The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,281

shoes?”

“Only so we can go out and find you something more suitable to wear. Unless you want to go in the buff. Or in your dress.”

“Sweatpants it is.”

“Thought so.”

She hopped out of bed and grabbed her bra from underneath the wedding dress on the chair, then slipped into the bathroom and closed the door. She was in the process of putting her bra on under Noah’s T-shirt when she saw his toothbrush on the counter.

Oh, God. She’d been talking to him with morning breath. She could get a toothbrush while they were out shopping, but she didn’t want to go that long. Looking over her shoulder, she turned on the water and grabbed his toothbrush, quickly putting toothpaste on the bristles. She’d been brushing for half a minute when Noah knocked on the door and pushed it open a crack. “Are you decent?”

“Uh-huh,” she said with the toothbrush in her mouth.

He opened the door the rest of the way and stared at her in the reflection in the mirror for a moment, his forehead wrinkling. “Here’s the pants.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, still brushing.

His mouth dropped open. “Is that my toothbrush?”

She pulled it out and spat in the sink. “Yeah.”

“Oh, my God!” he said in horror. “That’s disgusting.”

“Come on,” she said, cupping water into her hand and slurping it into her mouth. “You’re telling me that you’ve never shared a toothbrush with someone before?”

“Absolutely not. Now that thing is covered in your germs.”

She rinsed off his toothbrush under the running water. “It’s no different than kissing.”

“But at least I get something out of kissing. What am I getting out of this?”

She turned around to face him, lifting her eyebrows in a playful manner. “My charming personality without halitosis?”

Something happened in his eyes then, the annoyance shifting to something she didn’t recognize, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. “Just remember paybacks are a bitch.”

A grin spread across her face as she stalked closer to him and rested her palms against his chest. “Am I supposed to be scared, Noah McMillan?”

His eyes narrowed. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

His tone was teasing, but the combination of their proximity, their playful banter, and the suggestive words he’d just uttered sent an unexpected wave of heat coursing through Libby.

That was the thing. She wanted to find out what he was capable of . . . .

Her hands were still on his chest, but her fingertips were on fire now. She inhaled sharply, trying to make sense of the war being waged in her head. Her body demanded she grab the back of his head, pull his mouth to hers, and drag him to the very available bed less than ten feet away, so they could have what she was sure would be the most amazing sex of her life. But her head commanded her body to stop. She had too much to lose with a spontaneous fling. It wasn’t worth the risk. Even if she let herself think they might have the potential to have something long term, she had a hard time ignoring what was plainly written in her palm. She was destined for a man who was creative. She was certain an engineer who worked in an office didn’t qualify.

“Lib?” he asked, concern in his eyes. One minute she’d been playing around with him, the next she’d practically turned to a statue, her hand glued to his chest.

She forced a smile and stepped back. She would not make things awkward between them. She needed Noah. No matter what her heart wanted, her body wanted, she couldn’t afford to do anything that would risk pushing him away, especially now. She tugged on the sweatpants in his hand. “Thanks.” Confusion wrinkled his brow as she pushed him out of the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

When she emerged several minutes later, he was looking at his laptop again. He glanced up at her with a sly grin before closing the lid.

He wanted her to try to wrest his secret plans from him, so she gave him a haughty smile instead. “I’m starving.”

“Good thing for you they have a continental breakfast here,” he teased, packing his computer into his messenger bag. “We can take our things downstairs and leave after we eat.”

She noticed his bag on the bed, the lid open. He brushed past her, and into the bathroom, as she turned her attention to the wedding dress he’d arranged on the bed next to it.

Noah came back out