Chapter 4 #3
It surprised her again when Ford offered his hand. “Maybe I misjudged you.”
“Because I acted like an ass.” He accepted the friendly offering. “In your place, I’d have felt the same. I wasn’t nice, and I regret it.”
“Messing up had to sting.”
“More than you know.”
Ford glanced at her. “Believe me, I get it.” He faced Clyde again. “I won’t make the same mistake.”
Clyde kept his attention on her. “I’d still like to be a friend.”
Unwilling to let him off the hook so easily, Skye said, “I’ll think about it.”
“Fair enough.” And just like that, Clyde walked away.
“You see,” Ford said. “I know how to be useful.”
That quip effectively demolished her good mood. Damn it, he could be so cryptic sometimes, and he was better at acting than she’d expected. So had any of his compliments been real?
Their last exchange, which she had seen as a turning point, a step toward a real relationship, now seemed suspect.
She turned on him so quickly that his brows shot up. Grabbing a fistful of his shirt, she asked, “Did you know Clyde had crept up on us?”
He took in her expression, then mirrored it with a frown of his own. “I’m here to look out for you, so of course I saw the putz moving in.”
None of it had been real.
God, she’d been duped by her own game. Well, she still had her pride, so she gathered it around her and smiled. “Useful is one word for you.” A glance around the room showed the thinning crowd. “With that accomplished, I think I’d like to head home.”
Searching her face, Ford’s frown darkened. “Fine.”
Leaving was slow, with everyone taking time to say goodbye. Patience personified, Ford stayed at her side and continued to charm one and all until the two of them were in his car.
Once on the road, they both fell into an awful silence that somehow grew heavier with every mile that brought them closer to home.
Unable to take it a minute more, Skye said, “Thank you again. For everything.”
He nodded. “No problem.”
That should have been it, but when he pulled into her driveway instead of his own, words crowded into her head, and she knew she couldn’t let it end like this. “Being a twin isn’t easy.”
He turned off the car, draped a forearm over the wheel and faced her. “Ups and downs, I’m sure.”
“Everyone has always compared us. On everything.”
“You’re both gorgeous.” One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Knox thought you were a supermodel.”
“Laylee is. Well, she’s a local model, but she still makes a ton of money.”
“Guess she chooses her own hours?”
“She’s selective in the jobs she takes.” Awkwardness made her talk faster. “She’s in high demand. She could work every day if she wanted, or only five times a year. She’d still earn enough to get by.”
“You could do the same, but I’m glad you don’t.”
Skye shook her head. She had no interest in modeling, but it was the perfect career for her sister.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the comparisons.
People would say that they couldn’t tell us apart, except my nose is thicker.
My face is wider. My lips are bigger. My brows are lower.
” Laying it all out there made her self-conscious.
“I felt like her Neanderthal cousin instead of her twin.”
Ford snorted. “You’re too beautiful to think that. Yes, you have strong features, but they suit you perfectly.” He brushed his knuckles over her upper arm. “Are you sure those comments were made as insults?”
She honestly had no idea. “They might have been only observations, but for me they were always negative.”
“You don’t have a big nose, Skye. You have a nose that balances your incredible eyes and that sexy-as-sin mouth.”
Her gaze clashed with his. “My mouth is . . . ?”
“Sexy,” he repeated in that special tone that curled her toes. “So. Damned. Sexy.”
Well, that was a unique compliment, especially growled in his deep voice.
“I see your mouth and think things a wingman shouldn’t think.” He slowly inhaled, all the while staring at her lips, making them tingle. “You have no idea what a struggle it’s been.”
Nice. “So these things you were thinking . . . ?”
He laughed. “Things that lead to a bed and tangled sheets, heat and sweat, and—I promise—satisfaction.”
Okay, yeah, she was convinced. “It . . .” Wow, now her voice was all low and affected. She cleared her throat. “It wasn’t just comments on my features that bothered me.”
“So what else?”
“Laylee is always smiles and sunshine.”
“You’re sincerity and compassion, and that trumps a smile every time. What else?”
Her lips twitched. He was good at this, at lightening her mood and lifting her spirit. “We already covered colors.”
“She’s flashy, you’re low-key. Different, but both good.
” His fingers moved down her arm until he could take her hand.
“You two are different. Some people will prefer Laylee, some will prefer you. That’s just how it is.
Like Marcus and Bray, or Knox and me. We’re all friends, but Marcus and Bray share a background.
Knox and I share the same sense of humor. ”
“Clyde took one look at Laylee and tried his chances with her.”
Scoffing, he said, “Yeah, well, we’ve already agreed that Clyde is an ape.”
“She rejected him, and then he turned to me. I only accepted him as a friend, but he saw things most don’t.”
“Like the small touches of envy you and Laylee feel for each other?”
Automatic denial rushed to her tongue, but she swallowed it back.
So he’d noticed that? No one else ever had, but then again, Ford was different from anyone she’d ever known.
