Spencer. “I mean, do they think she’s violent? Would she try to kill Emily or something?”

“I don’t think so. But I really think you should be on guard. I don’t trust her.”