Too Tempting (The Lewis Cousins 1)

I felt her lips tip up as she breathed, “I missed you, too.”

When she pushed back, leaving her hands on my chest as she looked up at me, her face holding a trace of worry, and asked, “Are you mad at me?” I decided to let her off the hook.

My hand at her hip flexed in emphasis as I said, “No, Zoey, I’m not.” I could see the relief in her eyes as I continued, “I get it, I do. I can’t say I’m not disappointed that you didn’t come clean when I did, but I understand your reasons for wanting to be incognito for a while.”

“I just felt silly,” she replied, and I wondered what she was talking about. “When you came clean …it made so much sense, the stuff that you’ve been through and the fact that you’ve had women use you for your money and status. I’ve never experienced that. I’ve had people want to get close to me to try and get a leg up in the business, or see what I could do for them, but for the most part, I just wanted you to see me as Zoey, not as Zoey Zahn. I just wanted to be a woman who was falling for a man, not Zoey Zahn and Gabriel Lewis.”

At her confession I grinned and asked, “You’re falling for me?”

All trepidation cleared from her expression, replaced by a sweet, joyful smile.

“Yes,” she admitted softly.

I brought my fingers to her chin to keep her eyes on me when she would have ducked her head and replied, “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day. I’m falling for you too, Zoey.”

Swiftly, I lifted her in my arms, causing her to laugh loudly and happily as her arms came around my neck. Then I walked her to the bed and proceeded to show her just how far I’d fallen.

Chapter Twenty-Four ~ Zoey

I’d gotten up early, unaccustomed to the sounds that come from sharing a small space with four other girls, and decided to go for a run. It felt nice to be out in the crisp morning air, and I couldn’t help but think of that first morning Gabe and I went running together.

I’d hoped maybe I’d run in to him, but … no luck.

I had breakfast with Chris, and caught just a glimpse of Gabe and Reardon as they rushed out of the dining hall, then parted ways with my nephew when he went to join his new friends in the weight room and then go hang out at the lake before they had to be at their first scrimmage.

So now I was back in my cabin, typing furiously away at a new idea that just wouldn’t go away. It was completely out of my style and genre, but I couldn’t get the vision of a tall, gorgeous, pillow-lipped hero out of my head. I didn’t know if it would amount to anything, or if I would ever even let anyone else see it, but I had to get it out.

My very Gabe-like hero had just discovered he has the power to time travel, and is about to go on an adventure unlike anything he’d ever imagined. I knew the heroine would be an Old English romance writer, similar to Jane Austen in the early eighteen hundreds, but I’d yet to figure out the best way to get the pair together.

I was daydreaming visions of bonnets and

flushed cheeks, when I heard the giggling of girls. At first I thought it was coming out of my daydream, then I heard the door clap against the jam, and I jumped in my seat.

They hadn’t heard me yet, Georgia and Grace, because their heads were down as they talked, their focus on each other.

“Just talk to him,” Georgia was saying to Grace.

Grace shook her head, her blonde ringlets swinging about her face, and I made a quick note to give my heroine blonde ringlets; they were just too cute.

“I can’t,” Grace replied miserably. “He’s so cute, and funny … plus his aunt is…”

I figured it was time to make myself known once I realized who they were talking about, so I cleared my throat and bit back a laugh when they both jumped.

“Oh, hey … Ms. … um, Zoey,” Grace stammered, her face flushed with embarrassment at being overheard.

“Hey, girls,” I replied, smiling at them both. I decided not to embarrass Grace further by commenting on what I heard, instead asking, “How’s your morning been?”

Grace smiled gratefully while Georgia responded, “It was pretty great! After breakfast we hit the gym, then went to the lake and went kayaking. The lake is beautiful. I wish I could stay here forever.”

“Where are you from, Georgia?”

She flopped on her bed, then planted her head in her hand and replied, “Las Vegas. Living there can be fun, but mostly it’s boring. I’m too young to really spend any time on the strip. You can only see the dolphins and stuff so many times. And my parents have to work a lot, so…” She shrugged and laid back.

“Well, it was nice of them to send you here. Do you play football back home?”

“Rec ball, but I’m one of the oldest on the team. Most kids my age play for the school, but girls aren’t allowed to try out, so I take what I can get.”

“That’s terrible,” I replied, incensed for her. “You should be able to try out just like everyone else, no matter what your gender.”