Temptation on Ocean Drive - Jennifer Probst Page 0,78
out when we get home about how we want to approach this. I’m hoping you understand when I tell you I need to go slow.”
He cupped her cheeks and pressed his forehead to hers. “I can do slow,” he said.
She covered his hands with hers. “I want plenty of time for Zoe to get used to me seeing someone. And to work out how we handle our business and personal lives. And the best way to tell my family. And—”
“I get it, sweetheart. There’s no rush. I’ve waited this long to finally ravish that sweet body of yours,” he said with a wicked grin. “I’m not going anywhere. We’ll see what feels best for you. I won’t push.”
She let out her breath in relief. “Then we’re in perfect agreement.”
He kissed her, his tongue thrusting lazily, and soon he was scooping her up into his arms. “Let me show you how good I can do slow.”
And he did.
Chapter Seventeen
“I need a night out,” Daisy whined over speakerphone. “I’m going stark raving mad playing with Meg’s Barbie dream house and watching movies every night. Please, Bella. Let’s go out and drink and pretend we’re fabulous single women.”
Bella laughed. “You always lose it mid-March,” she said, chopping up carrots and celery and putting them in separate baggies. If she didn’t give Zoe healthy snack options, she went straight to the bad stuff. “I feel bad, though. I’ve run the gamut of babysitters because of the wedding, and I promised myself I’d be home with Zoe on weekends.”
“One teeny, tiny Friday night? For your best friend? I’ll personally call Avery and Taylor and beg them on my behalf.”
“You are desperate.”
“After St. Patty’s Day passes, I get depressed. It seems like spring will never come.”
She understood. March seemed like the last punch before they got some sunny days that gave them hope. Tourists began trickling in for spring break, and the wedding season exploded. Soon, she’d be working nonstop. She usually neglected Daisy during that time, so it might be a good idea to indulge in a girls’ night out. “Can you get a sitter for Meg?”
“I’ll pay the first stranger I see on the street corner, at this rate.”
Bella laughed. “Liar. I’ll make a few calls and see if we can go tomorrow.”
“Thank you! I’m going to dress up! And we’ll get an Uber so we can get drunk!”
She shook her head and dumped some hummus in a small bowl. “Whatever you want.”
She clicked off with Daisy whooping, and quickly checked her planner. It’d only been two short weeks since Adele’s wedding, and she’d tried to spend as much time with Zoe as possible. She explained to Gabe she wanted to ease into telling people they were together, but so far, she hadn’t found the right time to tell her sisters. Every time she had their ear, she chickened out.
She rationalized that once their relationship was outed, things might change. Right now, it was like this supersexy secret. He’d come over and occasionally watch a movie with her and Zoe. Other times, he’d show up after her daughter went to bed, and they’d spend hours making love and falling into one another. Each time got better. It was as if pieces of her were breaking open after each encounter. He’d leave before dawn, pressing a lingering kiss to her mouth, and she’d snuggle in the sheets that smelled like him, giddy with joy.
During the weekly meetings, he stared at her across the conference-room table, the fire in those dark eyes properly banked in front of her sisters, but she recognized the look of desire. He’d sip his espresso and calmly share his schedule, and she’d imagine his lips coasting over her naked breasts, the dirty words whispered in her ear, the way he slid deep inside her body and claimed her.
So far, no one seemed to notice how their relationship had changed since the wedding. Of course, Avery was steeped in planning her own wedding for October, and Taylor was furiously working on her art. But her sisters never commented on the new lightness in her step or the easier way she laughed. She took it as a sign that it wasn’t time yet to come out to the world as a couple.
Grabbing a pen, she scribbled in her date with Daisy, then checked the business schedule. Taylor and Avery had weddings that night, so they were out. Gabe had an afternoon function—probably best not to bother him. Pierce was working. She texted a