Chapter 18 Let Me In
Let Me In
One day, I promised myself, one day I’d actually have confidence in my ability to pull off these events without having to fake it.
The family focused fundraiser went off without a single hitch, including a seamless transition to the adult portion of the evening.
On-site childcare turned out to be a huge draw for many families, especially parents with young children who craved a few minutes of uninterrupted adult company.
The silent auction was buzzing, and the wine and cheese appeared to be a big hit.
People were laughing and talking and several expressed how much they enjoyed the day.
They loved the idea of the kids winding down here with movies and crafts rather than fighting to get them out of here at the height of the excitement.
And the best part was the tally.
Already, even without the wine and cheese or the silent auction, we had beaten last year’s total.
By a lot.
Daire was as wonderful as always. He hauled boxes, set up chairs, helped monitor the children’s area, where he was a huge celebrity with the kids who knew him, and offered support in the way only he could.
All without a single hint of impropriety.
Did I miss my chance with him?
It would serve me right if I did.
No, I argued to myself. If the opportunity passed me by, it wasn’t meant for me. And I’d been smart to guard my heart.
“What’s going on with you and Daire?” Noelle asked, watching me carefully.
I shrugged. “We’re friends.”
She took a sip of her soda water. “He’s a pretty freaking devoted friend, Shrimpy. That man worked as hard as you did today.”
“What do you mean? Were you watching him?”
“No,” she replied nonchalantly. “But everywhere we went, we saw him. In the children’s section, hauling chairs around, cleaning up the food tent. He’s a one-man-crew.”
“He’s actually so special,” I agreed softly.
“Mhm,” she hummed.
I shook my head. “Noelle, just because you have the romance of the decade doesn’t mean everyone else is getting stung by Cupid. We are just friends.”
Looking over my head, she smiled wider. “Speak of the devil and he will appear,” she teased, jerking her chin up. Suddenly, her face soured. “Oh, ew. Queen bitch bimbo alert.”
I turned around in time to see Daire’s back and Natalia’s big, fake smile for half a second before she buried her face in his chest and threw her arms around him.
He stiffened, and I laughed to myself, waiting gleefully for him to put her in her place.
Only he didn’t.
Instead, he dipped his head toward her and moved closer, one arm going around her waist.
I guess I was wrong.
Perhaps in his eyes, Natalia’s obvious attributes outweighed her deficits.
I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat and wiped my face clear of any expression. But I was too late.
The look of pity on Noelle’s face left a sour taste in my mouth.
I closed my eyes and affected a deep sigh. “Noelle, we really are just friends.”
“Well,” she quipped hesitantly. “As his friend, you should warn him about that viper.”
I laughed.
A little too hard.
A little too loud.
Then excused myself to check on ‘things’.
‘Things’ because I couldn’t think past the roaring in my ears to come up with a more plausible reason to get away from her.
For the next two hours, I studiously avoided him. With the sheer number of people and ‘things’, God I hated that word, demanding my attention, it wasn’t difficult.
It wasn’t until the end of the night when I was halfway out the front door heading home that he caught up with me.
“Harley, that went so well!” He picked me up and twirled me around. “I’m so damn proud of you. I mean,” he laughed, “I knew you could do it, but seeing you in action was something else.”
I fought the impulse to either cling to him or burst into tears and smiled at him instead.
His smile slowly faded. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. I just want you to know, it’s okay.”
He frowned. “What’s okay?”
“You and Natalia.”
“Me and Natalia?” he repeated, his eyebrows colliding.
“Yes, silly,” I said with a laugh so false it made me cringe. “You and Natalia. I saw you holding her earlier.”
“Holding her…” he replied slowly, his gaze lifting to stare over my shoulder.
I saw the exact moment realization dawned.
Like a blade to my stupidly romantic heart.
I waved his words away before he could even open his mouth. “I get it. You don’t have to explain it to me. I know.” I blinked back my tears and smiled brightly. “We’re just friends.”
His eyes bugged out of his head.
Finally seeing him caught off guard would have made me laugh if I wasn’t so broken up about it.
He captured my waving hands, cuffing my wrists in his hands and tucking them against his chest.
“Friends? You think I want to be your friend?”
My smile faltered. “Don’t you?”
He rocked back on his heels, his expression grim, and released my wrists. “I can see by giving you space to get used to the idea of us I’ve failed to make myself clear.”
Chin tipped up, eyebrows down, jaw tight, his gaze riveted on my face.
I inadvertently stepped back.
He followed, backing me up further. Wrapping his hand gently around my throat, he stroked my pulse and tipped my chin back to look at him, his handsome face framed by the night sky.
His expression severe, he clipped shortly, “We, are not, fucking friends. But we’re definitely going to be fucking. And you can bring your toys. I love toys. I’ll play with you all fucking night because, Harley? I may as well put this out there as well. There’s nothing vanilla about me.”
My eyes skittered back and forth between his.
I swallowed, awareness of his hand at my throat sending my heart into overdrive.
His thumb stroked my racing pulse. “Well. You certainly don’t look scared so I’m guessing by your pulse you’re on board.”
“What?”
His eyes lit with amusement as his lips curled into a soft smile. “There’s something about making you speechless that really does it for me.”
I frowned. “Well, it doesn’t do it for me. It doesn’t thrill me at all.”
He laughed and released me. “Come sit down with me.”
I twisted to look back at the front doors. “I need to—”
Grabbing my hand, he spun me back around to face him. “You need to come sit down and talk to me. Tell me why you continue to underestimate yourself.”
“I do not,” I clipped.
Toys? He said to bring my toys? And he would play with me. All. Night. Long. How was I supposed to string two thoughts together after that?
He led me to a bench and sat down beside me. “You worried endlessly about this evening, and it was perfect. And you have a great deal of trouble accepting my very deep, very genuine, interest in you.”
I shrugged and attempted to pull my hand from his grasp, but he only tightened his grip.
There’s nothing vanilla about me.
I swallowed.
What had I gotten myself into?
“Everyone underestimates me. I guess I worry they’re right.”
“And are they?”
“No,” I replied immediately, my discomfort with him fueling my adrenaline and spurring me to change the topic. “Do you know how much revenue weddings bring in every year? I’ve already told you about the success of the fundraisers, and you got to see for yourself tonight.”
We’re definitely going to be fucking.
“And community outreach!” I rushed to add. “Making Sage Ridge Resort accessible to the community instead of just tourists is not that big a deal! But they never think I can pull it off.”
“But you always do, don’t you.”
I lifted my chin and nodded. “I always do.”
Holy fuck. I needed to get away from him so I could think.
“Well,” he stood abruptly, “That’s it.” Reaching down he hauled me off the bench and threw me over his shoulder.
I grasped onto his waist. “What the hell are you doing?”
He chuckled. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“No,” I exclaimed incredulously. “It’s not obvious.”
“It is obvious I’m never going to get through that thick head of yours, so I’ll have to use my superior strength to keep you in line.”
I gasped then shouted, outraged. “Keep me in line?”
He chuckled again and patted me on my ass. “Knew that would rile you up.”
Flustered, completely out of my league, I huffed, “Put me down. I’m too heavy.”
He sighed. “Now you’re insulting my muscles.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but his free hand clapped onto my ankle and slowly stroked the length of my calf. When he got to the back of my knee, he squeezed lightly. I thought he’d put me down at that point, but he continued on.
His gentle touch continued to trail up the back of my thigh, his long fingers pressing ever closer to my center.
My hips pressed back into his hand.
“What are you doing?” I whispered raggedly.
“Exactly what you think I’m doing, little spitfire. You going to let me in?”