by Kyra Jacobs
Please, kiss me. Please.
As if in answer to her silent plea, his lips ghosted across hers. She drew in a sharp breath and curled her fingers into the fabric of his shirt. Felicity angled her face higher, wanting more. Needing more. And Scott obliged.
His lips met hers, hesitant at first. She kissed him back, leaning into him, wanting him to see she wasn’t fragile, that she didn’t need to be handled with care. The kisses grew stronger, more insistent, and she parted her lips. His tongue swept in, tasting, teasing. Felicity gave in to the sensations, letting herself drift into the sea of desire, no longer caring what was right or wrong, smart or not. All she knew at that moment was she never wanted it to end.
“Scott?”
Edna. Well, at least it wasn’t Tyler this time.
Scott drew back with a sigh and turned toward the stairwell. “Yeah, Grandma?”
“Need your height. Can you come down here for a minute?”
“What could she possibly need at this hour?” He tipped his forehead against Felicity’s. “Sorry, duty calls.”
She wished it hadn’t. Wished Edna was taller, or the item was lower, or heck, that she and Scott were alone on a deserted island with nobody else around. Felicity wished for a lot of things, but knew better than to dream any would magically come true. “Then, by all means, go be the hero.”
“I’d really rather not.” He kissed her one last time—enough to leave her breathless—then reached for his crutches.
“Do you think she knows? Edna?”
“Nah. But if a minister turns up for dinner one of these nights, that’s our cue to run.”
She laughed softly as he made his way down the hall. There would be no minister and no need to run. Lip service, literally, was all this was and all it ever would be. Instead of feeling guilty about it, she headed for her room savoring the tingle on her lips.
Chapter Ten
Scott sipped from a travel cup of coffee as he rode in Felicity’s passenger seat Saturday morning, trying to figure out what she was up to. A publicity event was where she’d said they were going, something to do with kids. It explained why Tyler was along for the ride, but not why she was as jumpy as a doe in hunting season.
Maybe it was because of the kissing they’d done last night. Heaven knew he’d mentally relived it a few dozen times since then. Edna’s interruption had again left him hungry for more. But “more” wasn’t where he should go, not unless Felicity gave him a sign that was her desire, too. The last thing he wanted was to come on too strong and scare her off. So far, that hadn’t seemed to be the case.
What a sap he was, going from determined to get rid of her to being afraid of running her off. But she’d earned her weight in gold yesterday, coaxing him through not one but two difficult appointments. At neither event did she chastise him for how he was feeling, or for losing his lunch in the parking lot of his former elementary school. Instead, she’d been the steady hand and strong foundation he needed to keep going.
A small part of him felt eternally grateful for that. An even bigger part was looking forward to getting back on the field so he could be done with these silly PR stints.
“Where’d you say we were going again?” he asked.
“KidFest.”
Scott glanced over at her one-word answer and found Felicity’s eyes focused squarely at the windshield. Yep, she was up to something. Maybe there was a dunk tank in his future, or him manning some silly carnival game. So long as he was sitting, he wouldn’t complain. After being stuck at Edna’s most of the week, he’d been starting to get a little stir crazy.
The car rounded a bend, and a small collection of motionless carnival rides came into view. Tyler, who’d been groggy and silent most of the trip, saw them as well and instantly perked up.
“Mom, look! Rides!”
“Yay,” she muttered under her breath.
Okay, something was definitely up. Felicity was not one to mutter in response to anyone but Scott.
“Not a fan?”
“No.” She lowered her voice further. “Have you seen how poorly those things are constructed? Nothing but metal held together by zip ties and duct tape.”
He laughed. “So what you’re really saying is you’re afraid of heights?”
“That’s not the point,” she said, glowering. “Unsafe is unsafe, no matter how ridiculously high off the ground you are.”
“What about you, bud? Do you like going on the rides?”
“I love the rides! Last year, Sam and I went on all but the Screaming Meanie—I was too short then. Mom, do you think I’ll be tall enough this year?”
She grimaced, pulling into the lot. “I don’t know, sweetheart. We’ll have to stand you next to the measuring stick and see.”
If Scott were to guess, he’d say Mama Bear was hoping Tyler would fall short. Clearly, she hadn’t spent enough time around carnivals growing up. He turned to her son.
“So, which ones are your favorite?”
“Oooh, the octopus one is my favorite. You know, the one that goes like this?”—he undulated his arms like “Thriller” moves gone awry—“Or the Round Up. It spins really fast so you get stuck to the wall and can’t move.”
“Oh, yeah,” Scott said. “I always loved that one as a kid.”
“What’s your favorite ride?” Tyler asked.
He turned toward Felicity, unable to help himself. “Anything that goes high. Really, really high.”
Color washed across her cheeks, but she didn’t engage, allowing his antagonistic jab to linger in the air between them. Then she stomped on the brakes. Scott’s seat belt momentarily choked him, turned in his seat like he was. He clawed at the strap, trying to make more room to breathe.
“Sorry,” she said. “There was a squirrel.”
He shot her a dark look…and caught the ghost of a grin. His irritation melted away. He’d take a grin over her scowls any time.
