Page 32 of Blame it on the Kiss
Honor looked up from the mess of papers on her tiny desk. Her pretty blue-gray eyes widened when she saw him. “Bryce?”
“Hi. I was having lunch with your brother and he told me what happened. We think I might be able to help.” He purposely said ‘we’ to keep her defenses down.
“With my brother,” she muttered, as if she didn’t like the two of them meeting. She dropped her head into her hand and rubbed her forehead. “Close the door?”
“Sure.” Once shut, he leaned against it.
“This is what I get for not following up before today. The rental company says they never got my order and there’s no way they can pull together over a hundred pairs of skates and have them here by tomorrow. I thought Coop might know someone he could call to help.”
Bryce stepped away from the door. “A friend of mine owns a skate shop in L.A. He’s the guy TV and film people go to when they need huge quantities of skates or boards. You need one-fifty?”
Honor blinked and nodded.
He pulled out his cell and made the call. His buddy got on the line and a minute later Bryce said, “Where do you want them delivered?”
Honor’s gorgeous lips parted, but no sound came out. She took a deep breath. The white sweater with rhinestone buttons clung to her perfectly round breasts, and he ran a hand down his pant leg to stop the itch in the tips of his fingers.
“Here,” she finally said and rattled off the address.
Just as he said goodbye, she jumped to her feet. “Wait. What’s the rental fee? When do they need payment? What about sizes? How long is the rental for?”
The cell phone on her desk rang. “It’s Coop.” She picked it up. “Hey,” she said with a raised voice before she pressed something on the screen and put the phone down. “I’ve got you on speaker.”
“Is Bryce there?”
“He’s here and just saved my ass.”
“Awesome. Thanks, bro. No way could I have pulled anything off this fast.”
“My pleasure.”
“H, you good then?”
“Always,” she said, rather unconvincingly to Bryce’s ears.
“Okay. See ya later.”
The second Coop clicked off, the air in the room changed, like time had slowed to keep him and Honor together for as long as they wanted. He sat in the chair and met her soft yet vivid gaze.
“I don’t know what to say,” she murmured.
“I was happy to help. And to answer your questions, the rental fee is taken care of, they know what sizes to send, and if you could return them by Monday, that would be great. They’ll be here in the morning, by the way.”
“What do you mean the rental fee is taken care of?”
“It’s a donation. It’s heart month, right?”
She rubbed the side of her neck. “No. I mean yes, but we can’t accept that. That’s… that’s…”
He stood, walked around her desk, and squeezed in behind her chair. “That’s how it is. So how about a, ‘Thank you, Bryce, I owe you one,’ and we’ll call it even.” He wrapped his hands around her shoulders and started to massage. He’d been told, “I don’t need you to rescue me,” by a few ex-girlfriends, but he couldn’t change who he was. And maybe that was part of his problem. Maybe that’s what had kept Payton away. Maybe he knew his actions would ultimately push Honor away and that’s what got his feet to move behind her chair. He wanted to be close to her for as long as it lasted.
“What are you—”
“Shh. Just relax and let me work the tension out of your neck.”
Her chin dropped. “Owing you isn’t even.”
“Figured that out, did you? Well, I need a favor, too.” Through the thin material of her sweater the muscles under his fingers stiffened but he was helpless to stop the request on the tip of his tongue. “I want to pick your brain about Roseville pottery.”
