Kiss and Don't Tell(100)
“Hey,” Pacey says, squeezing my leg. “Everything okay?”
“What? Oh, yes, sorry.” I awkwardly laugh. “Max just being an idiot.” The lie feels dirty rolling off my tongue, and I’m disappointed in myself for lying to Pacey. But I know if I told Pacey it was a text from Josh, he wouldn’t react well. He’s made it quite clear how he feels about Josh.
“You sure? You look like you’re a little shocked.”
I smile and set my phone down while I rest my head on his shoulder. “Max can be outrageous. He never ceases to surprise me,” I say as I stare out at the road, my throat growing tight.
Let me prove it to you.
Those six words make my stomach roll, because even though I don’t want anything to do with Josh, not after how he treated me, after how much my mom despised him, I’m still curious. Curious what he has to say.
Chapter Twenty-One
PACEY
“Thank you for always carrying my bag,” Winnie says as we ride the elevator up to my apartment. “It’s really sweet.”
“My mom taught me well,” I say before I lean down and press a kiss to her lips.
Toward the end of our trip, Winnie went silent on me. She claims it was something Max said, but I don’t fully believe that. There was a dramatic shift in her mood. I’ve seen her talk to Max before, and I doubt there’s anything he could say that would make her shift that drastically. Or even Katherine, for that matter.
I think she got some news and she’s not willing to share it just yet.
Yeah, that might fucking sting, knowing that she’s not entirely comfortable in sharing things with me, but that’s probably going to take time. I also wonder if that’s to do with the fact that I’m from a largish family—hockey brothers included—and she’s used to only having her three people in her life. It’s going to take patience, Lawes.
The elevator doors open and I nod toward the left. “Down here.”
“You mean you don’t own the entire floor?” she asks with humor.
“There are three apartments on this floor. Sorry to disappoint. But it’s pricey as shit because of the views of the Burrard Inlet.” I stop at my door and fish my keycard from my pocket.
“Keycard? That’s fancy.”
“It’s kind of annoying, actually. Have to pull the damn thing out of my wallet every time.” I unlock the door and hold it open for her. She steps inside and I switch on the lights for her.
“Oh, wow,” she says as she looks straight ahead, to the entire expanse of windows with a view of the inlet. As she walks toward them, I set our bags down in the entryway and shut the door behind me. “Pacey, this is gorgeous.”
“Best apartment in the building,” I say, walking up behind her. “Great views, and I have a private rooftop. It might be a little smaller than some of my teammates’ places, but I don’t need anything big. I just want the views.”
“It’s spectacular.” She turns toward me and takes in the rest of the apartment. “Did you decorate yourself?”
“My mom helped a bit,” I admit. “She was adamant about me having a grown-up place, but I’m not much of a color guy so we compromised with blacks and whites and some pops of green.”
“It’s extremely sophisticated.” She smiles at me. “Makes you even hotter.”
I chuckle and pull her into my grasp by her hips. “Is that so?”
She nods. “The white walls, white furniture, black fixtures, and black cabinets—I don’t know, gives you a whole different vibe than I was expecting.”
“A good one, I hope.”
“A very good one.” Her hands fall to my lower back. “Are you still stiff?”
“I’m always stiff around you.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m not referring to your penis, Pacey.”
I laugh.
“But I know your back was bothering you in the car.” She rubs it with her knuckles. “Are you okay?”
“I’d be better in a bathtub, with you naked, between my legs.”
Her eyes turn soft as she says, “Then show me the way.”
Fuck—this woman. She’s going to be the death of me, I know it. So willing to do anything.
I take her hand and lead her to my bedroom, where she makes a few comments about the size of my bed, the comfortable linens, and the surprising throw pillows. I take her into my master bathroom and head straight to the tub, turning the taps to start the water.
“Lavender good with you?” I ask her.
“As in bath salts?”
“Yeah. That good?”
Her smile is so fucking sexy. “Yeah, that’s perfect.”
I sprinkle lavender bath salts in with the filling water, pull a few towels from my cabinet and set them to the side, and then stream some soft pop music from my phone to the Bluetooth speakers. When I turn to face her, she’s stripped out of her dress, leaving her in a red bra and matching red thong.
“Fuck, warn a guy,” I say, taking a step back to take her all in.
I’m a fucking sucker when it comes to Winnie’s body. Curvy, sexy, and so goddamn beautiful. She really checks all my boxes when it comes to a girl, and I think she’s starting to realize that as she gains more confidence around me.