Page 230 of Spicy Ever After
Hattie: PRETTY SURE I’VE ALREADY TOLD YOU THIS.
I chuckle, shaking my head. Because I remember more than one conversation like that.
Me: Yeah, you have.
Then I draw in a breath, remind myself that I’ve still got a set of balls, and take a step out on that limb.
Me: Hattie, if you still want to, will you go into business with me and help me buy out my uncle?
She doesn’t respond.
But then I hear the door across the hall open.
I’m up on my feet when she taps lightly on my door.
I swing it open, my heart somewhere just above my Adam’s apple.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I acted like a?—”
Hattie covers my mouth with one hand, eyeing me pointedly. Her hair is brushed out, and it falls over her shoulders in gleaming chestnut waves. She’s changed into a plum-colored pajama set with spaghetti straps, a deep V between her luscious breasts, and shorts that barely cover her bottom.
I swallow hard.
She doesn’t speak a word, but the glint in her eye and the angle of her chin shut me the hell up.
Then my phone buzzes in my hand.
It’s only when I look down at it that I see she’s holding her phone in her other hand.
I blink at my screen.
Hattie: LIKE I SAID, WE’LL TALK TOMORROW. AND I’M DONE TEXTING.
My gaze snaps back to hers. That glint in her eye has turned into a dare.
Oh, hell, yeah.
I cover the hand at my mouth with my own and press a slow kiss to her palm. The shiver that runs down her body is better than any words.
Gently, I tug her into my room and shut the door behind her.
We stay up half the night without saying a thing.
Chapter Thirty
HATTIE
The next morning, I stir when Beck’s alarm goes off. I roll over and grab his wrist before he slips out of bed.
“Yes,” I mutter, eyes still closed.
He stills beside me. “What?”
I peel one eye open. “Yes, I’ll go into business with you and help you buy out your uncle.”
The pale pre-dawn light is just enough for me to see the way Beck’s face softens. He wraps his arms around me and presses a hard kiss to my lips.
“Good,” he whispers, those sunshine footprints crinkling the corners of his eyes. “Go back to sleep, love.”
