Neighbors with Benefits (Anderson Brothers, #2)(46)

“Figured it out, did you?” he handed her a shot glass. “Introspection and revelation can be inconveniently timed.”

She sniffed the straw-colored liquid. “Tequila.”

“Jason says it does good things for you.”

She smiled at his reference to the conversation in his apartment and leaned on the porch rail. “And you responded by saying that you do good things for me.”

“I’d like to.”

Whoa. No holding back. It was almost surreal to be here with this man only her wildest fantasies could conjure. A man so deep, she hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface. “What are we doing?”

“Taking off our masks.”

She nodded and downed the shot in one gulp.

He took the glass. “No more tequila. I want you completely unaltered.” He kissed her gently. “No pretense, no excuses, no obstacles. Agreed?”

“Yes,” her voice was breathier than intended and her body hummed with energy as he took her in from head to toe.

“You look beautiful,” he said, leaning against the support beam of the porch, looking all but edible in his suit and a tie with tiny red specks that matched her dress. He’d planned that out, not doubt. Always the planner.

“It’s all about the dress,” she said.

He caught her elbow and turned her to face him. “It’s about the woman in the dress. The woman I want out of the dress. The woman who is beautiful no matter what she wears,” he added, releasing her arm. “Stop selling yourself short. No pretense. No masks, remember?”

The specks on his tie blurred and she blinked rapidly until her vision cleared. “Yes.” Up this close, she realized the red on the tie wasn’t specks, but the fins on tiny, geometric, interlocking fish—like an Escher painting. Complex and organized, just like the man. Something completely different when observed from a distance than when up close.

He put his mouth to her ear. “Let me make love to you tonight. Let me do all the things I’ve been dreaming about since I met you.”

“I…” Thank goodness for the railing or she’d have melted in a puddle.

He put his finger to her lips. “Don’t answer yet.” She held onto the railing for dear life as he drew her earlobe between his teeth, then ran his tongue where his teeth had been. “Just think about it. We should get back before they serve dinner.”

To heck with dinner. Between the cool air blowing up her skirt and his hot breath in her ear, she was ready to skip dinner all together.

“Hi, guys. Everything okay?”

Or not.

“Hey, Sue. Yeah. We were just coming in. Sorry I skipped out.”

Sue wrapped her arm around Mia’s shoulders and led her toward the door. “No problem. They’re serving the food right now and I didn’t want yours to get cold.”

…

Dinner was uneventful. While they’d been on the porch, someone must have read Jason the riot act, because he switched from beer to coffee and stayed quiet for the most part. It didn’t stop him from shooting resentful glares at Mia occasionally, which caused Michael to utilize considerable restraint to not throw him out. Interspersed with the glares were blatant suck-up comments to Michael, who had finally gotten him to stop calling him Mike.

He hated people like Jason, who saw people as no more than stepping-stones. He dealt with them all the time. He still couldn’t figure the guy out, though. He came from money probably, but his job didn’t reflect good family connections. And why had he not wanted Mia to come to the wedding? As he watched the interplay among friends, he got no closer to an answer.

When things were dwindling down, and dessert and champagne had been served, Mark stood.

“I’m told that I’m supposed to give a thank you speech of some kind, but we’re all friends here, so I’ll just keep it simple. I love this woman. I value her friendship, and everyone else’s at the table…well, maybe not yours, Jason.”

Everyone laughed, but Michael wondered how much truth was behind the words. Loyalty and friendship could exist separately. Though, after getting to know Mia, he was not so sure about the independence of love from friendship.

“Anyway, thank you all for being a part of our wedding.” He held his glass up and was joined by everyone around the table.

“I want to dance!” Sue said. “Who’s coming to the bar with me?”

“I will,” Kelli said, not even glancing at Jason.

“I know where my bread’s buttered,” Mark said with a wink, finishing off his champagne and taking Sue’s hand.

“Are you going, Michael?” Jason asked as the parents followed the bride and groom out. “Because if not, I’d like to talk about some possible business ideas I have.”

It would be a cold day in Hell. Not even looking at him, Michael took Mia’s hand, but remained seated. “I’m only here for pleasure, Jason. No business of any kind.”

Mia flushed and he leaned closer, gratified by the effect he had on her. “Let’s go dance, Mia mine,” he whispered in her ear.

She met his eyes and it almost took his breath away. Her pupils were wide, and he could see the flame from the candle from the center of the table dancing in them. “Yes.”

Her tone was so intense, he remained still.