“People favor Laylee, they really do. But she thinks people take me more seriously than they do her. She thinks I get more respect.”
“In some things, maybe you do. I noticed how everyone tonight wanted time with you. They’re business-minded people, and they not only like you but also know you’re savvy and smart, assets they appreciate and respect.
Every member of the family associated with Helen’s Boutiques sought you out at one point or another.
From the top guns down, they wanted your input, or they just wanted to talk with you. ”
Realizing that he was right, her heart warmed. He did that, made her feel special in ways no one ever had. “They certainly adored you.”
Discounting any praise for himself, he laughed. “You and your sister should understand that people gravitate to others because they’re like-minded, or they’re a good contrast. They comfort each other, or they offer challenges. People are all different, what they want and enjoy is different.”
“And you? With me, I mean?” Did she still have a chance?
“Everything about you appeals to me. Your angelic face and your smoking-hot body caught me right off, but it’s not just your looks. The second thing I noticed was your motivation. I mean, you’re in your mid-twenties and have your own house.”
“You’re only a few years older than me, and you had your house before I moved in.”
“It’s something I always wanted.”
“Me, too.”
He touched her hair. “Physically, you’re the hottest woman I’ve ever met.”
To other women, that might seem shallow. To her, with the constant comparison to her twin, it was a breathtaking compliment. “You’ve met Laylee.”
He shrugged. “She’s gorgeous, too, but she’s not you.” A lot of meaning infused his words. “You saw Maybelline and let her slobber on you.”
Grinning, she admitted, “That was a little gross, but she’s a sweetheart. I wouldn’t hurt her feelings.”
Ford clutched his heart. “See, there’s that.”
“A heart attack?”
He laughed. “Oh, my God, and she’s funny, too. How am I supposed to resist that?”
Going for total honesty, she said, “I wish you wouldn’t resist. I wish you’d kiss me.”
He paused, smiled softly, and then leaned toward her. “That would be my pleasure.”
She met him halfway—and the second his mouth touched hers, that was it. In a nanosecond, they went from the “get to know you” tentative stage, to the carnal “let me devour you” phase of things. It was the kind of kiss that led to a quick stripping of clothes so naked skin could touch naked skin.
They each shifted, every small adjustment bringing them closer. His hand, so large and warm, left her neck for her shoulder, then down to her breast.
She opened several buttons of his shirt so her palm could connect with hot skin.
Then his phone buzzed, startling them both. Laboring for breath, Ford leaned back just enough to meet her gaze.
Her phone buzzed next.
“Now I’m curious,” she said. “Could it be the shelter?”
That got him moving fast, lifting a hip so he could dig his phone from his pocket. He swiped the screen, then let out a breath. “Maybelline is fine. I can pick her up tomorrow.”
Finally, she found her phone in her purse and checked her message. “Oh! Me, too. I mean, I get the little guy.” She lowered her phone. “Ford, I need a name for him!”
“The shelter calls him Scoundrel.”
She gasped. “That sweet little baby?”
It took him a second looking at her face, and then he laughed again. “Zing, right through my heart.” He opened his door and came around to her side, tugged her out, and kissed her again. This time it was more of a celebratory, happy kiss. “We’ll have dogs.”
“The two best dogs! It’s going to be so great.”
Slowly, his smile slipped away. “Great, yes, but this whole thing is going to be complicated, too.”
Knowing just what he meant, she agreed. “Neighbors. Maybe . . . involved?”
“I vote yes.” He took her mouth, and her breath, again. “We’ll be sharing our pets.”
She bit her lip. “Should we wait one more day before we—”
“That’s entirely up to you. I mean, I’m ready. Beyond ready. Severely ready. I was ready a week ago. But if you need more time—”
Grabbing him for another kiss was her way of answering. “Come in with me. I’ll grab a change of clothes and then we can go to your house.”
“Awesome plan.”
Together they went up the walkway to the door. It opened before Skye could even touch the knob.
Laylee stood there, hands on hips, her fair hair in a high ponytail, looking amazing as always. With a cheek-splitting grin on her face, she drawled, “Finally. I was starting to think we were back in high school, making out in the driveway before Dad made us come in.”
“That was you,” Skye said, drawing Ford in with her as Laylee stepped back. “I never made out in the driveway.”
“Fibber! You literally just did. Sucking face, pawing each other—such a show you put on for the neighbors.”
Ford laughed at Laylee. “You were the only one gawking.”
And still, all his smiles and teasing were for her. Practically floating with happiness, Skye said, “You two chat while I grab a few things.”
Laylee made a big show of surprise. “You floozy!” In a loud, mockingly scandalized stage whisper, she asked Ford, “Is she spending the night with you?”
On her way down the hall, she heard Ford say, “God, I hope so. Driveways might be good enough for you, but when it comes to your sister, I need a lot more space—and a lot more time.”
As her sister’s hilarity filled the air, peace settled around Skye.
A night with her hot neighbor.
A night with Ford.
She could barely wait.