“Bad idea. I’d like to continue this conversation. It’s the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
“Me too,” I reply honestly, feeling an instant kinship with him.
“So you were something of a wild child?”
“Exactly. My parents were great people, and I was still a terrible kid. To be honest, my wild side persisted up until college. Then I had to tuck it away, step up, and be all serious. I gave my mom and dad white hair. I mean… I didn’t do dangerous stuff, just crazy enough to cause trouble.”
“Ah, you’re a girl after my own heart.” His low tone awakens a deep and powerful longing inside me, and I do my best to ignore it. “What was the craziest thing you did?”
“Once we were vacationing in Texas, and my best friend was with us. We snuck out at night and went swimming. Mom almost had a heart attack. And she didn’t even know the worst part. We went skinny-dipping.” And cue my return to inappropriate lane. This man has a dangerous effect on me.
“Do you still go skinny-dipping? If yes, I’m in dire need of swimming lessons. Actually, I’d settle for you wearing your sexy bunny costume while teaching me.”
I let out an audible breath, heat spearing me at this unexpected turn of the conversation. Yeah, in his office, I suspected his humor is the kind that’s sprinkled with inappropriate comments, but I have an inkling that was just a preview.
“Sorry, I was out of line,” he says.
“Yes, but I did bring up those topics, so… we were both misbehaving. Can I ask you a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Please think up some wildly inappropriate childhood stories and share them with me on Thursday. I feel like I’m at a distinct disadvantage here.”
Yet again, his laughter fills the air, and before I know it, I’m grinning ear to ear too. “You’ve got it. So how inappropriate are we talking? Just funny, white-hair-inducing for my parents, or…?"
He doesn't finish the sentence, but his meaning is clear. I fear I’ve unleashed the inappropriate side of him with my incessant rambling.
"Funny will do," I say, and my voice doesn't sound quite right.
"Great. See you on Thursday. Also, and I'm just putting this out there, I wouldn't mind seeing that sexy bunny outfit someday if you still have it."
"You're a bad man, Christopher."
"I suppose it would be unwise for me to add that I wouldn't mind seeing you wear it?" He says this with the slightest hint of laughter in his voice, but I can picture his luscious mouth curled up at one side, his dark eyes full of mischief and lust. Damn, damn, damn.
"Very unwise, Mr. Bennett."
"We're back to Mr. Bennett? Let's end this call before I become so inappropriate that you call me something ridiculous like Sir or Your Highness."
Oh God. This man is hilarious, and I could talk to him for hours. Which is precisely why this is the best time to end the call.
"See you on Thursday, Christopher. Have a good night."
"You too."
After the line goes dead, I focus on the hat again. It's been a long time since I had so much fun talking to someone. A thought nags at the back of my mind that I should keep things professional. Christopher Bennett isn't a friend, he's a client, and I've learned the hard way that crossing professional boundaries can have dire consequences.
Besides, I’m the girl with the plan, alw
ays have been. Before my parents passed away, the plan was to rise to the top of the career chain in a design and decoration company, and when I'd achieved that, I'd focus on my private life. Now the plan is to give Lucas and Chloe a happy childhood, like the one Sienna and I had, and focus on raising them. My personal life will have to wait.
I focus on the hat again, determined to make my sister a kick-ass costume. Still, I can't help grinning as I rewind the conversation in my mind. That man definitely has a great sense of humor and a way of twisting words that leaves my skin simmering.
In his office, he said he's a troublemaker with a capital T these days. I have a feeling trouble doesn't even begin to cover it.
Chapter Three
Christopher