Checked Into Love (Bachelorette Party Book 2)

by Rochelle Paige

  “So what choices did you give me?”

  “I grabbed a spinach, a Chicago Classic, a cheese, and a Super Veggie.”

  She pointed at the smallest box, at the top of the stack.

  “And cheesy garlic bread.”

  “You got two of my favorites. Their spinach deep dish and cheesy garlic bread.” Her eyes sparkled as she grinned at me. “It was a daring move, going for so much garlic on our first date.”

  I rose from my seat and moved towards her, bending down to whisper in her ear when I got close enough. “Then I’d better get this out of the way sooner rather than later.”

  Her lips parted, but I didn’t give her the chance to respond before I dropped my mouth to hers. I didn’t ease into the kiss, my tongue swept inside right off the bat as though we’d done this before. Often. Cupping the side of her face with one of my hands, my thumb pressed against her jaw to keep her head tilted up. I swallowed her startled gasp, intending to pull away, when her fingers slid into my hair. There was no stopping me at that point, I groaned lowly as my tongue tangled with hers. I didn’t tear myself away until I heard footsteps right behind us.

  I forced myself to pull away, resting my forehead against hers for a moment while I tried to catch my breath. Such a simple thing, our first kiss, but it left me hard as a rock and wishing I’d chosen a more private location for our dinner plans.

  “Sorry,” the waitress mumbled as I sat back down in my seat. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “What ciders do you have?” Cecily’s voice was raspy, her cheeks tinged with pink as she looked up at the woman.

  “Plenty for you to choose from. We’ve got Blue Gold blueberry cider, Sparkling Perry pear cider, Radler grapefruit, apricot, several apple options including a gluten free one,” she rattled off.

  “You had me at pear.”

  I made a note of her preference, figuring it would come in handy later, and ordered myself a 3 Floyd’s Alpha King pale ale.

  “Alpha King?” Cecily giggled.

  “Sounds about right to me after seeing that kiss,” the waitress muttered as she walked away. It only made Cecily laugh harder.

  Once she managed to get herself back under control, she reached over and laid her hand over mine. “We’re only ten minutes into it, and this is already the best date ever.”

  “You haven’t seen my favorite part yet.” I pointed out the games spread across the tables nearby, other patrons bent over them as they played. “They have a kick-ass board game selection. I figured it’d be a good way for us to hang out while you unwind after a long day.”

  “I love that idea.”

  “Good, then let’s dig in and get the pizza out of the way so we can pick a game.”

  I dished each of us up a slice, and she grabbed several pieces of cheesy garlic bread to add to her plate. When the waitress came by to drop off our drinks, I offered her the boxes with the two pizzas we weren’t going to touch.

  “Seriously?” she asked.

  “I bought too much, and it’d be a shame for them to go to waste.”

  She eyed the stack of boxes left after I handed the bottom two over and grinned. “Yeah, I can see that you did. But that’s lucky for me because this is the best tip ever.”

  “That was nice of you.”

  “It wasn’t that nice. I already had the pizzas,” I explained.

  “But you’re also going to give her a tip when we’re done, too. Aren’t you?”

  Like that was even a question. I knew from my family’s business how hard servers worked. “Of course I am.”

  “Like I said, nice.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Just so long as you know that this nice guy has no plans of finishing last.”

  “Is finishing first a habit of yours?”

  I roared with laughter, catching her double entendre and appreciating her dirty sense of humor. “It hasn’t been in the past, but I have a feeling you’re going to push my control to its limit.” I leaned closer and dropped my voice a notch. “Should the worst case scenario happen when we make it to that point, take pity on me. I’ve waited a long time for you, and I promise to more than make it up to you.”

  “Holy shit,” she breathed out, her jaw literally dropping as she stared at me with wide eyes. She gulped a couple of times before snagging her drink and chugging it down. “How about that game?”

