“My purse was ringing,” she explained.
He nodded and resisted the temptation to say, “While you’re down there…”
Because he wasn’t going there.
Not.
Going.
There.
Yeah. And maybe if he kept repeating it to himself, his body would get the message. But God, look at her. Adorably trashed. Sexy as hell.
And utterly and completely unaware of the hold she had on him. Without meaning to, he was finding his heart cracking, tentatively opening in spite of himself, and God knew, hell everyone knew, he wasn’t fond of the sensation.
Oblivious to his inner turmoil, she laughed at herself, then crawled back up into her seat and shoved her hair out of her face to grin at him. “Hey.”
“Hey right back atchya.”
She stared into his eyes. “You’re so pretty, Cam.”
“And you’re hammered. Seriously. Your vision is impaired.”
“Come on. You have a mirror. You know you’re pretty.” She waved a hand, managing to avoid hitting herself in the face this time. “But actually, I meant that you’re pretty on the inside, even if your heart’s been hurt.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“Still matters.”
“Only if you let it.” He went to start the truck, but she put a hand over his. He shook his head even as he turned his hand over, entwining his fingers in hers. “I don’t like to look back.”
“I know that. You don’t look to the future either. You live in the moment to avoid more hurt. I can understand that. I think.” She fisted her hands in his jacket and tugged him close enough to give him a big, smacking kiss on the lips that tasted of vodka and sweet, warm woman. “I’m living in the moment while I’m here in Wishful.” She batted her eyes. “I’m in the moment right now. How about you?”
Oh yeah. Unable to resist, he kissed her, then firmly pulled back.
“I almost did donuts in the lot while you were gone,” she admitted, recovering from the kiss much more quickly than he.
“Donuts?”
“In the snow,” she explained, twirling her finger in a circle in the air to demonstrate. “Fast.”
He had to smile. “What, are we twelve?”
“You say that because you probably did donuts in the snow when you were twelve.”
True. He’d stolen Annie’s car to do it too. She’d nearly killed him, but even that hadn’t taken away the joy of that night, driving a forbidden car, going fast beneath the stars, laughing his ass off… With a sigh, he put the truck in reverse, took them to the middle of the parking lot, and stomped on the gas while cranking the wheel hard to the left.
Katie screamed and laughed and screamed some more, and when he stopped the truck, she collapsed against the back of the seat and sighed in utter bliss.
For two seconds.
Then she suddenly went ashen, then a spectacular green. She slapped a hand over her mouth and said “uh-oh,” signs he recognized all too well. Leaning in front of her, he shoved open her door just in time for her to lose her lunch, dinner, dessert, and vodka right there in Doc’s parking lot.
He held her from falling out of the truck on her face and scooped back her hair, while silently congratulating himself for being stupid enough to take her for a spin while drunk. “You okay?”
“Kill me,” she murmured, accepting the bottle of water he’d grabbed and handed to her. She rinsed out her mouth and leaned back. “Just kill me and spare me the agony of embarrassment.”
“For throwing up?” He shook his head. “Hell, Katie, I’ve had evenings end far worse than this.”
Eyes still closed, she smiled weakly. “You’re such a nice liar.”
“Seriously.”
“Seriously.” She let out a low, miserable laugh. “I’d be willing to bet that every single time you’ve had a woman in this truck, you’ve gotten your hands on her, and not to hold back her hair while she puked.”
“Actually, believe it or not, I’m out of the habit of seducing cute drunk women.”
She cracked open one eye and laid it on him. “Because of your accident. I can’t believe you stopped having sex.”
“Yeah, well, until you.”
She managed a weak smile. “I’m glad you broke your dry spell with me. I guess I’m irresistible.”
“I guess you are.” He started the truck again and got them on the road. She was surprisingly quiet all the way back to the lodge. Or maybe not so surprisingly, considering when he stopped in front of her cabin, he realized she was out cold, and snoring while she was at it.
He shook his head, turned off the truck, and carried her to the front door, which she’d locked. Without any guilt whatsoever, he frisked her for her keys.
She didn’t so much as budge.
She was still snoring when he set her on her neatly made bed, though she stirred when he tossed a blanket over her.
“Cheese,” she muttered as he pulled off her glasses for her and set them on the nightstand.
“What’s that, Goldilocks?”
“Have to put out cheese for Chuck.”
“You’ll get something other than Chuck if you do that.”
“Please?”
He caved. Of course he caved. One look into those vodka-reddened eyes and he’d do whatever she asked of him. So he got some cheese out of her small refrigerator and placed it on her front step. When he moved back into her bedroom, she was up on her knees, attempting to strip out of her clothes. She got her sweater off but looked stymied by the fact that she was still wearing two more layers. She tried to tug the two under-shirts off as well, which took a while because she got them stuck on her head for one brief second during which her br**sts threatened to have a serious wardrobe malfunction and fall out of her bra.