The Husband Checklist Page 9

  * * *

  Carter: I’m finally done. Are you still out or already back at the hotel?

  Me: Still out. Decided to get some ice cream and enjoy the nice day.

  Carter: Sounds yummy. Where are you? I’ll come to you.

  Me: Just out front by the fountain. Let me know when you get here, and I can meet you at the entrance. Probably easier than trying to find me out here.

  Carter: If you lick your ice cream like that one more time in public, I won’t be held accountable for my actions.

  I gasp, my eyes snapping up from my phone, wildly searching the crowd around me. It doesn’t take me long to spot him as he makes his way toward me. His hands are casually tucked into his dark pants, his suit jacket open, the top few buttons of his white shirt unbuttoned. If I’m not careful, I might melt into a puddle. Gosh, that man is sexy.

  “Do you realize you ruined the whole meeting for me today?” He stops in front of me but doesn’t touch me.

  I point toward my chest, not sure what he’s talking about. “I did?”

  He nods, his eyes scanning my face as if he’s forgotten what I look like. “I couldn’t get you out of my head and was barely paying any attention. The client called me out several times on it.”

  “That’s awful. I’m sorry.” Even though I didn’t really do anything, I feel bad about it. I mean, that client is the sole reason he’s here. I’m sure my brother wouldn’t like the fact that his partner screwed things up because his mind was otherwise occupied either—specifically with me.

  Carter winks at me. “No worries. He was more amused by my daydreams than anything.”

  I let out a sigh of relief. “Good. I’m glad. I was a bit scared there for a second.”

  His gaze is so intense, the crowd virtually evaporates around me, my brain unable to focus on anything but Carter.

  Averting my eyes from him, I focus on my treat for a moment, trying to get a grip on my thoughts. “Soooo, what exactly were you thinking about?”

  His eyes bore into mine. “You and me, and the naughty, dirty things I want to do to you.” He whispers the last part, causing an involuntary shudder to surge through me despite the blistering heat.

  He leans in with a huge grin on his face. When I think he’s going to kiss me, he grabs my wrist and lifts it to his face so he can take a giant mouthful of my ice cream. “Delicious. Just like I know you’ll taste later.”

  I blink, unsure if my mouth can hang open any farther as I watch Carter lick his lips. Slowly. Deliberately.

  Pressing my legs together to ease the ache, I close my eyes to calm my almost feverish body.

  Carter chuckles, knowing exactly what he’s doing to me.

  What a tease.

  Being teased by Carter is no hardship. I’ve always loved his sense of humor, and well, just him really. We’ve always been compatible. But knowing him sexually? Boy. Talk about compatible. In every dang way. This man knows his way around a female body, and I’m fairly sure sex will never be as sensual, as perfect, as sublime with any other man. And nothing feels awkward. Whether that’s because he promised another night, I’m not sure, but it’s . . . easy.

  And I feel insatiable.

  Being the epitome of composure, he casually props his elbows on the railing next to me, totally ignoring the fact that he just set my body on fire. “So, what do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon? We still have a few hours before dinner.”

  I rub the base of my neck where my pulse beats in hard spasms, pulling myself together as much as I can. “Oh. Uh . . . I don’t really know. We can just walk around and explore, I guess.”

  Wow. Very put together, Jules.

  Thankfully, Carter doesn’t comment on my odd behavior, probably silently enjoying that he’s driving me bonkers. “Sounds good to me. What about dinner? Do you feel like eating anything specific? There are a lot of good restaurants out here.”

  The cold ice cream has started to slide down my hand, and I bend to lick it off.

  When I look back at him, the now familiar heat is there. The blue liquid around his pupils is darker than I’ve ever seen it, silently promising another pleasure-filled night, turning my knees a little weak at the thought alone.

  Who knew a look could do that?

  But two can play that game.

  “I don’t know. Right now I’m not even sure I feel like eating out.” I take another lick of my ice cream, this time keeping my gaze steady on his as my tongue slowly swirls around the cold delicacy. “How’s the room service at the hotel?”

  His gaze swings back and forth between my eyes and my mouth as one of his hands goes to his throat to find his already opened shirt. “I’ve heard it’s exquisite, and I can’t wait to ravish everything that’s on the menu, you included.”

  “That’s exactly what I was hoping for.” The desire to erase all distance is too strong to resist, and I lean up on my toes to suck in his lower lip before ending it with a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

  He groans, his hands briefly clenching before he releases them. “Sounds like we have a plan then. Let me show you a few sights before I haul you off to the room. I have a feeling we won’t emerge until tomorrow.”

  I link my arm with his and squeeze it once as the lightness in my chest makes me giggle.

  Then, I let him whisk me away, because I want everything Carter is willing to give me. This time is ours, and I’m more than ready to make more spectacular memories with this delicious, sexy man.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Carter

  After paying the cab driver, I get out of the car and walk around to the other side to help Julia out too. She’s been more quiet than usual since we left the hotel in Las Vegas several hours ago. I can’t really blame her though, because it does all seem a bit odd.

  I think we both expected it to be awkward, but neither one of us could really know how awkward it would be in reality.