  I let her change the subject, closing up the boxes and putting them on the other empty seat at our table. “Pick your poison.”

  She wandered over to the shelf where the games were stored and came back with Battleship just as the waitress was dropping off a couple more drinks, another cider for Cecily and water for me.

  “Only one slice of pizza to my two, no cheesy garlic bread, and you’re switching to water after one beer?”

  “I have a game tomorrow.”

  “Ahhh,” she sighed in understanding as she set up her grid. “Won’t you be hungry later?”

  “Nah, I already had grilled chicken and vegetables before I texted you. The pizza was dessert.”

  “Nice,” she laughed. “I like the way you think, but you didn’t have to meet me for dinner if you’d already eaten.”

  “There was no way in hell I was going to say no.”

  Her eyes softened as she smiled at me. “You may come to regret that decision after I’ve kicked your ass at Battleship. My older brothers loved this game growing up, so I’ve had lots of practice.”

  “Oh, yeah? Bring it on.”

  And she did, sinking two of my ships, and was well on her way to a third before I managed to get one of hers.

  “Only two more to go,” she crowed.

  “It looks like you were right about all that practice paying off.” I slumped over my game board and tried to figure out how she was kicking my ass so easily. “How many brothers do you have?”

  She called out another position, managing to land a hit to another of my ships, before she answered. “Two. Both older. Both married, but neither of them have given me any nieces or nephews yet. It’s partly why I’m so excited for Josie to give me a godchild, a little baby I can spoil.”

  If I’d been on a date with any other woman, the way her voice softened and eyes shone while she was talking about babies would have freaked me out and had me running for the door. But with Cecily, I just smiled and kept on asking questions.

  “Each time I’ve seen you, you’ve been dressed up. When’s the last time you left your house without makeup?”

  She sunk another of my ships, smirking at me in triumph. “You’ve only seen me twice before.”

  “Damn,” I sighed. “It feels like a shit ton more than that.”

  “Fair point, well made.”

  I finally managed to locate another of her ships, but luck wasn’t on my side when she did the same with the last of mine on her next turn.

  “And FYI, I go out all the time without makeup. Pretty much every morning, I head down to the coffee shop on the corner.”

  “No coffee maker at your place?”

  “Nope, it isn’t worth having one.”

  I tilted my head because her answer seemed odd to me. “Why not?”

  She only had one more hit to go before she captured my final ship, which was probably for the better since I needed to be up early in the morning.

  “I guess it’s time to admit to one of my fatal flaws.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “I suck at making coffee. Something so simple, and I can’t seem to master it.”

  “If you’re ever in need of a coffee fix, it’s available twenty-four-seven at my place.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, but for now I’ll be happy with getting my winning fix. E 10.”

  “You sunk my battleship!” I cried out for the fifth time.

  “I got all of them.”

  I had a feeling my ships weren’t all she was going to manage to capture—my heart was at risk when it came to her, too.

  4

  Cee-Cee

  I
woke up the next morning with a huge grin on my face. My date with Jason had been the best first date of my life. The place he’d picked had been a surprise, and so had the staggering amount of food he’d brought with him. It had been obvious that he’d put some thought into our evening, even though I’d only given him an hour’s notice.

  Meeting him in a bar like I had, him being younger and a hockey player, I’d kind of assumed he was going to pick a different kind of place. A hotspot with a crowd of people. A nightclub with loud music. Somewhere people went to see and be seen. Instead, he’d picked Guthrie’s, brought enough pizza to feed an army just to be sure he’d gotten something I’d like even though he’d already eaten, and spent the night chatting with me about everything and nothing at the same time while we played board games. It had been unique and sweet… and utterly perfect.

  The ringing of a buzzer interrupted me from my thoughts. I rolled out of bed and wandered out of my room to the front door to press a button.

  “Hello?”

  “Good morning, Miss Thompson.” The doorman’s voice came through loud but a little crackly. It was rare for him to need to call up to my apartment, so my intercom system was almost never used.

