Only Her Best Friend - Cami Checketts Page 0,22

in the morning.”

“Goodnight, beautiful, sweet Meredith.”

“Night.” Handsome, irresistible, fun, love-of-my-life Cruz. Luckily, she kept all those descriptors to herself.

Chapter Six

Cruz slept horribly. He’d slept on his top-of-the-line cot with his comfortable sleeping bag and travel pillow many times and slept great. His life had been fulfilling and happy since he’d escaped his mother’s net—busy, fun, and crazy with his staff and fans who loved him. He fell into bed at night wherever he was, crashed for seven to eight hours, then woke up, and went hard again.

Even though his day on the lake yesterday had been an intense one, he could not sleep. Maybe he was worried he’d miss the perp coming around Meredith’s house, but he thought the more likely reason was the gorgeous, irresistible woman resting inside the house. It was quiet enough in her wooded lot, with only the water from the lake lapping against the shore line and some insects buzzing, to hear her breathe if he concentrated. He liked that.

When she’d rubbed the mosquito repellant on his back, looked at him as if he’d hung the moon, and then prayed to the saints above for help to resist him, he was certain all his teenage and young adult daydreams about Meredith Francis were going to come true. Then she’d shut the door in his face again. Slammed it, actually. He loved teasing with her, but he was ready to take this past teasing.

He felt like for their relationship to proceed he had to first of all find out what Josh had told her and dispel the nonstop rumors about him being a “player.” He hadn’t had the opportunity to bring it up casually tonight but tomorrow he would. It should be easy to convince her to trust him. He and Meredith had been friends their entire lives, and she didn’t even know Josh. Why would anyone believe that guy or any of the social media posts women constantly put up or online magazines that ran articles speculating about Cruz dating somebody different every week? Maybe Meredith was grasping for an excuse not to date him. He didn’t like that idea at all.

He finally settled down as he focused on Meredith’s breathing, and before he knew it, the sun was dancing through the thick leaves on the trees. He sat up and stretched. The warm sleeping bag fell away, and the crisp mountain air embraced him. He slid off his cot, walked around to lengthen his stiff muscles, and grabbed his running socks and shoes out of his bag in his truck. Sometimes he got sick of living out of a suitcase, but that was the life he chose, so he didn’t dwell on it. He slid into his socks and shoes, downed a water bottle, and devoured a bag of Simply Fuel Protein Balls. He found his toothbrush and brushed, spitting in the bushes, and then used another water bottle to rinse out his mouth and toothbrush and splash his face and chest. He’d shower at his dad’s house after he ran with Meredith and went swimming with Cat. His sister was probably already in the lake, but he’d catch her at the end of her swim.

He heard the front door open and close and turned to greet Meredith. She looked fabulous in a tank top and running shorts, carrying her socks and shoes.

“Oh, my,” she breathed out.

He lifted a hand. “Good morning, Mer.”

“You have to put a shirt on,” she said. “It’s not even forty degrees out here.”

Cruz laughed. It had gotten chilly this morning, but he traveled the world and could handle the changes in temperature. He walked across the gravel drive and up the porch steps, and he didn’t stop until he was in her space. Her shoes and socks dropped to the wooden porch with a thud. Cruz was loving these interactions with her and hoped she could see that they had something special between them.

“Stop,” she held up a hand as if to protect herself.

Cruz stopped, but he couldn’t stop his grin. “Do you want me to wear a shirt, Mer?”

She nodded. “Yes, please.”

“Why? Because of your careful application of mosquito repellant last night, I didn’t get any bites.” He gestured to his chest. “See?”

Her eyes traveled over his chest, and her pulse was racing visibly in her throat. “I didn’t wipe your chest,” she finally said.

He tilted his chin up and turned slowly around. “Does the back look good too?”

“Y-yes,” he heard her admit.

He turned back to face her.