“Ian has been pestering Mercy to upgrade for months. He bought her a car for Christmas, so I got this one.”
“It was a piece of junk when she bought it.”
“Don’t insult the Honda,” Susan said in warning. “It’s mine, and I may not have completely earned it, but I love it.”
He grinned and kissed her again. “Yes, ma’am. Think it’ll hold out on the drive to Salt Lake?”
“It depends. Do you plan on finding another excuse to tell me off, so I’m stranded down there if I don’t bring my own ride?”
*
Andrew couldn’t ignore his hurt at the comment, but he deserved it. “No. In fact, it’s going to be tough to let you out of my sight for the next couple of days.” Or weeks. Or months.
“I’ll drop the car off at Mercy’s and ride down with you. Are you flying home after Christmas?”
“Yes.” Inspiration struck. It was time to push his luck a little further.
Her face fell. “You decided not to stay with Lucas after all?”
He kissed the corners of her mouth and then her pouty bottom lip. “Exactly the opposite.”
“Which means…?”
He told her about the house he’ made the offer on, and that he’d return to Georgia to collect some of his stuff, then come back here. He watched her smile slip back on as he spoke. He loved this look and the way her eyes lit up. “And my question is—what are you doing next week?”
“Sitting around the house, staring at the wall?”
“Fly back with me. We’ll load up a U-Haul. Take our time driving back here. Test out a couple of hotel rooms along the way. If you’re going to expand your horizons, hotel sex is in a category of its own.”
“Because you’re never sure how many other people have screwed on those sheets?” she asked flatly.
He saw the teasing underneath. He leaned close to her ear and murmured, “And everyone who hears you screaming when you come knows exactly what you’re doing. So when you run into the guy next door in the hall, the next morning, you can wink and smile and say you hope he slept well the night before.”
She smacked his arm. “Is that supposed to be alluring?”
“Tell me it’s not.”
“In a twisted kind of way, it is.” She kissed him again. This felt right and amazing.
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes. It sounds like a blast.”
“Dinner awaits, my lady.” He gestured to her car. She turned away, and he pulled her back in for one more kiss. “And cream pie for dessert.”
She flushed and melted against him. “You’re horrible.”
“And you love it.”
A default text chime clashed with the peace of the clearing, and Susan reached for her purse.
“Are you really going to get that?” He tried to keep the playful tone.
“If it’s Mercy—and it will be; she’s the only one who has this number—she’ll worry if I don’t answer.”
He could tell she was pleased to say that. “You should answer, in that case,” he said.
She pulled up the note on her phone, and her frown grew as she read.