I’ve attached a flyer about the event and two tickets. I sent Mom two tickets, too. My competition starts around noon and goes till two.
James
Daniel printed the flyer and the tickets. He hadn’t mentioned the event to Ali yet. It was something he’d been struggling with, but he needed to decide.
Leaning back in his chair, he ran through his options—a mental list of the pros and cons. But at the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was that he wanted Ali by his side.
He spent the rest of his alone time skimming over some online listings that had cropped up in the last twenty-four hours. One looked promising, and he emailed the homeowner to schedule a viewing. Some of his best finds had been through nontraditional sites most realtors avoided. These were often for sale by the owner and needed major work or, at the very least, extensive updating. He wasn’t afraid of either.
The front door closing brought his head up. He glanced at the clock to find it was almost two. Pushing away from his desk, Daniel went to find Ali.
He found her kicking off her shoes in her room. Her back was to him, which gave him a stunning view of her round ass in a pair of fitted jeans. Then, she leaned forward to grab something from the bed and he was a goner.
Crossing the room in two strides, he grabbed hold of her hips and jerked her against him. She giggled. “Hello to you, too.” Her eyes twinkled as she looked over her shoulder at him.
“Your ass looks amazing in these jeans.” He ground his erection into her backside.
“They’re my favorite jeans. I figured I needed all the confidence I could get.”
He stepped back, pulling her with him. She stood and twisted in his arms. Daniel wasted no time kissing her. “How’d it go?”
Her fingers played with the hair at the base of his neck, sending tingles down his spine. “Okay. I told her what happened at my apartment.”
“So you told her how you seduced me.” He was teasing her.
“I didn’t seduce you.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t.” She pulled herself onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. “You kissed me first, remember?”
Daniel chuckled. “I guess I did.”
He covered her mouth with his, letting their tongues dance and explore as he held her against him. The feel of her in his arms, her touch had him forgetting everything else.
But the world wasn’t ready to be ignored. He’d tucked his phone in his pocket earlier so he’d have it in case Ali called him. Now, it was the interruption he didn’t want.
Groaning, he dug in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Ali buried her face in his neck, her tongue darting against his skin as he checked the caller ID. It was his ex-wife. She was likely calling about next weekend. He had to take it.
“Sweetheart, I need to take this.”
Ali’s hands slid down his chest as he tapped the screen to accept the call. “Jessica.”
“Daniel.” She paused. “Did you get an email from James? He said he sent you the information about his event next weekend.”
“I did.” He felt Ali begin to pull away, but he held her tighter. She glanced up at him and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“David and I are flying in Saturday morning. We wanted to know if you’d like to meet for lunch.”
He’d met David, Jessica’s new husband, but it wasn’t as if they were overly friendly. “Something going on I should know about?”
Jessica blew out a breath. “I’m assuming Cassie called and told you about her engagement.”
“She did.”
“Have you met him?” she asked.
“No. Not yet.” Ali was stiff in his arms. He didn’t like it, but there was no way he was letting her go. “She’s supposed to bring him for a visit after the tax season’s over.” He paused. “Is there something I should know?”