After finding a parking space, then meeting up with Lauren and her kids to temporarily hand off Tyler, Scott followed Felicity up to the park’s small administrative building. Unfortunately, it appeared filled to capacity. A line of people extended from its front door down to the main parking lot, which wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t such a hot and humid morning. By the time they came to a halt, Scott was regretting the decision to wear his favorite Ohio State ball cap.
“Maybe we should come back after the parade’s started,” he said.
“We’ll be fine. It’s plenty early.”
She kept her gaze averted, pretending to be highly interested in a sign that read “Volunteer Registration.” While she did that, he enjoyed the view. Felicity was in shorts that complimented her legs nicely and a breezy little tank top. Her hair was pulled up in another of those messy buns, leaving wisps of hair curling about her neck. He resisted the urge to brush them away.
“You gonna tell me what we’re doing here, or am I supposed to guess?”
She rose on her tiptoes, her impatience at the wait becoming more and more apparent. “Helping you connect with your youngest fans. After the parade, you’ll be signing autographs at the Fort Wayne Fever booth. J.B. was supposed to have photos shipped here for us.”
“The Fever? Never heard of them.”
“I guess they’re a local minor league team that’s gaining some traction. Kids around here love them.”
“Well, at least it’s a hundred degrees out here. Wouldn’t want to do this when it was a chilly day.”
For the first time since they’d left Edna’s, she looked at him square on. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a million bucks.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I have sweat rolling down my back, and these crutches are tearing up my armpits. I was trying to spare you the details.”
“We should get you off your feet. Here, come with me.”
She grabbed his elbow and guided him out of line and up to the building’s entrance. Though he’d never dare admit it, he enjoyed
when she took charge like this. It left little doubt as to what she wanted. Secretly, he wondered if she was the same way in the bedroom.
Super secretly, he’d love to find out that answer for himself.
After instructing him to “park it” on a bench in the shade on the building’s far side, she disappeared around front…and reappeared five minutes later with a box tucked under one arm and some giant red stuffed animal wedged under the other. Scott rose with a grin.
“Started the carnival games early, huh?”
“What?”
He tipped his head toward the red monster. “Your prize.”
“This? Oh, it’s not for me. It’s for you.”
Felicity flashed him a smile as she set the box down beside him and shook out the mass of red. And she was right, it wasn’t a prize. In fact, it looked an awful lot like a—
“This is Tempy the thermometer. He’s the Fort Wayne Fever’s mascot.”
“It’s hideous.”
“I wouldn’t say that too loud, since you’ll be wearing it for today’s parade.”
He shook his head. “Like hell I will.”
“Oh, you’ll do it because it’s what your agent wants you to do.”
“If my agent wants me to parade around town looking like a red—” A young family walked past, and Felicity pegged him with a “watch what you say” look. “—you-know-what with googly eyes, then he’s lost his mind. I’m on crutches. There’s no way I’m walking in a parade tod— Oh. Oh, I get it.”
She frowned. “Get what?”
“This is a joke, isn’t it? Me, walking in a parade? Good one.”
“It’s not a joke, Scott. You’re going to be Tempy for the parade while riding in that fire truck right over there.”
He twisted to spy a fire engine with a giant number twelve painted on the side. Anger warred with panic. Who had come up with this idea? And what’d he do to deserve this?
Probably has something to do with the way you treated her earlier this week, whispered a small voice at the back of his mind. Didn’t matter, he wasn’t doing this. No way, nuh-uh, wasn’t going to happen.
“Yeah, well, this thing will never fit inside that cab, so you’ll just have to find someone else to do it.”
“Already thought of that,” she said, taking a step closer with the shaggy monstrosity. Scott inched away from her on the bench. “You’ll only be wearing it from the waist up.”
“I’m not doing it, Felicity.”
“Oh, yes you are.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Shall I call J.B.?”
Curses. Not only had he been paired with a hottie, but a wicked smart one at that. He couldn’t risk ticking off his agent, not if he’d gone to the trouble of arranging all this, but he didn’t want to make an utter fool out of himself, either.
“No one else will even know it’s you.” She took another step closer. “Just us three. The minute the parade is over, you can take this off and spend the rest of your time here doing autographs costume-free.”
“No one?”
“No one.” She tipped her head and gave him a hint of a pout. “Come on, Scott. Do it for the kids.”
He wanted to scream hell no, to tell her and his agent what they could do with that furry red thing, but she’d played dirty with that pout. Because now a new emotion had been added to the mix: lust. Scott scowled into the distance, frustrated at how he was the only one in this scenario who would be suffering. That’s when a giant metal wheel came into view.
“Okay, I’ll make you a deal.”
She pulled the costume back with a wary look. “What kind of deal?”
“I’ll play the part of Temperature Man during the parade…if you’ll go on the Ferris wheel with me at sunset.”
“Absolutely not.”
Scott shrugged. “Then have fun in that costume.”
Felicity’s eyes widened. She sputtered for several moments about responsibilities and not letting the kids down and who did he think he was, trying to make deals like this, but he didn’t cut her off. Instead, he let her go. Because if there was one thing he’d learned about her this week, it was that she never backed down from a challenge.
