“You’re welcome,” he said.
Then the old Sydney was back to being dramatic. “But it’s kind of freaky to think how high we are. We could totally die! I mean, what it a woodpecker landed on the balloon and drilled a hole in it. We’d be goners!”
Luke was the one who laughed at that one. “Can you imagine? Sitting helpless down here in the basket while some bird went to town on this thing? So. Helpless!”
“Woodpeckers don’t fly at this altitude,” the pilot said officiously.
“Oh, I’m sure,” Sydney said. “I’m just saying that there’s like 1,001 ways to die in this thing. I mean, one stiff breeze while that flame is going and poof! We fall to the ground in flames, screaming like children on a runaway school bus.”
This time Mike joined in on the laughing. Even Rori smiled, which had left the pilot as the only stern faced one in the bunch.
“Also not possible,” he snapped.
“What if I tried to take us to Oz?” Luke asked him. “Conked you out and pulled on that rope until we hit the stratosphere. Then would we drop like a rock?”
The pilot’s eyes narrowed. “Do I need to take us down?”
“Don’t worry,” Rori said, sending Luke a narrow look. “I’ll keep him under control.”
The pilot gave a gaming laugh, but Mike could tell he was still tense. Apparently plotting ways to crash a hot air balloon was not his idea of fun conversation. Behind him, Mike watched as Luke squeezed his arms more tightly around Rori.
“Are you seriously not even scared a little?” Luke asked her.
“No,” Rori said, glancing over the side. “Although I’m not entirely comforted by the fact that at present the only standing between me and death is wicker.”
“Seriously!” Sydney laughed. “That’s totally what’s weird about this whole thing, huh? Fucking wicker. That’s totally it.”
It hadn’t taken long to realize Sydney swore like a sailor. Women with foul mouths didn’t turn Mike on as a rule, but Sydney was just so perky with it. It was like listening to a British or Irish person swearing. Sometimes bad language just flowed so well that it didn’t even really count.
All in all, Sydney was just an easy girl to like. Or maybe she was just easy. Mike wasn’t sure which, but he was grateful that she wasn’t trying to turn the date into anything it wasn’t. She wasn’t trying to create some faux intimacy or insta-bond. She was just a girl who liked men and liked fun and was trying to have both at the same time.
How could a man hate a woman like that? How could he not want a woman like that? Why was Mike trying not to want her?
Mike shook his head when the answer came to him. Mostly because the answer was so stupid. He was pushing Sydney away because he didn’t want to ruin his chances with Rori.
What chances? Rori was engaged to Luke—his best friend. Basically his brother. On top of that, Mike hadn’t even known Rori seventy-two hours and they’d only spoken a handful of times. There was absolutely no reason to imagine the press of Rori’s body against his rather than Sydney’s. There was no reason to feel guilty for any chemistry he and Sydney had. And most of all, there was no reason for him not to have the time of his life on the date. He was paying for it, after all. And dammit, he deserved a little fun!
So when Sydney wrapped her arm around his waist, Mike returned the gesture. “You’re funny, you know that?” he said, smiling down at her.
She beamed. “Yeah?”
He nodded, glancing down to her lips. “Totally.”
The sly grin that curved her mouth was more invitation than he needed to lean in a plant a light kiss on her lips. Mike sent an apologetic look Luke’s way as he pulled apart and was about to tell his friend to avert his eyes when he saw that Luke was paying absolutely not attention to him and Sydney. Not if the solid liplock between Luke and Rori was any indication.
For a moment Mike couldn’t breathe as his eyes moved from where their mouths fused to where Rori’s hands threaded through his friend’s overgrown hair. Then his eyes were drawn to where Luke’s hands gripped Rori’s hips like a man holding onto a ledge for dear life before one of those hands moved up into her hair as Luke deepened the kiss.
“Damn. I’m jealous,” Sydney said, turning his chin so he was looking at her. “Want to make me unjealous?”
Given that Mike’s first instinct was to punch his friend out? Hell, yeah!
