Chapter 22
MOLLY
“Who was Dane’s date?” Molly asked on the limo ride home. Travis and Rachel had taken off early and got a ride from the app on their phone. Thus, it was only Gavin and
Molly in the whole back of the limo.
Gavin and Molly and what was she supposed to do next? Should she invite him into her house? She could. But Agnes would know.
Not that she minded if Agnes knew. Agnes could know. But then she’d have to explain, and she wasn’t really feeling like explaining.
Mostly because she wasn’t sure how to explain.
Things were all mixed up in her brain and in her feelings and, yes, she was what she would call a hot mess about life at the moment.
A hot mess looking for a teeny-tiny ounce of clarity. “You kept looking at her funny,” Molly said when Gavin
didn’t respond to her question.
“Who?” he asked, still watching out the window. “Dane’s date. Who was she?”
“I didn’t look at her funny.” Gavin turned to Molly.
Then back to the window.
She pulled his arm to get his attention. Full attention. “Don’t tell me you dated her, too?” The woman was
blonde. Curves. Gorgeous.
“No.” Gavin shook his head with a smug smile. “I did not date her.”
“Then what’s the story?” He didn’t answer, so she poked him in the rubs. “Story, bud. And…go.”
“We matched on the Let’s Hookup app.” Was it her or did his cheeks tint a teensy bit red at that announcement?
“I thought you said your mother had you on that app.”
“She did.”
“So you didn’t date Dane’s date, you just hooked up with her?” That would make family get-togethers in the future a challenge.
Then again, he’d hooked up with Rachel and she married Travis. So what did Molly know?
“I didn’t hookup with her,” he said, but still his cheeks were definitely getting a touch of cherry tomato.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I have a feeling that with you on my arm, my mother has turned her attention to Dane. And he may not have all
the details about the women she’s setting him up with.”
So Dane didn’t know this woman was expecting a hookup? “You’re kidding.”
“I wish.”
“Dane’s about to have an excellent night, huh?” Go Dane, that’s all Molly had to say about that.
“Or he’s about to be blindsided.”
“Maybe you should give him a heads-up.” Not that Molly had a load of experience in the sibling department.
None, actually. She had no experience there. But this seemed like the sort of thing Gavin should tell his brother.
“My brothers and I are on a very tentative road to reconciliation; I don’t know how well my interference—or the knowledge that she matched with me first—would come across.”
“Did she say anything to you?” Molly whispered. “Tonight.”
Gavin’s cheeks got that cherry tomato red again. “What did she say?” Molly pulled at his arm. “You have
to tell me since I’m your date and I need to be appropriately dismayed at the information you give me.”
“She didn’t say anything bad.” Gavin rolled his eyes way too dramatically. “She just mentioned she remembered me.”
“When? I was with you the whole night!”
“You and Rachel disappeared a few times.” He pursed his lips. “But nothing happened. I made it clear that I was with you.”
“You had to make it clear?” Molly’s jaw dropped. She pushed it back up.
He nodded, and he chuckled, looking at her like he was happy she was there sitting beside him.
“I can’t believe she made the moves on you.” She chucked him on the shoulder. “Stud.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think I should tell Dane it happened.”
“Let him sort it out himself?”
He nodded. “I guess. Is that what the dating guru recommends?”
Hmm. Well, perhaps… “I could always tell Rachel. She could tell Travis. He could tell Dane?”
“That’s not a bad idea…” Gavin leaned in, nuzzling her nose with his. “Maybe we do that after.”
“After what?”
“This.” He pressed his lips to hers. Did a little unexpected swoop of the tongue thing.
Oh, that was nice.
Intimate and nice and…oh boy, did he kiss her. He kissed her and rolled her onto her back, moving on top of her to kiss her even more thoroughly.
Tonight was theirs. She’d deal with tomorrow later.
So she kissed him back. Full mouth, a dash of tongue, until they were both breathing heavy.
“Let’s ignore that it happened and you come over,” he said, his lips still near her mouth.
“I’m right here.” Since he was sort of on top of her—thanks to the brilliance of that kiss—and her hands were roaming anyway, she totally gave his tush a squeeze.
“I mean my house. Come over.” He pressed up a little so they were still awkwardly arranged on the bench seat. But she’d really never been so comfortable.
“Can I cook in your kitchen?” She freaking loved his kitchen and if she went to his house, maybe he’d let her bake something.