  It’s not regret, because there’s no way I’d ever want to undo the time I had with her. It’s more that I’m having a hard time looking at her without imagining us walking hand in hand, teasing each other with food, with touches, spooning, screwing raw and hard.

  Last night was even more mind-blowing than the night before, and even though I haven’t had my fill of her yet, this is what we agreed on. As much as I want to ask her for more time together, I know she’s not the girl who does casual relationships. And since that’s all I can offer, I’ll try my best to be happy with the time I had with her.

  “Home sweet home, huh?” We walk up the driveway, the distance between us too big for my liking. Usually, I can read her pretty well, but she’s put on a mask that makes it almost impossible to know what’s going on in her head. Something’s definitely off.

  “You okay, Jules?” My mouth feels dry, and I’m really bugged that it takes her several long moments before she finally looks at me.

  When she does, she blinks a few times as if to clear the fog in her mind before giving me a small smile. It doesn’t completely reach her eyes, but I decide not to press her on it, at least not right now.

  Her head dips in a quick nod. “Of course. Just exhausted from the flight.”

  “I’m sorry.” I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for but the words come out nonetheless. All I know is that I hate seeing her like this. It’s not like her. She wasn’t in the best frame of mind when she came here last week, but at least she wore her emotions on her sleeve. Now, that seems to be the last thing she wants to do, to show me what’s going on inside that beautiful mind, and it feels like a punch in the gut.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong, Carter. I’m sure a relaxed evening and a good night’s sleep will do wonders. I’ll probably be as good as new tomorrow.” She smiles at me wistfully before we walk up the rest of the walkway.

  We’re almost at the door when it opens and Ollie fills the frame. “Where the hell have you guys been? I’ve been calling you for hours.”

  Ollie came back early.

 
; Fucking fantastic.

  Because . . . Julia and I haven’t talked about what we’re telling her brother about our trip.

  I rub my chin, hoping we’ll get a free pass by some miracle and won’t have to answer his question until later. So instead of answering his question . . . “What are you doing here? I thought you were on vacation for another week.”

  Ollie is close to my six-two and has the same brown hair and brown eyes as Julia. Right now, my best friend’s gaze ping-pongs between me and his sister, and the last thing I need is for him to get suspicious. “Cora got a last-minute job offer she couldn’t refuse so we came back early.”

  Julia is the first to jump back into action as she walks over to him and gives him a hug. “Sorry about your vacation, but I’m glad you’re home.”

  He looks at me over her shoulder, a million questions in his eyes.

  It’s weird to feel this guilt inside my stomach toward Ollie when, at the same time, I know this weekend with Julia was one of the best weekends of my life.

  Talk about conflicting thoughts.

  Ollie finally looks away from me and gazes at his sister, his gaze softening. “Good to see you, kiddo. It’s been too long.”

  “I know, I know.”

  The exchange between them makes me realize that nothing much has changed. Even though Julia is only two years younger, Ollie has always felt responsible for her. He’s always been a bit overprotective but even more so since their parents’ death. We never really talked about it, but I know how agonizing it was for him to see his sister in so much pain.

  His eyebrows draw together as he studies her face. “Are you feeling all right? You don’t look very good.”

  She huffs once. “Thanks.”

  Ollie waves off her reply. “You know what I mean, Jules. You look beautiful, as always, just like you don’t feel well. Are you sick?”

  She shakes her head at him, and I can tell she’s trying to give him a smile. “I’m just pooped, that’s all. I talked Carter into taking me to Vegas with him. And well, you know how crazy Vegas can get, and I’m definitely no party animal, so I just need some sleep. Do you mind if we catch up tomorrow?”

  It’s easy to tell he’s unhappy by the way he’s pressing his lips together, but he nods regardless. “Of course. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Will do, thanks.” She kisses him on the cheek and walks into the house without looking back.

  My best friend’s eyes are back on me the second she’s out of sight, trying to bore holes into my head. “You took her to Vegas? What the fuck, CJ?”

  Ollie is the only one who still calls me by my old nickname. When we were younger, he envied that Carter James makes cool initials whereas his Oliver Parker doesn’t lend itself to any initials worth mentioning, at least not to him.

  I exhale loudly, needing to buy some time to think about this whole fiasco. “Let’s go inside and I’ll explain. But first I need a shower.”

  “Fair enough. You know where to find me when you’re done.” The words are barely audible as he turns around to disappear into the house.

  Of course, I know he’s heading straight for his office. Ollie and I are both workaholics, which is one of the reasons we started our company earlier than we’d initially planned. We knew we could handle the pressure and would put in the necessary hours.

  Now, I just need to figure out what to tell him so he won’t be suspicious. The last thing I need is him on my ass.

  * * *

  I stay in the shower for much longer than I need to since facing Ollie doesn’t sound appealing in the slightest. Not just because I still have no clue what to tell him, but also because it’ll be hard to hide my thoughts from him when the memories with his sister are still so fresh. I was supposed to have time to adjust before he got back.

