Chapter Thirty-Five
Kaylee
On Sunday morning, Kaylee woke up and went to the early service at church, deciding that if she was going to ignore Rick’s presence in town, she was gonna need all the help she could get after church got out.
She went home, grabbed something to eat and a little more coffee, and headed for Marianne’s with Josie.
When they arrived, Marianne was all smiles and gushing about how thoughtful Rick was.
“What are you talking about, Marianne?”
“He bought us a case of champagne for today.”
Oh, goody, he was here.
Kaylee didn’t know why she thought he would bow out.
He’d already told her he was going to make ignoring him hard on her.
They walked into the living room, and Rick was sitting on the couch, surrounded by women who were hanging on his every word.
Kaylee scowled at their insipidity. Where was their indignation about having a man in their midst who wasn’t gay or attached?
They think he’s attached to me.
When Rick spotted her, he smiled and waved, and she resisted the urge to flip him the bird.
Josie laughed. “If looks could kill, he would’ve been impaled by now.”
Kaylee left the room before anybody noticed her scowl. “I just don’t understand why he’s being so stubborn. I’m giving him exactly what he wants. I’m gonna go back, and I’m gonna testify, and he gets to be the big hero.”
“Maybe that’s not what he wants anymore.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Well, maybe what he wants is you.”
Kaylee snorted, pouring herself some champagne with a splash of orange juice. She held it up, silently asking Josie if she wanted one, and Josie nodded.
“If that man truly wanted me, he would not have come down here under false pretenses, and he would certainly not have tried forcing me into doing what he thought was right.”
“Maybe he didn’t realize how much he wanted you until he had you.”
Kaylee set the bottle down a little too hard, glancing around for prying ears, but they were all still simpering in the living room.
“Dude!” Kaylee hissed, summing up all her feelings in that one word of irritation.
Josie smiled mischievously. “Sorry, I’m just saying, maybe you have a magic punani that made him realize that it was the only punani he ever wanted for the rest of his life.”
“Will you please stop saying punani?”
“Only if you will admit that you like the attention. That it feels good to have him chasing after you.”
“You have lost your ever-lovin’ mind,” Kaylee said, handing her a mimosa. They returned to the living room just as Marianne called the book club to order. When she asked for volunteers, Rick raised his hand, and she gushed, “Yes, please start us off.”
Gag me.
Rick picked up a paper bag and removed a book from it, the cover unmistakably familiar when he held it aloft. Kaylee almost dropped her drink, and Josie let out a snort-laugh that drew several disapproving glances their way.
“I know it’s not exactly the snowed-in trope, but Colin at the bookstore told me it was close enough since they get stuck on a snowy planet.
This is Ice Planet Barbarians, which was recommended to me as a must-read.
It was interesting. I was shocked and enthralled, and I couldn’t wait to read more.
In fact, I think I’m going to read the second book. ”
“Oh, be careful doing that,” Irma Landry said. “Those books are addicting.”
“So I’ve heard,” he said, waggling his brows. “Also, the sex scenes were very well written and intriguing, especially the … well, I’ll let you read it and be surprised. Right, Kaylee?”
Laughter erupted around the room, and Kaylee wanted to melt into the floor as the women turned her way, shooting her knowing grins.
“I am going to kill Colin,” she said.
Josie leaned over, whispering out of the side of her mouth, “Do you think Colin told Rick how much you love those books?”
“Without a doubt.”
“What else made you choose those books, other than Colin recommending them to you?” Marianne asked as if reading Kaylee’s mind.
“Honestly, he told me that Kaylee loved these books, and I wanted to feel more connected to her.”
Kaylee stared at the shrimp cocktail plate on the coffee table, wondering if she’d be banned permanently if she picked up one of the little prawns and launched it at him.
While everyone else in the room was awing and cooing, she said, “I used to really like those books, but I’m over monster smut now. ”
“Really?” he asked, placing the book back in the bag. “So what did you read this week?”
Kaylee knew he was baiting her, but she could play this game, too. “I read Axes and Os.”
“And what is that about?”
“It’s about a guy who gets stuck in the snow and has to stay the night with a woman and her lumberjack husband. While they are stranded together, they have a threesome. There’s a lot of sex in it.”
“Maybe I’ll read that one next. Although I’m not a guy who likes to share in the bedroom.”
“You should read it, and perhaps you’ll figure out what you’re doing wrong in the bedroom.”
The entire room collectively gasped, and Rick arched a brow.
