Page 65 of Flirty Fall Fling

I smile, and he returns it.

“Weirdly enough, I think I just heard my aunt speak to me from the afterlife.”

He rests his hands on my hips. “Yeah? And what did she say?”

“Exclusivity until November,” I say. “That’s the final rule.”

He exhales like he’s been holding that breath since the moment I entered High Spirits. His hands are in my hair, and he’s kissing me as I push him against the cold brick. He tastes like whiskey and toothpaste.

“Come home with me,” he says against my mouth.

“I kinda like you jealous,” I admit.

He tugs on my lip. “You’re going to love it.”

We walk fast through the dark with our hands not touching. The carnival is still in full swing in the square, and the rides will stay lit until midnight. When we turn the block to where he parked, our fingers brush together, and I feel a tiny rush of excitement.

Then I hear a small voice reminding me what his cup said. While I should hesitate, I find myself walking faster.

16

JAMIE

I’ve driven this mountain twenty times in the dark, and it’s never once made me nervous until tonight.

Blaire rides next to me with her heels kicked off. I keep catching myself looking over instead of at the switchbacks. The heater’s roaring because the vinyl roof is useless, and she’s got her hands in the vents like she’s at a campfire. Every turn slides the black dress a little farther up her thigh, which is not helping me drive.

“So,” she says, “the ridge.”

“Yeah. My brother is …” I pause, trying to think of the perfect description. “I don’t know how to explain him sometimes. We’re more different than alike.”

A pair of eyes flashes in the headlights, and I brake as a mule deer crosses the road.

Blaire places her hand over her chest. “Scared the shit out of me.”

I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh. “I got you.”

We continue traveling up the mountain.

“I’ve lived in this area my whole adult life, and I’ve never been past the gate at the bottom. You know, they call this subdivision Douchebag Drive.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I say. “He bought it a few years ago and never uses it. I think that’s why he was so eager to hand me the keys. Put some life into it.”

I enter the code into the private gate, and it swings open. Her brows pop up, and she smiles as we enter. The trees surround the smoothly paved road, and eventually, the sky opens, revealing the glass house up on the hill.

Blaire leans forward and stares up at it. “So, your brother is rich, rich.”

“My entire family is.”

I park in the circular drive and get out, opening her door for her.

“The place is glass,” she says. “It’s like an aquarium for a person.”

I place my hand on the small of her back as I lead her up the steps. “It feels the same way when you’re inside.”

The facial recognition scans my face, and the door opens. Her heels click against the marble floor as she enters the foyer. She moves into the living room, sliding her hand against the back of the white couches I’m sure no one has sat on. Then her eyes scan over the paintings on the wall.

I move beside her. “My sister painted these.”