The Fix (The Carolina Connections, #1)(32)

Her face fell. “I say that all the time … It’s friendly.”

She looked so disheartened I was without words for several moments. “Hmm, well, this is awkward.” That’s all I had.

We looked at each other silently for several beats. Then, finally, thank God, she broke out into the fucking cutest fit of giggles I’ve ever heard in my life. It was impossible not to respond with my own laughter, and pretty soon we were both doubled over. The situation may not have warranted the extent of our hilarity, but it felt so damn good to share this with her. I felt ten feet tall.



Since there’s never an ideal time to humiliate yourself, I chose the moment right before I was leaving Laney’s house. I gathered my things and walked into the kitchen where she was at the counter mixing something in a bowl. “Whatcha making?”

Her head turned to me and she had a bit of what looked like flour on her cheek. “Chocolate chip cookies. I figured if the doughnuts didn’t put us into a diabetic coma this would finish the job.” She smiled and turned back to her task.

I approached from behind and stuck my finger in the bowl. I got the dough to my mouth before she could smack my hand. “Psoo gwood.”

“Hey! Taste-testing is only for the baker!”

I swallowed the pilfered bite. “It’s just payment for today’s work!” I then pressed myself into her back, forcing her closer to the counter. I could hear her breath catch. I leaned down close to her ear and whispered, “You have flour on your face,” just to watch her raise her hand to her cheek in that way I found so endearing. I wasn’t disappointed.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner.” She was flustered and started to squirm a bit which did nothing for the situation in my pants, considering my body was anchoring hers to the counter. I had no doubt she could feel my body’s reaction to her, so I went in for a soft kiss under her ear. She melted into me a bit and I managed to turn her around so I could gain access to her mouth.

Our kisses were wet, hot, and fervent. Neither of us could get enough, and when my hand found its way to her breast she arched her back and pressed further into me. I rubbed her tight nipple with my thumb and she let out a small moan. My other hand caressed down her back and gripped her ass, pulling her in even tighter to my groin. It felt infinitely better than I’d imagined, and I’d spent a lot of time imagining it.

I was dying to get her out of this skirt and replace my hand with my mouth. Her arms wrapped around me and one of her hands descended to my ass as the other gripped my t-shirt. I was starting to lose control and was ready to prop her up on the counter and splay her out. I knew I had to slow down or I’d scare her away for sure. I pulled back reluctantly with one last squeeze of her ass and we both breathed deeply. She raised her hand again, but this time it was to touch her lips which were swollen from our kisses.

“You still think it’s a bad idea to go out with me?” I asked.

She smiled and her cheeks remained pink as we both continued to steady our breaths

“I’ll tell you what,” I said, my hand caressing up and down her side. “You don’t even have to be alone with me for our first date. As strange as it sounds, I’d like to ask you and Rocco to come over for dinner at my parents’ house tomorrow.” I held my breath and hoped for the best.

A perplexed look crossed her face. “I’m sorry, did you just ask me to meet your parents tomorrow?”

“It’s not what it sounds like. My mom’s a terrible cook but she wants to have people over to hang out with my dad and I have trouble saying no to her. Don’t overthink it—just say yes.”

“Um, okay then, I guess we can come.” Then she quickly added, “Can I bring Gavin?” It seemed she wanted to make sure this wasn’t a date. As long as she was coming, though, I didn’t care who she brought with her.

“Sure. The more the merrier. That way we’ll have more people to hang out with at the hospital when we all get food poisoning.”

Her face fell.

“Kidding. But, seriously, you may want to eat before you come.”

I offered to pick her up but she assured me they could get there on their own, so once I gave her the address it was time for me to leave. We walked to the door together and I couldn’t help but pull her to me for one more short kiss. She tasted like cookies.

“I’ll call you later,” I said and walked to my truck, afraid if I didn’t leave now I never would.

Once I got to my car I called Bailey and told her the Monroe troop was coming tomorrow and she’d better get her ass on the phone and invite someone too—in order to keep things as casual as possible. I could tell right away she was going to try to bail, so like any good brother would, I employed blackmail to get my point across.

“Oh, did I forget to tell you I gave Vance your number?” Vance was the creepy electrician we contracted with on occasion, and he had a serious thing for Bailey. “I said you would be waiting for his call and were really looking forward to getting to know him better. I think he mentioned dinner at his place—I can’t recall all the details, but I’m sure it won’t involve any lotion on the skin or anything.”

“I hope you choke on your own dick. You didn’t actually do that, did you?”

“Not yet, but I do have his number on speed dial.”