“Really, ’cause I don’t remember you complaining when we—”
“Let’s hear from someone else, shall we?” Marianne said, wide-eyed, shooting Kaylee and Rick a disapproving look. “Josie, what do you have for us?”
Kaylee and Rick continued to exchange daggers the entire book club meeting until Kaylee couldn’t take it anymore and got up quietly, heading for the bedroom storing their coats.
She was sifting through the piled coats on the bed when the door clicked behind her, and she turned to find Rick standing just inside the room, his eyes blazing.
“I could learn a thing or two, huh?”
Kaylee tried to take a step back and bumped into the bed with the back of her legs. “Yes, you could.”
“Like what?” he asked, advancing toward her. “What could I have done better”—he leaned over her, putting his arms next to her on the bed—“to please you?”
“I—” She cleared her throat, fighting through the spell of his nearness and cologne to come up with something. “You could have gone slower.”
“Really,” he said, his mouth hovering over the shell of her ear. “I got the impression you liked it when I went fast.”
Kaylee clenched her thighs together, her pussy pulsating as a memory of Rick pounding into her flashed through her mind. “I was faking it.”
“Now who’s a liar?” Rick’s lips grazed her lobe, and she shivered. “I bet if I reached inside your pants right now, you’d be soaking wet.”
“You’re not going to,” she challenged. “Someone could walk in.”
“I’m not going to because you’re angry with me. I’m not going to because I’m taking your words at face value, but the second you ask me to prove how much you want me, too, nothing, not even the possibility of a roomful of women walking in, will stop me.”
Rick pushed off the bed and reached behind her, plucking his coat from the pile. “See you out there.”
Kaylee sat on the bed, squeezing her legs together, but it only made the thrumming arousal worse. She got off the bed and, after digging with shaking hands for several moments, finally found her coat. She exited the room and saw that everyone was up and getting ready to leave.
Kaylee made a beeline for Marianne and said, “Marianne, I just wanted to apologize—”
Marianne cut her off. “I don’t know what is going on with you and that beautiful man, but if I were you, I would fix things because he is a keeper.
He’s trying so hard for you, and you can’t even appreciate it.
Take it from a woman who has been married for over twenty years.
You want a man who tries because when things get rough, if it’s easy, he’ll just walk away. ”
“Thank you,” Kaylee said between gritted teeth.
Josie grabbed her coat from the side room and met her outside.
“Are you okay? You look flushed.”
“I’m fine,” she mumbled as they started walking home.
After several moments of silence, Josie blurted, “It’s not a bad idea.”
“What’s not a bad idea?”
“Fixing things with Rick.”
Kaylee grimaced. “It’s not really a good idea, either. He humiliated me in front of most of the prominent women in town, but I’ll live.”
“I think Rick was just matching your energy. You called him a lousy lay in front of a roomful of women.”
“Why are you always taking his side?” Kaylee snapped.
“Sorry, counselor issue. I like to look at situations from every angle.”
“Well, can you stop it and just be my friend?”
“Yep, I’m back.” Josie’s gaze flicked ahead, and she whispered, “Uh-oh. He’s standing in front of your house.”
Kaylee spotted him, her heart drumming harder the closer she got to him, but she would not give in to her hormones.
“You have done enough damage today, and I’m done talking to you.”
“I’m not here to talk to you,” he said mildly. “I’m going to ask Josie something.”
Josie’s eyes widened. “What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to know if you would like to take the gondola at the ski resort up the side of the mountain and have lunch at the top?”
Kaylee’s eyes narrowed. Seeing the view from the top was on her bucket list.
“Actually, Josie and I have plans,” Kaylee said.
“We do,” Josie said, “but I’m going to say yes, because I’ve always wanted to eat at that restaurant. Are you buying?”
Rick grinned. “Yes, I am.”
Kaylee almost called her a traitor, but then she actually became one by turning to Kaylee and adding, “In fact, weren’t you just saying the other day that you wanted to go, too?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kaylee said.
“Sure you do. You said that we should go up to the top and mark it off your list.”
“Okay, Judas, thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome,” Josie said, grinning.
“I would love to go, but can I bring Kaylee since we had plans?”
Kaylee opened her mouth to protest, but Rick said, “Fine by me.”
Both stared at her, waiting patiently, until Josie finally prodded, “Well, what do you say?”
Kaylee glared at both of them and mumbled, “I hate you both.”
“So is that a yes?” Rick asked.
“I guess that’s a yes.”