“Do you want to fool around?” she asked.
I lifted a brow. “Does it involve you getting naked?”
“And you,” she purred.
I quickly moved and pinned her to the couch. “I like this plan.”
My mouth pressed against hers, and we were soon lost in the kiss. Her hands explored my body like mine did hers. I burned for this woman, and from the way she moaned with every kiss and touch, I knew she felt the same way.
“Please tell me you have a condom, Anson.”
I froze, then dropped my forehead to hers. “Fuck. I don’t.”
“Should we go buy some?”
Laughing, I asked. “Do you really want folks to see us walking into Lowes Food Mart and buying condoms? For one, I may be stoned for trying to corrupt the princess of Comfort, and two, I may just simply be stoned.”
She giggled. “I am not the princess of Comfort. What are you talking about?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please. I’ve only been home a couple of weeks, and do you know how many people have told me all you do for the community? Not to mention, a few older women have made it known that it was for the best that I left Comfort since you were finally able to thrive with me gone.”
Her mouth fell open. “Who said that?”
I shrugged and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “No one important, and if Grams ever found out, she’d throw the offender out of her circle of friends.”
Bristol’s smile faded, and she pushed on my chest. “We need to talk about something else.”
I sat up, feeling my cock strain against my jeans. “Will it lead to us not having sex right now?”
“No, but unless you plan on being creative, we can’t have sex with no condom.”
“Ha. It’s called pulling out, Sweetheart.”
Her brow lifted. “Are you sure you’d be able to?”
I gave her a hurtful expression. “So little faith in my abilities, Darlin’.”
She rolled her eyes. “Let me see if Mindy has any.”
Bristol got up in search of her phone. When she came back, she dropped onto the sofa and sighed heavily. She was putting something off. I could tell. Just what it was, though, I wasn’t sure.
“No luck?”
She handed me her phone, and I read the texts. One was to Mindy. Bristol had asked if she had any condoms.
Mindy: I’m pregnant. Do you really think I’d have some lying around? Obviously that horse already left the barn.
The next was a text she sent her brother.
“You asked your brother to buy condoms?”
She shrugged.
I groaned. “Great. Just when I was positive he wasn’t going to beat my ass for breaking your heart, now he’ll beat my ass for trying to have safe sex with you.”
The smile on her face had my insides warming. Not in a sexual way, but more like a happy bubble growing in my chest.
“I guess this gives us time to talk about whatever it was you wanted to discuss,” I said.
“Ugh. Yes. I guess we do need to talk about it.”
She turned and faced me as she crossed her legs. “We were set up by Ida.”
“Set up?” I asked.
Bristol nodded. “Annie did indeed ask to have dinner with you. But Ida quickly changed things around by informing her about our past relationship. She came up with a plan, which Annie went along with. It was why she suggested I come to dinner. Ida had already booked the room before we even got to the hotel, Anson. Then, she got not only your mother, but my mother involved.”
My stomach dropped. “That makes more sense.”
Bristol frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t think it was weird that the food we had delivered was the exact same food that, I know for a fact, we both liked at that wedding? Then the clothes. Your outfit, right down to your shoes, was the right size.”
Her eyes widened, and she slapped me on the shoulder. “I thought that too! I couldn’t figure out how Annie knew. I’m positive that little bit of information came from my mother.”
“And my mother!” I nearly shouted. “She was involved too?”
“Not at first, but then she got onboard.”
“Did they tell you this?”
She shook her head. “No. Mindy said Ida told her.”
I pushed my fingers through my hair. Why couldn’t they keep out of my business? I would have worked this all out with Bristol if they’d just trusted me.
“I’m sorry they stuck their noses in,” I said, “I swear to you I didn’t know anything about it.”
Bristol looked taken aback. “Anson, I knew you weren’t a part of it. I never once thought you were.”
With a frustrated sigh, I shook my head. “Why couldn’t they have just left it up to us? We would have worked it out.”
She nodded. “I wasn’t planning on saying anything to them. I was angry at first, but I truly believe their hearts were in the right place.”