Julia walks back into the dining room, hands empty. She leans on the back of her chair instead of sitting down and rubs her temple with one hand. “I’ve got a bit of a headache, I’m going to go lie down but you guys have fun.”
Parker frowns at Julia, “I’m sorry, I—”
“No, really. I’m just worn out. Love you guys.” She says the last part to Lukas and Parker. “Night, Mateo.” She doesn’t even look at me as she turns and heads for her bedroom.
“Night,” I say, watching her go.
Lukas deals another hand and I take my cards even though all I want to do is go after Julia. I need them to get out of here so I can talk to her alone. I need to set her sexy ass straight because I’ll be damned if I’m going to let her spend a single night thinking that kiss was just us “getting carried away.”
We play a couple more rounds of asshole before I start letting Parker and Lukas win. I know from experience that Lukas won’t stop if he’s on a losing streak. After he wins three hands in a row, I yawn, hard and repeatedly until Parker catches them.
“You tired, Freckles?” Lukas asks, eyeing her with concern. It’s weird to see Lukas Donovan be anything other than a rowdy smart ass, but I guess we all grow up sometime. Apparently attentive-baby-daddy and fiancé suits him.
Parker nods, stifling another yawn. Lukas jumps up, collecting the cards. “Let’s get you home, baby.”
I wave at them as they walk down the driveway. I wait until their tail lights disappear before shutting the door and locking it. Then I head straight to Julia’s bedroom. The door is shut so I knock, leaning on the door frame.
“Don’t come in.”
“Julia, it’s Mateo—”
“I know who it is,” she retorts.
“Jules, I just need to talk to you.”
“Nope! I’m busy.”
Stubborn woman. I scrub my hand down my face. I will not shout this through the door.
“Fuck it,”I mutter, grabbing the handle and opening the door.
“What the hell, Mateo!”
Julia steps out of her closet, and the sight in front of me makes my mouth go dry. Skin. So much skin. She’s wearing little black sleep shorts and a dark red lace bra… thing. I don’t know what you call it, but on Jules, it’s God’s gift to mankind. I can see the outline of her rosy nipples and just that hint of color peeking through the lace diverts enough blood away from my brain to make me dizzy. She’s glaring at me, and as much as I don’t blame her, I can’t find it in me to be sorry either.
She looks from me to the open door. “Do you mind?”
“Lukas and Parker left, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ll leave if you want me to, but first you need to listen to me.” She opens her mouth to argue, but I plow ahead. “Just for a minute. And Jules, I’m going to need you to stop jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst of me.”
“I don’t—” she sputters.
“You kind of do. But I can also be an enormous idiot with words. It’s not a great combo. But do you think you can just hold off for a second and let me say my piece?”
She frowns at me, her lips pursed. That’s as good an acknowledgment as I’m likely to get. I should just count my lucky stars that she hasn’t shoved me out of the room yet.
I close the door and start toward her.
“In the kitchen, what I was trying to say was: ‘Maybe we shouldn’t tell Lukasyet.’ I just—I wanted to...fuck.” I roll my shoulders. It’s hard to get this right. “I didn’t want to ruin this, but you need to understand that I didn’t get carried away.”
Julia tilts her head to the side, her eyes skeptical. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I knew exactly what I was doing. And given half a chance, I’d do it again.” I say, stepping closer to her.
She watches me, mischief creeping in at the edges of her eyes. “Is that what you’re looking for? Half a chance?” I can see the wheels spinning, almost watch the calculations going on in her head as she weighs the risks.
“Feel free to tell me to fuck off, but yeah, that’s what I want. You tell me, was that a run-of-the-mill kiss, Jules?” I move into her space, close enough to see the little speckles in her eyes that I love so much. Her lips pull up in an adorable little smirk and she leans back against the wall, looking up at me through her eyelashes. “Or would you say that kiss deserved a second chance? One where we lock all the doors first?”
“What if I say no?” she asks, her gaze darting between my lips and my eyes.