“All right,” she said on a self-induced groan of defeat. “I’ll go on the stupid ride. Now, get going before we miss our chance.”
He resisted the urge to do a fist pump. Getting to see Miss Insistent at the top of that ride later, scared out of her tidy little shell, would be satisfying enough. Riding high on his victory, Scott drew to his feet and started for the fire engine.
“Sometimes I really don’t like you, Scott Gillie,” she ground out as they walked.
“Love that honesty, Ms. Shaw. Be sure to save some for our ride at dusk.”
He winked, and the indignation on her face was priceless. With a growl, she dropped the box and stormed off, offering him more space to laugh…and the perfect view of her backside. Ratty old costume or not, this was so going to be worth it. Too bad he’d probably just ruined his chances of taking things further with her. For tonight, anyway.
Then again, if she was that afraid of heights, coming to her rescue might bring them that much closer.
…
Felicity stood beside her cousin in the rides section of KidFest, staring up at the Ferris wheel while they waited for Sam, Ellaina, and Tyler to exit the mini roller coaster. What the heck had she been thinking, agreeing to go on that death trap? Scott had played her, pitted her agenda against her fears in the hope that he’d get out of wearing that costume, and her pride had reared its ugly head. Now the day was growing long, and her imminent doom was pending.
Why hadn’t the man just cooperated with her from the start? If he hadn’t been such a pain in the butt earlier in the week, she’d never have set this up—something he’d incorrectly assumed J.B. had done, and she didn’t plan to correct him anytime soon. Maybe this was just Karma, her plan horribly backfiring. There had to be a way out of this. There just had to be.
“I can’t do this.”
Lauren chuckled. “Yes, you can.”
“No, really. I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Relax, will you? I’ve been on that thing a dozen times before. They wouldn’t let you on if it wasn’t safe.”
“Sure they would. It’s called turning a profit.”
“Not if someone gets hurt and sues,” Lauren said.
“That’s why they have liability insurance.”
“Maybe instead of thinking about all the things that could go wrong, you should try and focus on all the things that could go right. I’ve had some amazing first kisses on Ferris wheels.” Lauren waggled her brows.
“Are you kidding me? I’ll be too terrified to turn my head, let alone kiss him.” She chanced a brief glance at her cousin. “And it wouldn’t exactly be our first.”
“What?”
Felicity grinned. It wasn’t often she surprised Lauren. That look alone made holding out on her worth it.
“Can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” Lauren grumbled. “See how much more sympathy you get from me now.”
“Oh, come on, Lauren. I was going to tell you, I just hadn’t found the right time yet.” I might have also been questioning my sanity for doing so…and a little embarrassed at how badly I wanted to do it again.
Lauren’s affronted look turned conspiratorial. “So? How was it?”
“Nice.” She sighed at the memories, wishing she could trade the upcoming ride for more kisses. “They were very nice.”
“They? No wonder he hasn’t wanted to leave the house all week!”
“Stop.” Felicity laughed. “They were nothing, really. Just us passing by in the hall.”
Lauren’s eyes narrowed. “Mm-hmm.”
“Seriously, they weren’t going to go anywhere, not with Tyler sleeping on the other side of the wall.”
“Then that settles it.”
Felicity frowned. “Settles what?”
“Sam asked if Tyler could spe
nd the night tonight, and I said I’d have to check with you. Now I’m not checking, I’m telling. So, you’re welcome.”
“Lauren, I—”
She held up a hand. “Hey, if you don’t take advantage of a kid-free night, that’s on you. Just don’t say I never do you any favors.”
Felicity swallowed hard and returned her attention to the Ferris wheel. Great, now on top of worrying about not plummeting to her death, she had to worry about how to handle being alone with Scott tonight. And Edna. Too bad aside from Bingo night, the woman was usually fast asleep by nine and could sleep through a tornado hitting the house.
On the bright side, it did mean one less thing for Felicity to worry about: Tyler seeing her scared out of her mind. If there was one thing she strived for, it was to be his rock in all things. Killing creepy crawlies was something she could fake bravado for, but not tall rides…which was why they always joined Lauren’s crew at events where rides were present.
By the time she kissed her son goodbye and returned to Scott’s signing booth, the kids there had been replaced by a boisterous collection of adults. The loudest was a Hispanic man perched on a seat to Scott’s left. His eyes fixed on Felicity as she approached, and he gave Scott a solid elbow in the ribs.
“Sorry, ma’am, but we ran out of autographed pictures a while back. If you have something else you’d like Scott to sign, though, I’m sure he’d be happy to oblige you.”
She resisted an eye roll and feigned excitement instead. “Really?”
“Sawyer,” Scott said in a low warning. But the man ignored him and held up a black sharpie.
“Absolutely. Anywhere you like.”
“Anywhere?” Felicity came to a stop across the table from Scott and this Sawyer guy. “Is that what he’s been doing for all the other hot moms around here?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Sawyer said. “Pero para ti, I’m sure he would make an excepcíon.”
An unexpected flash of relief washed over her.
Relief? Like she should care who or what he’d been signing all day. And yet…relief it was.