His Off Limits Best Friend - Vivian Wood Page 0,66
room. “How long have you two been engaged?” the brunette who worked on Connor asked.
“Engaged? Not long now,” he said. “But we dated for quite a bit before that.”
“Ah, yes, I think I saw a photo of you two in the pap—”
The woman stopped herself before she could reveal that she knew who he was. It was uncouth to act like you read the gossip column at such a posh place. He heard Sam sigh contentedly as the blonde who hovered over her hit a sweet spot. “Have you ever had a couple’s massage together before?” the woman asked her.
“No,” Sam said quietly.
“It’s very romantic,” the woman said. “I recommend all couples get one at least every few months. It can work wonders, especially when stress at home or work is high. It’s a good reminder of simply being together and pampering yourselves. You know?
Connor nearly laughed. It felt good, but if this woman thought a massage was all it was going to take to fix their problems, she was crazy.
After the massage, he had to admit he felt loose and calm all over. Even Sam walked back to their room in a more languid way than he’d ever seen. She didn’t even barge ahead of him like she tended to do these days. He felt a buzz in his pocket and pulled his phone out. “Fuck,” he said.
She looked at him curiously.
“I thought—damnit. The whole family’s coming after all.”
“What do you mean the whole family?”
“The extended family. Two uncles, an aunt, and all their kids and grandkids.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. My mother had told me they couldn’t make it given the last-minute change of plans.”
Sam sighed as they stepped into their suite. Someone, he guessed his mother, had ordered red flower petals to be sprinkled across the bed with a bottle of chilled champagne on the nightstand. “Did you—”
“It wasn’t me,” he said quickly.
“You’re really testing me,” she said. Sam pulled a dress out of her bag and shut the bathroom door hard behind her.
Connor took Sam on the requisite rounds as the whole family gathered for pre-dinner cocktails. Even he could barely remember some of the names, especially of the kids, and was wildly impressed at Sam’s ability to charm. She cooed at and held all the babies, connected with his cousins, and won over even his gruff uncle Bernard with ease.
As he watched her immerse herself in his family, he could easily see her there for good. It was natural. A few times he caught his father watching her, but what the hell? Let him. He knew that even in the state they were in right now, Sam would never do anything.
Dinner was largely uneventful. There were toasts, and quite a few were directed at them and their impending marriage. “May we perhaps set a date once and for all this weekend,” his father had said to a round of cheers. Sam smiled broadly, as if that was her greatest wish, too.
“Everyone’s drunk,” he whispered to her by nine o’clock.
Sam nearly laughed, or so he thought. The two glasses of champagne had softened her.
“Want to make our escape?”
She nodded, took the last swallow of the bubbly, and accepted his hand when he offered it. She didn’t let go, not even when they were far out of sight.
In their room, she threw herself onto the bed. A flurry of red rose petals exploded from around her. Connor took a white pillow and tossed it on the couch to start making his bed.
“No,” she said. “It’s fine.” Sam patted the bed. “There’s plenty of room for both of us. What difference does one more night make?”
What does she mean by that?
Connor went to the bed cautiously. When he lay down, she turned on her side to face him and tucked a pillow under her cheek. “I hope I did okay tonight. Because—”
He cut her off. Whatever she was going to say next, he didn’t want to hear. “You did great.” As always.
She hadn’t changed out of her bright orange dress. It had hitched up close to the apex of her hip. He could see her cleavage easily through the peephole neckline. He reached out and touched her arm. “Sam—”
She closed the distance between them. As soon as he felt her lips on his, all bets were off. His body responded like he’d been starved, and he pulled her against him. His hands squeezed her waist and tested the swell of her hips. He needed to be certain she was real.
Their tongues