“Take in the view for a bit,” he said to the pilot before pulling Sydney against him. He wasn’t hard yet, but when he got there he wanted her to feel it. And like it. She’d been trying to turn him on for the past hour, and like a fool he’d been playing hard to get.
Well, not anymore.
If Sydney wanted to get laid, well then, she was going to get laid. By him.
“Mmmm. Yummy,” Sydney said against his mouth. “Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
“You,” he said, pulling away enough to look at her. “A guy can only resist so long, you know.”
“I was beginning to wonder,” she teased quietly, giving her hips a little wiggle against the part of him that was joining the party. “It’s nice to finally get a sense of what you’re packing. Very promising.”
He dropped a kiss on her neck, whispering, “Do that a few more times, and you’ll have an even better idea.”
Sydney threw her head back and laughed before planting a solid kiss on his mouth. “You are totally worth the plane ride,” she announced before turning in his arms and leaning against his chest with a satisfied sigh. Apparently she’d gotten what she wanted for the moment, and Mike decided not to ruin anything by glancing over at Luke and Rori to see what they might be thinking. If they were watching him and Sydney that was their own damn fault. There were plenty of places to look where they wouldn’t have to watch the foreplay that was starting between him and Sydney.
This was his date, too. And Mike was starting to enjoy it.
Chapter 22
The moment they stepped into the restaurant after the balloon ride, Sydney gripped Rori’s hand and proclaimed that they had to go to the bathroom. As far as code went, it wasn’t very subtle, but neither of the guys seemed to care.
“My God!” Sydney breathed as the door shut behind them. “I’m going to enjoy this one. Did you get a peek at what Mike is packing?”
“Of course not,” Rori said primly.
Sydney pulled out her lipstick and walked to the mirror to reapply. “Trust me. I’ve banged guys around the globe and that guy is working with some solid equipment.”
Rori didn’t ask how Sydney knew that already. Nor did she let her mind try to imagine the picture Sydney was painting in broad strokes. “Well, I’m glad to have introduced the two of you then. He seems to like you as well.”
In the mirror, Sydney glanced from her lips to Rori, her eyes narrowing slightly. “He’s warming up, I’d say.” She opened her purse then, dropping the lipstick in and pulling out a key card. “That’s why I brought you in here. If we play our cards right, we’re both getting laid tonight, right?”
Rori swallowed. “Yes.”
“But these two guys live together, so here.” She handed Rori the keycard. “I wrote the room number on it.”
Rori reached out and took the key. “Why?”
“Because we don’t know how things will play out. Mike and I might take over their house, which means you and Luke need to get lost, unless you want to join in. Because once one of those guys knows his friend’s getting laid, that’s all the other one’s going to want to do, too. So one of us takes the house and one of us takes the hotel. That way we’re not tripping on each other.”
Gosh. The way Sydney said it, the plan made so much sense. So why did Rori feel like telling Sydney to take her keycard and choke on it?
“You certainly know how to plan ahead,” was all Rori said.
“Honey, it’s not my first time at the rodeo. Now let’s get out there and land those men.” She took one last look in the mirror, pushed her breasts
up and in, then adjusted her shirt so it showed a bit more cleavage.
“Indeed,” Rori said, opening the door to let them both out before snagging a dash of hand sanitizer from the dispenser on the wall and rubbing it into her hands. This was going to be awkward. She just knew it. She became sure of the fact when she spotted Kris and Caleb talking to the hostess when they exited the bathroom.
Ah, yes. The party just wouldn’t be complete without them. They were about as mismatched as Mike and Sydney. Rich spoiled kids looking to take a ride on some fine, middle-class ass when in truth Caleb and Sydney were more each other’s speed. Oh, the mind games they could play on each other.
“That’s the sister?” Sydney asked as they drew closer and didn’t wait for a response. “Those eyes must run in the family.”
“They do,” Rori said while noting that Caleb had taken notice of them as well. A little too much notice of Sydney, in particular, and the surgically-enhanced perfection that peaked a foot below her eyes.
Men. The man Rori married would never be so overt.