  When I walk out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, Julia’s standing in front of my bookshelf, looking at the few pictures I have on it. She doesn’t turn around as I make my way over to her, even though I’m sure she heard me come in. When I stop a few feet behind her, I’m close enough to smell the scent of her freshly washed hair. It smells tropical, almost like one of those piña coladas she had after dinner last night. The sweet taste of coconut and pineapple on her tongue. Something that will forever remind me of her. Something I’d really love to taste again.

  She points to one of the frames before slowly turning around. Her voice is soft, a gentle smile on her face. “I almost forgot about that Halloween.”

  I frown and put one of my hands on my chest in fake shock. “How could you possibly forget that? We were the Three Musketeers, for crying out loud.”

  She swats me lightly on the arm, lingering on my skin for a moment longer before she lets her fingers drop back to her side. “I said almost.”

  Looking past her, I glance at the picture. It’s one of my favorites. It was the last year we were all in middle school. We wore giant hats and blue tabards, accompanied by the goofiest smiles on our faces. Once Ollie and I moved on to high school, our little group wasn’t the same anymore. Going to different schools was an enormous change for us and our group dynamic but unavoidable.

  Julia remains quiet, which enables my brain to go wild, recalling images of her naked on my bed, spread out and eager to be devoured like she was last night. But with Ollie a few doors down, waiting for me, that option isn’t in the cards right now. Not that I’m certain she’d be up for it anyway, especially after she practically ran away from me earlier when we got back.

  So instead, I snap out of my little fantasy and clear my throat. “So, what’s up?”

  Her fingers go up to touch her lips as she avoids my gaze. “Just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page with our story. From the way Ollie looked, he’ll roast both of us.”

  I nod even though she still isn’t looking at me. “He definitely didn’t look happy.”

  “Nope, so we need to be careful. I don’t want any fighting, especially since we have to share a house for the time being.”

  I nod again, starting to feel like a dumbed-down version of myself that isn’t capable of forming clear thoughts or sentences. “Makes sense.”

  Yup. Point proven.

  Let’s try this again.

  I exhale slowly, and she finally looks at me. “Do you have anything specific in mind you want to tell him?”

  “The truth would probably be best. I asked to tag along on your business trip because I didn’t want to be alone, and since I hadn’t been to Vegas, we stayed an extra day to do some more sightseeing.” She chews on her lips, and I clench my hands before I take her spot to nibble on her gorgeous mouth. “We’ll just leave out the bit about us, you know?”

  Her statement pulls me out of my lust-filled mind. She makes me feel like a damn teenager who can’t think about anything other than getting his hands on the pretty girl.

  Again.

  A smile forms on my face when her tongue darts out to lick her lips and she crosses and uncrosses her arms. The sight of her squirming in front of me does something to me.

  Most of all though, I want her close and for her to be okay.

  Before I think about it, I open my arms. “Come here, Jules. Let’s hug out the awkwardness. I can’t stand this nervous tension between us.”

  It’s mostly her, but I keep that to myself.

  Uncertainty is written all over her face, in the way her gaze still doesn’t connect with mine for more than a second, or the way her forehead wrinkles. But after a moment, she finally steps closer, and I wrap my arms tightly around her before she has a chance to change her mind.

  A small sigh escapes her mouth, and I close my eyes, telling myself to keep calm, especially when I feel her breath on my skin, knowing how dangerously close her lips are to my chest.

  My naked chest, since I’m still standing here in only a towel.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Her sweet scent. Her soft skin. Her hands on my body.

  After a few more seconds of her del
ectable curves pressed to my body, I’m one hundred percent positive this was an awful idea.

  Absolutely terrible.

  Not even two seconds after my towel starts tightening around my hips, Julia startles in my arms. She felt it too.

  Taking a step back, she presses her lips together. “Might be better to put on some clothes.”

  “Yeah, probably.” Since I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, or this situation any harder for us—pun not intended—I grab my clothes and make quick work of putting them on, painfully putting away my protesting body part.

  Too bad we can’t always have what we want.

  Julia raises her hand as if to touch me before clasping it with her other one. “So, we’re all good then?”

  From the looks of it, she’s struggling with the no-touching relationship like I am.

  I’m sure it’ll take a few days before it goes back to normal.

  At least that’s what I hope, or we’ll be screwed when Ollie figures it out.

  Speaking of the devil.

  His knock barely registers before he pokes his head into the room. He frowns when he sees Julia next to me, and I can’t blame him. He wasn’t here this last week. The last time he saw us together in more than just passing must have been years ago.

  He narrows his eyes, looking back and forth between us before settling on his sister. “What are you doing in here? Everything okay?”

  Julia must be the worst actress ever, because she’s already struggling to come up with an answer. I inwardly groan, already imagining the major ass-kicking I’ll receive from my best friend. But part of me is also a little pissed. Ollie knows I’d never do anything to hurt his sister, and that’s why he’s always trusted me with her in the past. Just not to sleep with her . . .

  Thankfully, she regains her composure and gives him a hopeful smile. It looks a bit shaky to me, but Ollie seems to buy it. “Oh yeah, everything’s fine. I was just talking to Carter about the date I have this week. He saw the guy last week when we went to the gym together.”