Chapter 6
Joelle
"Thank you again, seriously," Evrard says before I close his car door, wave at him, and practically float into the house.
Closing the door behind me, I let out a sigh. Tonight was magical.
Digging my phone out of my dress's pocket, I send a quick text to Petula. I tell her I had a wonderful night and I'm exhausted, but we'll text more tomorrow. I plug it into my charging station, kick off my shoes, and pad into the bedroom.
Unzipping the dress, I fling it over the chair by my bed and quickly wash up in the ensuite bathroom.
I throw on a sleep shirt and tumble into bed completely spent, but my body continues to sizzle from Evrard's touch and the excitement of tonight.
Never mind that toe-curling kiss we shared on the dance floor.
The way he held me. The way he looked at me, like I was the only person in the room. The way his lips felt against mine, soft and demanding all at once.
I'm not supposed to be feeling this way. This was supposed to be a favor, a fake girlfriend situation to make his grandmother happy. But somewhere between the ceremony and the reception, between the tulips and the dancing, something shifted.
Sliding my hand between my legs, I begin to rub my clit as I picture us kissing on the dance floor.
My fantasy instantly turns into imagining him in his firefighting gear, helmet and all, except without a shirt underneath the heavy jacket.
He's sitting by his fire truck as I walk over, wearing nothing but the nightie I have on right now.
I tear it off, tossing it to the side. Watching me, Evrard slips his hard, ready cock out of his bunker pants.
The firefighter's hungry mouth greets my breasts as I straddle him, rubbing my wet pussy up and down his shaft before guiding him inside me. My fingers rub faster as I fantasize about riding the sexy firefighter while he grabs my tits, pinching my nipples.
Suddenly, my orgasm ricochets through my body as my legs flail, crying out into the empty bedroom.
I lay there for a moment, catching my breath as my heart slams against my chest. Rolling to my side, I grab an extra pillow and hug it close, smiling to myself as sleep consumes me.
As I slide into Evrard's SUV, he gives me a guilt-ridden look.
"I really feel bad that this is turning into way more than you expected or agreed to."
"I'm having fun," I say, clicking my seat belt.
"Really?" he says, dumbfounded, and I can't help but snort.
The drive to Sea Glass Tavern takes less than ten-minutes. When we enter, we find that his grandmother has saved us two seats right next to her.
During the meal, everyone is discussing what they loved about the wedding and reception. Lots of laughter fills the space as folks take turns telling funny stories about drunken shenanigans at the hotel.
Evrard excuses himself when the servers come to clear the plates to go use the restroom. When he walks away, his grandmother turns to me and squeezes my knee.
"I'm so happy that Evrard has found someone again," she says.
"Again?" I ask.
"Well, yes, after his ex-wife broke his heart twenty years ago," she hisses. "I never liked her. But you? I liked you as soon as I set my eyes on you," she says, grinning at me with another squeeze on my knee.
My chest tightens at her words. Twenty years. He's been guarding his heart for twenty years because someone hurt him that badly. And here I am, pretending to be his girlfriend, probably making everything worse.
After breakfast, we all head outside as people say their goodbyes to the newlywed couple who are preparing to leave on their honeymoon later in the afternoon.
"We can give you a ride home," Evrard says to his grandmother.
"No. That's okay, sweetheart. Tanner and Alyssa are going to drive me back. I want to give them something before their trip."
"Alright, Grandma. Well, you have a good rest of your day," he says, kissing her on the forehead.
She turns to hug me, but first grabs my arms and says, "I want you to join me for my ninetieth birthday at Mermaid Tears Winery in May."
Evrard's blue eyes widen, and he opens his mouth. "Uh, Grandma..."
But he immediately shuts it when he hears me say, "Sure. I would love to."
On the drive back, the handsome firefighter is quiet for a few minutes. Then he looks at me from the corner of his eye and says, "We can come up with a reason you can't come to her birthday thing. Don't worry."
"Oh, did you not want me to be there?" I say as he pulls into my driveway, putting the SUV into park.
"No! I'd love for you to be there," he says abruptly, then looks away and out the window, his cheeks a bright shade of red.
His eyes then sweep over to mine, and we stare at each other for an intense moment.
"Do you think we should hang out at least once beforehand to get to know each other a little better since we'll probably be talking to your grandmother more?" I finally suggest.
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea," he says, giving me a shy smile.
"Okay. Let's text and figure it out," I say before slipping out of the car and rushing into my house, my heart racing a mile a minute.
Did that gorgeous firefighter just say he would love for me to be at his grandmother's birthday party?
I lean against the door, pressing my hand to my chest. My heart is pounding against my ribs. This is getting complicated. This is getting real.
And I'm not sure I want to stop it.