Authors: Kate Perry

Project Date (30 page)

BOOK: Project Date

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I wasn’t messing around here. I lifted my chin and turned to Rio, whose gaze was devoid of emotion. Gulp. “Hi.”

“What’s going on?” he asked flatly.

The sounds of two cars rolling down a gravel road registered. I followed Rio to the window to in time to see both Matt’s jeep and Barry’s BMW disappear, leaving only a cloud of dust.

Then I realized how close I stood to him. I really wanted to lean closer, but I forced myself to step back. I needed to do this right. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He cocked a brow. Arms crossed, he leaned against the wall. “Are you?”

God, he had sexy biceps. I ignored his sarcasm and nodded. “I wanted to apologize.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Really? You forgive me?” Because he didn’t sound like he forgave me.

“Forgive you?” He laughed without humor. “Hell, no.”

I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m sorry. Things got a little out of hand, but I love you and I want to make it up to you.”

Rio said nothing. He just stared at me with that dead gaze.

I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. My hands fisted of their own accord. “That kind of attitude isn’t going to help us.”

He stared down at me with conquistador haughtiness and, God help me, I wanted to kiss him. So I settled for the next best thing: I yelled at him. “Why can’t you just listen to me when I say I didn’t mean to hurt you?”

His brow wrinkled but his voice remained low. But it was barely controlled. “You used me to make my friend jealous. How am I supposed to feel?”

He had a point. “Hurt,” I conceded. “But I fell in love with you. The deep, all-or-nothing kind of love. Do you honestly think I faked it the whole time?”

“Didn’t you?”

I gasped. “Of course not.”

“How am I supposed to know what was real and what wasn’t?” He gazed at me like I was a stranger.

And I didn’t like it. At all. So I did the only thing I knew how to do and hooked his leg with my foot and leveraged his head back to take him straight down.

I landed on him (he only made a small
oof
) and tied his arms up with mine. “Admit that I love you.”

“Fine way you have of showing it.”

At least the fire was back in his eyes. I tightened my hold. “Admit it.”

“Phil, this isn’t—”

“Aha!” He called me Phil. It was silly how that small thing made my heart leap with joy. “I knew it.”

He frowned. “What did you know?”

“You still care about me.”

He sighed. “This isn’t about how I feel.”

“Yes, it is, because if it were up to me we wouldn’t be like this.”

He bucked his hips, flipped me over, and straddled my hips, my hands held tightly over my head. “I gave you pieces of myself I’d never given anyone else.
You
. And for all I know you were just using me. How can I trust you again?”

Even if I didn’t hear it in his voice, his anguish filled his eyes. I bit my lip to keep my tears from falling. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered. Then I cleared my throat and said it again more forcibly. “I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong, and I can only plead temporary insanity. But if you don’t let me make it up to you, you’re even worse than I am.”

He looked disbelieving. “How do you figure?”

“You’re willing to throw away something great between us, because it was great and you know it can be again if you let it. And you’re doing it only out of pride and not because that’s what you really want.”

Silence while he studied me. Then he asked, “What do I want?”

I lifted my chin. “Me.”

Okay, I wasn’t so sure that was true, but what did I have to lose? If he laughed in my face, then I’d only be back to where I was—miserable and lonely. But if he said yes ...

I tried to project supreme confidence as he held me pinned to the floor, studying me with his turbulent gaze.

Finally he spoke. “I’m not playing a game.”

I nodded solemnly. “I’m not either.”

Long, searching silence then finally, “It’ll kill me if I find out this is another lie.”

“I’m not lying,” I said fervently. “I promise.”

“Because I was serious about this from the beginning.” His beautiful eyes told me exactly how serious he still was.

Fortunately, I was on the same page. “Tell me you’re still serious.”

The wait while he considered the answer nearly killed me. Finally, he nodded. “I am.”

“Good.” Hooking my leg around his knee, I brought him down so he was pressed fully against me and gazed at him. “Marry me.”

He brought his face down till his nose touched mine. “Why?”

I didn’t hesitate in my answer. “I love you,” I answered simply, because I knew he’d appreciate that most.

His fingers tightened on my wrists. “I love you too.” He lifted his head and kissed me.

Kiss was such a weak word for it though. It was more like a starved mating.

But first things first. I broke away from him, panting. “Is that a yes?”

As corny as it sounded, his slow smile was like the sun coming out after weeks of rain. “Make me.”

I grinned. That was a challenge I was up to.

Epilogue

“It’s occurred to me that some friendships are like a good game of hockey. The right balance of teamwork and smooth skating generally adds up to a winning combination.”

—MacGyver, “Easy Target” Episode #81

“Fight me.”

Rio cocked an eyebrow and calmly unwrapped his wrists. “Didn’t you go to class this morning? I’d have thought you would have worked your aggression out of your system.”

The slow, deliberate unveiling made a shiver crawl up my spine. And every inch of skin was mine. I grinned fiercely as I advanced on him. “Oh, baby, this isn’t aggression.”