His expression turned from one of lust to one of obvious confusion. Eyebrows pulled together, lips parted, all the questions in his eyes. “You like my kitchen?”
“Uh-huh.” She gripped his lapels and pulled him back closer. Because she could, and she wanted to.
The hard length of his obvious erection pressed against her outer hip.
She paused. Holy crap. This was Gavin.
She was still Molly, last she’d checked. And this was very real, and he was very turned on, and…so was she.
“Come home with me. Stay for breakfast. Check out my toaster,” he said, the words gruff and lusty.
She laughed, deep and low in her chest. Rattling her lungs and the necklace she still wore. “That’s a come on.”
“Told you you’d know.”
She ran her hands along the muscles of his back, down to his waist, over the curve of his thighs. “You’re putting the moves on me.”
“Is it working?” He shifted so his erection was a lot more central. Not totally lined up, since her dress was in the way, and he wore slacks. But if she shifted a little to the right and moved that slit along her thigh—
Oh, yes.
His eyes widened as he aligned with the core of her.
There was really no barrier now except a pair of lace panties and his slacks.
“Will there be waffles?” She opened her legs wider to make more room for him.
He groaned, deep in his throat. “Toaster tarts.”
She ground herself against him, relishing the power of control, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead.
“That’s a given,” she agreed. “But I like waffles.” She said this as she continued to grind against him.
He moaned. “Then I can make that happen.”
“And sausage? Will there be sausage?”
Yes, it was juvenile. No, she didn’t care. Not when the sinful smirk hit his lips, and she was so ready to just get on with the night. Get on with it and get out of this dress.
“All the sausage,” he murmured, tracing her collarbone with his fingertip.
Molly decided then and there that she was going to cave. “Then, yes, you putting the moves on me is totally working.”
“Good.” He kissed her quick before righting himself in the seat, moving off her.
“But I like strawberries on my waffles,” she said as she sat up and readjusted herself, too.
“I’ll enjoy the hell out of watching you eat those strawberries.”
Gavin tapped on the fabric-covered partition to the chauffeur. He gave the instructions, and Molly did her best not to start thinking again.
Because if she started thinking again, then she’d probably make the right decisions. And, for tonight, she’d really much rather make the wrong decisions.
Unfortunately for her, the drive to Gavin’s took a decent stretch of time. After a quick text to Rachel about the Dane situation, she had nothing to think about other than Gavin and what was going to happen.
Um-hum, she had time to get in her own head.
Time to think of all that she was ruining by hopping straight to toaster tarts and waffles with Gavin.
She did her best, really she did, to erase questions.
Because this is what she wanted. She was on the free trial, and dammit, she wanted to see if she enjoyed the entire package before she decided whether to send him on his way with the love of his life or hog him all to herself.
She wouldn’t just watch a few shows on Hulu before deciding whether to subscribe. Therefore, it was logical and thoughtful that she gave Gavin the same consideration.
Besides, she figured, as he led her through the front door to his McMansion, if he was terrible in bed, then wasn’t she doing Cassidy a favor? She wouldn’t send him on his way to her, she’d send him back to Dakota or something. To someone she didn’t care for.
Though it didn’t appear that was going to be an issue, because Gavin could practically set her off with just a kiss.
She moved inside the house. A soft glow of ambient lighting from nightlights near the floor set an extremely nice romantic vibe.
Though, suddenly she was wondering how much of a pain those were to change when the bulbs burned out.
These lights didn’t plug in for easy access—no, the lights came right in the wall. It couldn’t be a simple bulb change.
She nearly asked about it when Gavin pressed his body to hers, pressed her against the plaster of the wall. There wasn’t much space in her brain to think about lightbulbs when all the blood in her body was pooling at her core.
Because he was so right there. Right there, pressed between her thighs.
Mad props to the god of sex and the designer of this dress for the slit along the side of her gown. Access was becoming very important tonight. She should send a thank-you card to this designer for truly thinking of everything
when she came up with the concept for this gown. “Gavin,” she said on a breath.
His mouth met hers, and there was tongue and lips and there were sounds, so many sounds. He moaned, she grunted. The hardness of him pressed between her legs.
He trailed his hand along her side, around the curve of her hip, down to her thigh.
She made a noise in the back of her throat that sounded like an invitation even to her own ears.
“Please,” she said softly.
That’s all he needed to begin unzipping her dress as he pulled her even closer against his body.
“More,” he said, gruff against the curve of her neck. “Please,” she said again, curling her calf around his