“I don’t know,” Zoey shrugs. “More. From the way some of the girls were talking, it’s like the whole world stops. But thanks, I guess.”
She turns on her heel and walks back to the car, swinging her purse.
I shake my head. That girl is going to cause some guy a world of trouble one day.
6.
Now…
I was right.
Zoey was going to bring some guy a world of trouble—I just never expected that guy to be me. But here I am, practically racing away from the B&B to get as far from her as possible before I do something I regret.
I can still taste the sweetness of her lips, smell that maddening scent of her perfume. Her body, pressed close against me, tempting me to just grab her tight and kiss her the way I’ve been craving for weeks now, ever since that night at the party on New Year’s Eve.
I can’t. That was a mistake, one I swore I wouldn’t be repeating.
Fat lot of good that promise did you now.
I let out a groan of frustration. What the hell was I thinking, letting myself be alone with her? It was a recipe for temptation from the very start. I wish I could turn back the clock, to before she leaned in close to me, and widened those smoky blue eyes…
No, if I’m being honest, I need to rewind a lot further than that. To before I offered to walk her home; before I even invited her out to begin with. I figured I’d be safe, just a group from work hanging out after a long day on the set. Show that there’s nothing weird between us, that we’re still buddies after everything. After all, she’s the one who laughed off our kiss and acted like she didn’t even remember it. I figured she’d had too much champagne, things got out of hand. That was no reason why we couldn’t go back to the way things were before: casual, easy.
Just friends.
Then Zoey walked into the bar wearing that over-sized sweater, soft enough to stroke. She hitched up on the barstool, revealing three dangerous inches of her killer legs, and just like that, I knew I was in trouble.
Dammit.
I shake it off and keep walking. When am I going to learn me and Zoey Barnes are a dangerous combination? I know she’s off-limits, but ever since she got back from Europe, I just can’t seem to help myself. It’s like someone flipped a switch: one minute she’s just regular old Zoey, and the next?
She’s Zoey.
Captivating. Intriguing. Tempting as hell. Tonight was like New Year’s Eve all over again. I spent the evening watching her out of the corner of my eye, tuned to every shift of her lithe body, every giggle from those luscious lips. It made me mad as hell that I couldn’t get her off my mind, but once we were back at her place and I felt her body sway closer…
Everything faded away. Her lips brushed mine, so sweet, and just for a moment, everything in the world made sense.
Like I was home.
No. I stop that thought dead in its tracks. I need to get my shit together and show some self-control, and everything will be fine.
It has to be.
By the time I make it back to Dex’s place, I’m ready to crash. He was happy to let me stay with him when filming moved to town; in his massive, beach-front mansion, he’s got plenty of space. I let myself in, feeling the same mix of pride and envy whenever I look at what my older brother has achieved. His band The Reckless took off when I was just out of high school: number one hit singles, world tours, VIP red carpet kind of success. I know it hasn’t been easy from him, and he’s had his share of tragedy, but still, I know I have a long way to go before I make it even half-way to his level. My acting career is on the climb, but I’m nowhere near this kind of wealth and fame—or getting name-checked as anything other than “Dex Callahan’s younger brother” whenever we get photographed out together.
The irony is, he hates that bullshit. It’s why he moved out of Hollywood, all the way across the country to this small town nobody’s ever heard of. He’s happiest when he’s totally anonymous, just left alone with his fiancée to work on his music. I’m the one who grew up craving the attention, wanting the spotlight, the applause, all that, just for me.
I find Dex hanging out in the living room with Tegan. “Hey,” Tegan greets me. “What are you doing out so late? You’re always bitching about needing ten solid hours to be all pretty for the cameras.”
“First thing, I don’t bitch.” I reach over and ruffle her hair as I pass on the way to the kitchen. “And second, I’m pretty enough just the way I am. I was walking Zoey home.”
Tegan frowns. “You were out with Zoey?”
Guilt hits me. I’ve spent the past two hours lusting after my kid sister’s best friend. Could she be any more off-limits? “A whole group of us from the movie,” I explain quickly, grabbing some mineral water from the fridge. “Just a few beers at the bar. What about you guys?”
“Trying to get Dex to set a date.” Tegan turns to our brother and tosses a cushion at his head. “I’m telling him, a class act like Alicia won’t hang around for long.”
Dex rolls his eyes. “I can take care of my relationship on my own, thanks very much.” He doesn’t look worried, sprawled on the couch in his sweatpants. None of us Callahans have ever really had a regular schedule. Tegan went on the road with him for years, and has just started taking classes part-time, and my oldest brother, Ash, is the only one who comes close, but with his real estate empire, he works 24/7 these days.
“When does Alicia get back?” I ask, leaning back against the counter.