  “How many times do I need to tell you to call me Cee-Cee?” I grumbled.

  “It’s never going to happen, Miss Thompson.”

  “We’ll see about that.” I wasn’t going to stop reminding him to use my nickname since it felt weird to have a man who was older than my dad, and who I saw pretty much every day, calling me Miss.

  “There’s a delivery for you. Is it okay if I send it up?”

  That was odd since I wasn’t expecting anything and it was early in the morning, not even quite seven o’clock yet. I was overwhelmed by curiosity. “Sure.”

  There was a light tap on my door a few minutes later. I pulled it open and found the familiar face of the barista from the coffee shop I frequented. She was holding a to-go cup with the shop’s logo on it and a Harry & David box. She beamed a smile at me. “Morning, Cee-Cee.”

  “I didn’t know you guys did delivery, Shayla.”

  “That’s because we don’t.”

  I took the cup from her hand and sipped from it, letting the delicious brew wake me up a little more before I wiggled it in front of her face. “And yet, here you are, making a delivery to me.”

  “Because I got an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  We both burst out in a fit of giggles at her turn of phrase.

  “Oh my gosh,” she panted. “I made it sound like I was in a mafia movie or something.”

  “You certainly did.”

  “Working at the coffee shop and people watching all day, I’ve got a pretty overactive imagination I guess.” She offered me a small smile, as though she was apologizing for what she thought was a personality flaw.

  “I get it,” I offered, hoping to reassure her. “I bet you have lots of interesting stories to tell.”

  “Oh, I do! But this one’s my new favorite. The guy who came in this morning—like literally the moment we first opened our doors—was hot enough to be a mafia boss, but in a totally different way. He was more of a surfer sex god with blond hair and blue eyes.”

  “Jason,” I sighed, instantly knowing who she was describing.

  “I didn’t catch his name, but he offered me a hundred dollars if I’d bring you your favorite drink, along with this.” She held the box out to me.

  “The offer you couldn’t refuse?”

  “Exactly! Ten minutes out of my day for a hundred bucks? It was a no brainer. I’d be crazy to turn down that much money for something so simple.”

  “Thanks for not being crazy, then,” I laughed.

  “You’re welcome.” She turned to make her way back to the elevator, but looked back at me when she pressed the button to call it. “And thank you for having a guy who’s willing to bribe me to bring my favorite customer her coffee in the morning. Feel free to tell him I’d be more than happy to make this a regular thing, especially since he pays so well.”

  I shook my head at her, laughing while she winked at me as she stepped on the elevator. But when I closed the door and opened the box she’d given me, my laughter died in my throat. It didn’t have a choice because there was no way for it to get past the huge lump there. I swallowed, trying to clear my throat, stunned by what was inside.

  “Pears,” I whispered.

  I wandered into my kitchen and set the box down on the counter. With a light touch, I trailed my fingertips over the perfectly ripe fruit before snatching one up and taking it to the sink to rinse it off. Once it was dried off, I did the unthinkable—I completely forgot about my coffee while I savored the juicy pear. For a caffeine addict like myself, letting my first coffee of the day get cold was unheard of. Even if I was sick and shouldn’t be drinking it.

  While I waited for it to heat back up in the microwave, I wandered back into my bedroom and grabbed my cell from my bedside table. Pulling up Jason’s information, I sent him a quick text.

  Me: Thanks for the coffee and pears.

  I felt like I should say more, but my brain wasn’t alert enough yet for me to figure out how to word it. Although he’d been on my mind for the last nine months, we’d only been on one date and were still getting to know each other. I was worried about him being three years younger than me and an athlete, but I was also happy I hadn’t let that stop me from saying yes to dinner last night. It was an unusual situation to be in because my feelings were deeper for him than they should be this quickly. It threw me off balance almost as much as the man himself did.

