“When he lost, it just meant he had to do the dishes. When I lost, I got a spanking.” She was laughing but as soon as she said it she remembered how hot it had been when Kyle won.
She looked up at Chad and realized she’d probably had way too much to drink. That wasn’t a story she should have told. He was looking down at her, eyes intense and heated and focused only on her. She swallowed.
Chad got up suddenly and put his beer on the table next to them. He walked in the house without saying a word. Jennie followed, laughing.
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t answer.
“Chad?” Jennie padded after him, a little wobbly on her feet after so many beers.
He walked in the bathroom but didn’t shut the door. He walked straight to the shower, stepped in with his clothes on, head down, as he turned the water on full blast.
She burst out laughing at the sight of him.
“Oh my God! Chad, what are you doing?”
He kept his back to her. “Taking a cold shower, Jen.”
“You’re crazy!”
He raised one hand to wave her off as he continued to let the water stream down over him.
“Nite, Jen. Get some sleep.”
Chapter 15
Chad woke with a headache. The cold shower had done little to erase the effects of Jennie’s vibrating panties confession. His dreams had been filled with images of her moaning and squirming underneath his hands.
He knew they’d played with fire last night and he paid the price for it all night long as he chased her from dream to dream. From fantasy to fantasy.
It didn’t help that they’d had too much to drink either. It started with margaritas at dinner and ended with beer at the villa. Way too much beer. And too much talking.
Chad would’ve liked to focus on Jennie’s story about her very special little panties this morning, but his head was stuck on the fact that she was nowhere near over her husband. He suspected as much, but knowing it for sure seemed to cut deeper somehow. There were no words for how he felt about that.
Maybe his mom was right. Maybe he did do this to himself on purpose.
Well, if he did, he was damn good at it. What better woman to pick, if he subconsciously didn’t want things to work out, than a woman who was not only off limits because of their work roles, but who was also in love with her dead husband?
How do you compete with a ghost? A perfect ghost who was her soul mate in every way even when they were growing up?
Shoot me now.
Chad heard a groan come from the bedroom and knew Jennie was struggling as much as he was this morning. He sat up slowly and swung his legs to the floor. Sleeping on the couch was killing his back and his neck. He stretched out and stood to try and work out the kinks, then reached for the phone.
Jennie came out just as he hung up.
“Hey,” he said. “I ordered room service. Thought we’d stay in and try to recover this morning.”
She smiled at him but her eyes were tired and sad. He figured she could’ve done without the recap of her life with Kyle last night.
“Thanks. I don’t know if I can eat. I haven’t had that much to drink in years,” she said, rubbing her stomach. She got quiet for a minute and studied her feet. “Can I ask you a favor, Chad?”
“Anything. You know that.” He didn’t like how vulnerable she looked.
“Only Kelly knows about...about what I told you last night. Can you, um, not tell anyone else?”
Aw hell. He hated seeing her hurting. He wanted to fix everything for her. Hell, he’d bring back Kyle for her if he could, even if that meant seeing her with another man.