When Rori realized that she had not inserted Luke’s name into that statement, she looked at Kris—the true wild card in this situation. As awkward as lunch would be with the three of them, she was glad to have Kris present. Painful situations either brought people closer or drove them apart.
Time would tell what this day would bring. The hot air balloon ride had been a success overall.
This was part two.
“Hi,” Kris said, sending a big smile to Sydney as they drew close. “So you’re the woman torturing my brother for the day, huh?”
Sydney pursed her lips. “Torture? I don’t follow.”
Kris gave a knowing nod. “Hmm. He didn’t tell you then? Interesting.” Then without further explanation she gestured to Caleb. “This is Caleb. Caleb, this is Rori and Sydney.”
Caleb gave them both nods of acknowledgement, although Sydney’s nod had a bit more eye contact to go a long with it. “Good to meet you, ladies.”
“You, too,” Sydney flirted before leading the way to the table with a very intentional sway to her hips. “Table is this way.”
Kris glanced at Rori as if to say, Seriously? and Rori responded with a barely perceptible nod. It was a moment. The kind Rori might have with an actual friend.
Odd.
“Have you already ordered?” Kris asked conversationally although Rori sensed that she just wanted to fill the silence.
“No, just got here. Your timing is perfect, actually.”
“It should be,” Caleb said. “We’re right on time.”
Rori glanced at Kris and they shared another look.
“Caleb is always on time,” Kris said, her voice full of praise but her eyes telling a bit of another story.
“Count yourself lucky there,” Rori said. “Getting Luke anywhere on time is like trying to coach a cat out of a tree.”
“Tell me about it,” Kris snorted at the exact moment Luke came into sight. Rori noticed the moment because she’d been waiting for it.
Who would Luke look at? Her? Kris? Caleb? Sydney?
It surprised Rori a bit that he looked at her first, and smiled. She smiled back, wondering if she’d read the dynamic of Luke and Kris until she realized that he wasn’t doing the natural thing and looking at either Kris or Caleb. He was acting like they weren’t even in the room. If Rori were a more romantic soul, she might imagine that Luke was so smitten that he only saw her. But Rori was not a romantic soul. And Mike might be Luke’s best friend, but Kris was definitely next in line by Rori’s estimate. And people acknowledged their friends.
When Sydney cast a curious look around the table, Rori realized no one was speaking. Everyone was too busy sizing each other up. Mike was the first to break the ice.
“Glad you could make it,” he said.
“Of course,” Kris beamed, her smile slightly plastic. “How was the balloon ride?”
“Hot,” Sydney said, snuggling into Mike. Rori waited for him to pull away, but he went with the move, draping his arm around his date.
“Luke almost took us to Oz,” Mike added.
Caleb snorted out a laugh as he pulled out a chair for Kris. “I’ll bet.”
When Luke didn’t stand to pull out a chair for Rori she sat herself, surprised when Luke’s hand slid into hers. That was a first.
“Sorry you two couldn’t join us,” Luke said to Caleb, almost sounding sincere.
Caleb shrugged, pulling out his own chair. “You know. Some of us work, and all.”
“Sure,” Luke said, glancing down at his menu. “We certainly wouldn’t want a Sunday to go by without you suing someone.”
“Just practicing for the day I get to sue you,” Caleb said, making sure his arm brushed up against Kris’s as he sat.
“Play nice, you two,” Mike said. Then he flinched, his eyes glazing slightly and going unfocused. Rori glanced at the angle of Sydney’s arm to his lap and took a guess at what was going on. It didn’t take much imagination.
Honestly, could the woman have less class?
No one else noticed, though. They were too busy having an old Western stare down.
“I haven’t been here in ages,” Kris said, her voice overly chipper. “What do you suggest, Caleb?”
“I think you’d like the sesame-crusted ahi tuna. That, or the rosemary chicken.”
The table again fell silent, which everyone took in stride except for Mike. He was visibly tense as his hands disappeared beneath the table to join Sydney’s.