  Speaking of—or actually thinking of since speaking meant I was having a whole conversation with myself, and he hadn’t driven me to that point of craziness quite yet—Jason, my phone dinged with an alert for the text reply he’d just sent.

  Jason: You’re welcome.

  Me: You managed the impossible. I let my coffee get cold while I ate one of the pears. It was so juicy and sweet, I couldn’t resist.

  Jason: Fuuuuck.

  Jason: I need a minute to get past the vision you just put in my head.

  Jason: Having you use the words juicy and sweet gave me the boner from hell, something that’s more than a little awkward since I’m headed into PT.

  I rubbed my thighs together restlessly, an ache building and my panties getting wet at his mention of me giving him a boner. I was sorely tempted to ramp up the heat in our text conversation, but I managed to restrain myself. For the time being at least.

  Me: Oopsie.

  Me: It’s a good thing Josie’s not your therapist or else that would be way more than a little awkward.

  Jason: And would end up with me getting my ass kicked.

  I laughed, knowing how right he was since I knew how possessive Andrew was of Josie. If another guy so much as looked at her the wrong way, it set him off. At first, I hadn’t been sure what to think of it. After seeing the way he treated her, as though she were the most precious thing in his world, I’d gotten over any worries I might have had.

  Jason: Did the pears work for me the same way they did the waitress last night?

  Me: What do you mean?

  Jason: You told her she had you at pears.

  Jason: I’d rather it was me who had you.

  “Damn,” I breathed out, my panties going from wet to drenched in an instant.

  Jason: Too much?

  I typed in a yes, but then I deleted the letters before I sent my reply.

  Jason: Or just right if I’ve left you speechless?

  I wasn’t ready to share my reaction with him.

  Me: Not speechless, exactly. Just ready to change the subject. How did you manage to get a box of pears from Harry & David between the time you left me last night and the butt crack of dawn this morning?

  Jason: I have my ways.

  “Oh, I’m sure you do,” I murmured to myself.

  Jason: Sorry, baby, but I’ve got to run.

  Me: Talk to you later.

&n
bsp; Jason: You bet your sweet ass you will.

  Jason: What do you say when you’re going to drunk dial someone?

  Jason: Al-cohol you.

  Startled laughter bubbled up my throat.

  Me: I’m looking forward to it, you crazy man.

  I set my phone back down, catching sight of the time and running for the bathroom. If I didn’t hurry the fuck up, I was going to be late. I was never late for work, but Jason was an irresistible distraction. My lips tilted up as I thought about how he’d paid attention to my choice of ciders last night. How he must have gone out of his way to get the pears to send them to me this morning. The way he took note of me saying I went to the coffee shop around the corner from my place and arranged to have Shayla deliver his gift along with my favorite coffee.

  “Dammit,” I muttered. “He made me forget about my coffee again!”

  I turned the microwave on with it still inside a second time before I walked out the door. Knowing the lengths he’d gone to for me made it taste better than it should have after reheating it twice.

  It was a good thing I’d finally guzzled down the coffee Jason had sent over because my day was a long one. Meeting after meeting. Client call after client call. I was exhausted when I walked into The Box at six thirty that evening to meet with Josie and go over wedding stuff while Andrew wrapped up some work.

  “Hey, Cee-Cee,” the cute bartender who’d provoked Jason at the party called out as I walked in. “Can I get you a drink?”

  “Please,” I sighed. “I’d love a cotton candy martini.”

  He flashed me a grin and leaned closer when I claimed a stool. “In the mood for something sweet?”

  I could hardly blame him for thinking I’d be open to his interest with how I’d acted around him the other night, but I wasn’t going to flirt with him again. Not after my date with Jason. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them. “I need sugar or caffeine to help me make it through the rest of the evening.”

  His brow wrinkled in confusion at my bland tone.

  “You heard the woman,” Andrew snapped, joining me at the bar. “Do your job. I pay you to make drinks; not to flirt with my customers.”