Another laugh slipped out before she could stifle her amusement. “Lip plumper tingles a little.”
“Tingles?” He swiped the back of his hand over his mouth. “It burns like napalm.”
“You get used to it.” She sipped her beer to hide a smile and watched him scrub his lips clean. “Still find my crap fascinating? Because I think I just proved my point.”
By way of answer, he simply leaned in and kissed her again. Slowly. Deliberately brushing his lips over hers. By the time he drew back she had her eyes closed and her arms twined around his neck. She forced her heavy eyelids open and stared at him.
He gave her a slow, satisfied smile. “I think I just proved my point.”
Her heart slipped out of its life jacket and paddled toward the deep end of stupid, where the water was way over its head.
“And your point was?”
“Don’t stress about your Chi or your luck or wearing out your welcome.” He looked like he wanted to say something more, but then he stopped and smiled. “Would it settle you down if I told you you’re the best roommate I’ve ever had?”
Uh-oh. That heart of hers just kept drifting deeper and deeper. “Really?”
“No contest. Of course, you have to keep in mind that Trevor was my first. He refused to let me have the top bunk and enjoyed throwing his blankets over me while I slept, so I woke up in a sweaty, claustrophobic cocoon every morning. My next roommate was my younger brother Logan, who bitched incessantly because I refused to let him have the top bunk, even though he walked in his sleep at least three times a week until he hit puberty. Oh, yeah, I’ve also roomed in a barracks with forty belching, farting marines.”
No women, she noted, and tried to pop the idiotic bubble of happiness swelling in her chest at the realization.
“You really think you can live with the room this way?”
He glanced around, then back to her, and inspected her from top to bottom, until every erogenous zone in her body felt like it had been kissed with lip plumper. “My Chi’s flowing better already.”
Chapter Fourteen
“You have to get me out of here, Lynne. I’ll take any assignment, anywhere. I’ll take receptionist, orderly…janitor.” Chloe clutched the phone to her ear and stared blindly out the living room window at the sun shining over the San Onofre Mountains.
“What’s wrong?” Concern laced Lynne’s voice. “Has Major Hottie turned out to be a major asshole?”
“No.” She swallowed the bubble of panic trying to rise in her throat. “No. He’s…” Perfect. “I just can’t stay.”
“He asked you to leave?”
“No. He told me I could stay as long as I needed, but I have to do some…um…damage control—”
“Uh-oh. Dinner Saturday night blew your cover, and his boss figured out your engagement isn’t real?”
“Saturday went fine.” Too good. “We fooled them.” And she was fooling herself if she thought she could live with Michael for the next few weeks without falling for him the same inevitable way an apple falls out of a tree. He was gravity and whatever wings she’d grown were useless against his pull.
“So, why the rush to leave? Especially when I’ve got a dream job lined up for you in New Mexico.”
Because this guy already owns every inch of my body, and if I hang around much longer, he’s going to own my heart, too.
“During dinner with the Hardings I kind of insinuated I would be looking for a permanent position locally now that Michael and I are getting married. This morning, Loretta Harding called to say she mentioned me to a friend of hers who owns Veronica’s Oasis—a day spa here in San Clemente, just a couple blocks from the apartment. Wouldn’t you know, Veronica is looking to add to her roster of massage therapists, so, long story short, tomorrow morning I have an interview.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah, uh-oh. If she offers me a job, I’m screwed.” Her chest tightened, as if already squeezed in a trap.
“Well, now…maybe not.”
“No, I am. I’ve already thought about this every which way. If she extends an offer, I have to find some reasonable grounds for turning it down, because, obviously, I can’t accept and then up and leave in a few weeks. That wouldn’t be right.”
“What if it’s a great job? Keep your mind and your options open, because, much as I hate to lose you, you might actually want to accept the position.”
“I won’t. I like the excitement of being a traveling therapist.” That was her story and she was sticking to it, even though New Mexico was starting to sound more lonely than exciting. “But even if I fell in love with the opportunity, I can’t accept because then Michael and I are stuck in the fake engagement.”