The Love Wager (Mr. Wrong Number, #2)(49)

He said in a deep, quiet voice, “Hallie Piper, do you even have an uncle Bob?”

“I just want to so badly,” she breathed, unsure if she was talking about kissing or having an uncle Bob.

“Well, if you want to,” he said, reaching out with a finger to trace the arch of her eyebrow, his eyes all over her face, “maybe you should.”

The words were nothing, but his tone was challenging. Daring.

So she tugged on the collar of his coat, pulling him down a little closer as she went up on her tiptoes. Instead of going for his mouth, though, she kissed the side of his neck, breathing in his scent while scraping his throat with her teeth. She could feel his intake of breath, and she reveled in the tiny groan as her lips and tongue tasted his warm skin.

Images shot through her head as she imagined what it would be like to do that when they weren’t on a public street in a charming mountain vill—

“Hal. You need to stop. That. Shit.” Jack grabbed her upper arms and set her a step away from him, his voice a little gravelly. He ran a hand down his face, breathed in through his nose, and said, while not looking at her, “Come on. I need to walk.”

She felt like a sex goddess as they started walking, like she’d rendered him weak with her seductive necking skills. She hadn’t realized she’d been smiling, though, until he nudged her arm and said, “Quit that.”

It was barely an hour later when they kissed again, but this time it was all Jack. They were in the outerwear store, and Jack went back to the men’s section while Hallie shopped in the women’s.

The store employee was totally a ski bro: young, adorable, athletic, and into skiing. He chatted her up about the slopes, and then he put a cute hat on her head.

“You need to get the pink Patagonia. Totally makes your gorgeous greens pop.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the dude. “Stupid sentences like that aren’t going to get you the Patagonia commission. Not from me, at least.”

He smiled and adjusted the hat, pulling it down onto her forehead. “It’s not nice to call my heartfelt compliment stupid.”

She laughed and said, “I’m not buying the hat.”

Suddenly, Jack was right beside her. She felt his presence before she saw him, and she smiled up at him as he reached out a hand and tugged on one of the hat’s dangling strings.

“I like it,” he said, looking at her in a way that seemed obscene in public. His eyes didn’t waver from hers, and the heat in them nearly scorched her irises. She didn’t even know how to respond. He turned his attention to the sales guy and said, “We’ll take it.”

They moved to the cash register, and as soon as Jack paid for the hat, he maneuvered her through the small store and into a changing room. “I think I see a relative.”

“You need a number for the changing room,” the sales guy shouted.

Before she could say a word, the door closed and Jack’s mouth was on hers, feeding her wild kisses that made her pulse beat hard as his hands rested on the wall on either side of her face. The mirror was at her back as he pressed against her—every hard bit of him—and she kissed back with as much hunger as she felt from him.

He cursed against her lips and raised his head. He gave her a dirty grin and said, “I think they’re gone.”

“You sure?” She raised her thumb and dragged it over his lower lip. Had it always been this full? “I mean, they could still be lurking.”

His eyes were heavy-lidded as he lightly bit down on her finger—wow, how did that feel hot—and then took a step back from her. He dragged his hands through his hair. “I’m afraid your boyfriend out there’s gonna call the cops on us, and your sister will kill us if we get arrested.”

“Oh, yeah.” She kept forgetting about the wedding. “What time is it?”

He glanced at his watch. “5:05.”

“We should probably head back so we can shower and get ready for the rehearsal.”

“After one more coffee stout at the brewery . . . ?”

“Fine.” She rolled her eyes and said, “You better chug, though, because it takes a long time to make this girl look presentable.”

“Just wear the hat and call it good. The guy is right—makes your gorgeous greens pop.”

“On that note,” she said as they left the fitting room and walked toward the exit, “can you please not interrupt next time I’m being complimented by a bro? I might’ve gotten lucky if you hadn’t stepped in.”

He messed up her hair and put his arm around her neck. “Sorry, my bad.”

After they got back, Jack decided to go work out. That way, he said, she could have the room to herself for an hour to get ready before he needed to shower.

“You sure?” She crossed her arms and watched as he grabbed running shoes, shorts, and a T-shirt. “I was kidding—I can get ready pretty fast.”

“I’m dying to get in a quick mountain run,” he said, walking toward the bathroom. “And I need to lift. I can get ready for dinner in fifteen minutes, so the timing will be perfect.”

After he left, Hallie took a long, luxurious shower. She was having the time of her life playing boyfriend/girlfriend with Jack, and she wished the weekend would never end.

Part of her felt like she should slow down and examine the “why” of her enjoyment, but she quickly pushed that thought out of her mind.