He put his hands on my hips and held me away when I reached him. “I’m sweaty.”

“I like you sweaty.” I tried to wiggle closer.

“But you’re dressed.” He fingered the thin strap of the little dress Cindy made me buy. “Is this new?”

“Yeah. Cindy wanted a pink bachelorette party.” I wrinkled my nose and slipped my arms around his shoulders despite his protest. I wasn’t happy about the dress, even if the style looked flattering, but she’d insisted it was perfect. I thought it was too girly—it had little roses and tulle, for God’s sake. Oh, the price of friendship.

“I like it.” His gaze roved down to my feet and all the way back up. “I like it a lot.”

The way his eyes devoured me made wearing the frou-frou dress worthwhile. “It ties in a bow in the back.”

He looked down over my shoulder. “I see.”

“Doesn’t it make you want to unwrap me?” I batted my eyes and pursed my lips.

“Definitely.”

Now we were getting somewhere. I stepped forward. I like to be cooperative.

He held me back. “Phil, I’ll get you messy.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

He wrapped a hand in my loose hair. “Tell you what. Tonight when you come home, I’m going to take my time unwrapping you.”

“Promise?”

He smiled, slow and predatory.

Shiver. “I’ll be home by seven-thirty.”

Chuckling, he said, “I don’t think either party will have even started by then. And before you ask, yes, I have to go to Barry’s bachelor party.”

“I don’t know about this bachelor party thing.” Then a horrifying thought struck me. “You guys didn’t hire Magda or anything, did you? Because I’d hate to think her next month’s rent would be paid with money you’d stuck in her g-string.”

“Phil.”

I grinned. He insisted Magda wasn’t a call girl, high-priced or otherwise. I knew he was right—probably—but speculating was too much fun. In his meanest moments, he threatened to ruin my fun by asking her what she did for a living, but I always distracted him with kisses.

I loved that my kisses distracted him. But his kisses drove me insane, so I guess we were equal.

“What time do you have to pick up Daphne?” he asked, toying with my hair.

I wrinkled my nose. “Five minutes ago.”

“Phil.” He shook his head. “You’ve got to stop torturing her. She needs your support. She seems—” he frowned “—lost.”

Lost was a good way of putting it. She’d been acting weird lately. Weirder than usual. I was happy letting her stay in my house—I was at Rio’s most of the time anyway—but I figured she’d start looking for a new job or something. Instead she just drifted aimlessly from day to day, which wasn’t like her
at all
. “But it’s so much fun torturing her.”

“Phil.”

“I know.” I made a face. Whenever I asked her what her deal was, she’d remember an errand she needed to run. But I’d get it out of her. I had my ways.

“Maybe you can ask her tomorrow.”

“Ugh.” I scowled. “Did you have to remind me?”

He laughed. “Dinner with your parents isn’t that bad.”

No, they’d mellowed out. It was touch-and-go in the beginning, but the more they got to know Rio, the more they loved him. He and Mom had a regular museum date now. Dad even showed Rio his prized Zerene Fritillary butterfly.

“And my parents will be there tomorrow to act as a buffer.”

I groaned. “I can’t believe we’re taking your parents to meet mine the day they fly in from New York. They haven’t even met me yet. I hope they won’t hold my parents against me.”

I knew they wouldn’t though. I’d talked to Rio’s mom on the phone a lot. She was absolutely lovely. And his dad wanted to go to Kung Fu with me while he was here. I wasn’t sure how my parents would react to Rio’s dad, who’d been career military, but I figured his mom being an artist made up for it a little.

Rio rubbed my arms. “My parents already love you. But maybe it’d be best if we steered conversation away from anything political.”

I laughed. “Okay.”

He dropped a kiss on my forehead and then the side of my neck. “I’ve got to clean up and get to Barry’s.”

My goodbye was a long, deep kiss that left him dazed-looking and breathing heavy. I patted his chest, stepped back, and flashed him my best seductress smile. “Don’t forget you have a gift to unwrap later tonight.”

“How could I forget?” He smoothed a lock of my hair. “It’s the best gift ever.”

I smiled, bright and happy. “You’re even better than MacGyver, Riordan McKenna.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “I love you too, Phil.”

About the Author

When Kate was a little girl, all she dreamt about was moving to France and living in a stone castle while painting the Provencal countryside. To prep herself, she studied French, stocked up on berets in every color, and practiced her shrug for hours in front of the mirror.

But then, because indentured servitude seemed more attractive than eating baguettes and drinking wine, she took a detour into the world of high tech. Eventually, that insanity wore off and she decided to try something more stable. Writing seemed the logical choice.

Unfortunately, she doesn’t own her castle yet, but she holds out hope that one day soon she can pull her berets out of storage. Keep tabs on her progress by checking out
www.kateperry.com
, or contact her at
[email protected].

ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

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ISBN: 978-1-4201-2959-5

BOOK: Project Date

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