Just ignore them, Rori coached herself even as her jaw tensed and a bitter taste filled her mouth. The same taste that had been in her mouth the entire, stupid balloon ride as she was given a peek as to what kind of lover Mike Cannon would be. Gentle, but assertive. And damn if Sydney’s reaction on a few occasions hadn’t made it clear that the man could kiss. Even on the outside looking in, Rori had wanted his mouth on hers. His taste. His touch. Instead she’d gotten tame kisses that tasted ever-so-slightly of Twizzlers.
Kissing Luke may have been the cheap thing to do, but it had also been necessary. She needed to know if she could redirect her need for one man onto another. And while Luke was a surprisingly good kisser, kissing him felt like the role play it was. Her body hadn’t been fooled. It had known that what it wanted was just a step away. It was like being handed a jelly bean when you were craving chocolate.
Not the same.
Rori fought the urge not to scowl across the table. That sly hand sliding under the table should be hers, not Sydney’s. Not that Rori had ever done anything so uncouth in public, but still, it said a lot to her state of mind that she wanted to.
And still, no one was talking.
“Is it wrong that I just want dessert?” Sydney asked.
Mike glanced at Rori then, but immediately returned his focus to the menu when Rori looked back.
“Not at all,” Caleb said, sending Sydney a look.
Sydney smiled up at Mike. “The upside-down cobbler sounds tempting. Or maybe the sample plate? A little bit of everything before we choose a favorite?”
“I, uh, yeah,” Mike replied, eyes still unfocused. Kris cast a curious look to her brother that he totally missed.
“I could handle a sample plate,” Caleb chimed in, earning a covert look from Sydney. He sent her a smile even as he said, “But Kris really doesn’t go for dessert.”
Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? No dessert?”
“Sometimes,” Kris said with a shrug. “On special occasions.”
Poor girl, Rori thought. Kris didn’t seem aware that Caleb and Sydney were both talking in flirt code.
“I need to wash my hands,” Mike said, standing suddenly. “Be right back.”
Neither Luke or Caleb seemed to care, but Kris watched her brother retreat with a hint of concern before casting a suspicious glance at Sydney.
“My hands could use a wash as well,” Sydney said, standing with a little more decorum and walking away with no furth
er explanation. Caleb watched her go, licking lips as he tracked the sway of her hips. Rori glanced at Kris to see if she’d noticed and found Kris sharing an unreadable look with Luke.
“They wouldn’t,” Luke muttered, as if it made total sense. Then, at the same time, he and Kris reached forward for the glasses of water in front of them and took a drink.
Yeah, as far as group dates went, this one was pretty much a disaster.
Chapter 23
It was bad enough for a guy to walk through a restaurant when he knew his pants were tenting. It was even more awkward to know that the woman who’d made it her business to get him in that condition was in hot pursuit.
Heaven help him, but Mike wasn’t ready to get a hand job in public on a first date. No thanks.
Mike couldn’t let Sydney follow him into the bathroom. He had to draw the line somewhere. So rather than pushing into the men’s room, he waited until he was around the corner and out of sight of the table before turning and waiting for Sydney. Mike wasn’t sure what he was going to say to her, but whatever might have come out was squashed by what Sydney said the moment she joined him.
“Seriously?” she hissed the second she turned the corner.
“Seriously, what?” Mike asked, honestly confused.
“You’re into her,” Sydney accused.
Mike hadn’t been expecting that and faltered before a moment before turning incredulous. “What? Into who?”
“Really?” Sydney folded her arms over her ample chest. “You’re going to look me in the eye and pretend to think that I’m possibly referring to your sister?”
Okay, she had him there. He’d played too dumb and gotten caught. But even still, his brain hadn’t quite transitioned from what she’d been doing thirty seconds ago to what she was asking him now. It was a bit of a chasm for his mind to cross. And she wasn’t done talking.
“I may not be known for being the sharpest tool in the shed, but I can read a room like a fucking savant. And that?” she said, stabbing her finger the direction of the table. “That’s too fucked up for even Hollywood.”
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