Left up to him, she wouldn’t come, but he’d never tell her that. Besides, not only was it short notice, but the wedding was taking place in New England in February. His mom hated the cold. One of the first things she’d done after divorcing his dad was move out to the West Coast.
“I wouldn’t miss it. I’m not sure about Trevor’s schedule, but I’ll be there.”
Damn it. “Great. I look forward to seeing you.” You’re playing a role, Josh reminded himself. He glanced in Courtney’s direction. At the moment, her back was to him as she looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Courtney and I have plans tonight, so I need to go, but I’ll text you the details.”
No way was he telling her their plans involved him meeting Courtney’s parents. If he shared that detail, she might offer to arrive a day or two before the wedding so she could get to know Courtney. His mom in the same room with Courtney and her family was one thing. During the wedding and reception, there wouldn’t be too much opportunity for the two of them to speak. If his mom visited them here, she would have Courtney’s full attention, and there was no predicting what comments she might make.
At the sound of her name, Courtney turned and shook her head. “No rush,” she whispered. He ignored her.
After disconnecting the call, Josh shoved the device in his pocket and rubbed the area above his left eyebrow. Most people didn’t get a headache from talking to their mothers. Then again, when it came to mothers, Scarlett Basto was one of a kind.
“You didn’t have to cut your conversation short. If we’re a few minutes late, it’s not a big deal.” She slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, something he’d almost done himself when she’d kissed him on the ice. The fear she’d pull her sweet mouth away from his if he did had kept his palms pressed against her back.
Yeah, I did. “Mom and I were done.”
The wisest course of action would be to insist they leave before he lost the battle and decided getting her mouth against his again was more important than letting her control the pace of their relationship. Making wise decisions wasn’t something he was well-known for. Rounding the bed, he closed in on her.
He stopped less than an arm’s length away, but she didn’t retreat or suggest they leave. “It sounded like she’s coming to the wedding.” Thanks to the three-inch heels on her boots, they were almost the same height, and she locked her eyes with his.
Another step closer and he could kiss her. How would she react if he did? Would she melt against him as she had earlier, or would she remind him she was only pretending to be in love with him?
“Unfortunately.” Distracted by his thoughts and the way her sweater clung to her breasts, the answer slipped out.
Courtney’s eyebrows shot up faster than an old-fashioned jack in the box. “Unfortunately? You don’t want your mother there?”
And he complained his mom didn’t have a filter between her mouth and brain. Maybe he didn’t either. “Mom seeks attention everywhere she goes. The fact it’s our wedding won’t matter to her.” No point in sugarcoating the truth. It was better Courtney knew what to expect before she met his mom.
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she tucked some hair behind her right ear. “I’ve seen articles referring to your mom as a diva. Sounds like for once the media wasn’t exaggerating.”
“Diva, yeah, that’s one word you could use to describe her.” Reaching out, he tucked the hair on the other side of her face behind her left ear. “All eyes should be on you that day. Not her.” He gave his fingers permission to skim across her jaw and down her neck. Rather than push his hand away or tell him to stop, she moved closer and settled a hand on his waist.
The feel of her hand against his body caused him to lose the battle. Lowering his mouth to hers, Josh anchored her against him with his arms. Tenderly he brushed his lips back and forth against hers, urging her to open for him. When she did, her tongue tangled with his and lust as well as another emotion he couldn’t name broke over him like a wave.
In his head, he envisioned placing her on the bed and then peeling off her sweater and skinny jeans. Before he gave in to the temptation, he pulled his lips away. “Maybe we should go.”
If he looked in her face and saw even a hint that she was suffering from the same emotions plaguing him, he’d lose what little self-control he had. So instead he rested his forehead against hers and kept his arms locked around her because he wasn’t ready to let her go.
“Probably.” Thank God, her voice echoed the battle he was waging. Courtney dropped her arms by her sides and took a step away from him, proving that at least one of them had some common sense left. “I don’t want us to be too late.”
He’d dated what many considered some of the most beautiful women in the world. As far as he was concerned, none of them compared to the woman standing in front of him. Unlike many of those women, she didn’t rely on makeup and plastic surgeons to perfect her looks. She had a natural beauty that no one could artificially replicate. How could his mom think her sister and cousin were prettier?
By the time they turned into her parents’ driveway, the clock read quarter past five. Courtney hated being late. Today she had no one to blame but herself. She’d only knocked on Josh’s door to let him know she was ready to go whenever he was. When she’d seen he was on the phone, she should’ve turned around and walked back into the kitchen or just about any other part of the penthouse and waited for him. But had she done that? Nope.
Instead, she’d entered his bedroom, the one room in the house that should be off-limits to her. For someone with an IQ of 154, she’d been doing some pretty questionable things over the past couple of months.
Even with her first misstep, they would’ve made it to her parents by five if she’d moved closer to t
he door rather than Josh when he skimmed his fingers across her jaw. Once he’d done it, she’d been a goner. The current time and getting to her parents’ became the farthest thing from her mind. All she could concentrate on was the way he looked at her—like she was the most important person in the world. She’d read somewhere a person’s eyes could tell you what they truly felt. While she believed that might be true for some, she wasn’t sure it pertained to an individual whose career demanded they constantly portray emotions they didn’t feel.
The Tudor-style mansion came into view as the car rounded the corner, and she groaned when she noticed the three vehicles parked out front. After her mom mentioned inviting her aunts and uncles, she’d kept her fingers crossed they wouldn’t come and it would only be her parents, brother, sister, and Paige tonight. The black SUV with Virginia plates in front of them told her not only had her mom invited her aunts and uncles, but she’d invited her cousins too. And if Jake was here, who else might be on their way?
Courtney held Josh’s hand as they walked up the front steps. Tonight wasn’t only about her family meeting Josh, it was also about selling the story that they were very much in love and had been for months.
“Looks like my uncle Mark and my cousin Jake are here.” She pressed the doorbell. Normally she’d let herself in, but since Josh drove tonight, she’d left her keys at home. “I’m not sure who the third car belongs to. It might be Uncle Jonathan’s.” The silver Bentley with Massachusetts license plates was something he would drive, but if it belonged to him, she’d never seen it.
The door opened before either of them could say anything else, and Marilyn Belmont greeted them. “I was starting to worry,” she said, allowing them to enter. “You usually call when you’re running late.”
Actually, it was more like she never ran late, but she wouldn’t contradict her mom. “I’m sorry. It took me a little longer than I expected to get ready.” Courtney hugged her mom and then slipped off her jacket. A formal introduction was unnecessary for several reasons, yet she felt the need to say something. Her mom beat her to it.