Part 10 (2/2)
She shrugged off his touch. She d.a.m.n well could do it and she'd prove it. As soon as she met the perfect stranger. ”I could have. I just needed to set a good example.”
Coop laughed. ”Yeah, you tell yourself that.” He took in her scowl. ”Hey, for real, though, you're the best sister a guy could have.” He wrapped her in a hug. ”That's why I stick my nose where it doesn't belong.”
”Right back at you,” she said, squeezing him tight. One good thing that had come out his accident was they'd grown much closer. And she'd never do anything to ruin that bond.
At seven o'clock that night, Honor curled up on her couch and scrolled through Netflix. She had a date with Breakfast at Tiffany's.
”You with me, Pay? It's time for some Audrey Hepburn. I remember when you dressed as her for Halloween. G.o.d, you looked exactly like her.”
Just as the opening scene popped onto her TV screen the doorbell rang. Perfect timing. She paused the movie, grabbed the twenty on the ottoman, and padded to the door in her socks.
Only it wasn't the usual j.a.panese food delivery guy standing on her porch. ”Bryce?”
”Hi, Honor.” He lifted the take-out bag. ”I know this probably looks like I'm a creeper or something, but I'm really not. I happened to be at the restaurant picking up my own food when I heard the name 'Honor.' The delivery guy was running behind so I offered to swing by and drop it off. Here you go.” He handed her the bag. ”That'll be sixteen seventy-eight.”
His grin flashed like a hundred shooting stars, and wishes about kissing him again filled her head. The smile also stole her voice. She handed him the twenty.
He didn't take it. ”I'm kidding. It's on me.”
She continued to stare at him like a mute madwoman. Bryce stood at her door in jeans and a tan b.u.t.ton down, loose at the collar, the skin at this neck soft and-she leaned a little bit closer-smelling deliciously male. His hair was messier than normal and she wanted to run her fingers through it.
”Okay, well, have a good night.” He started to back away.
”Wait.” What was wrong with her? She never had trouble talking to guys. ”You just happened to be here? That does sound kind of creepy,” she teased, secretly happy to see him again.
He stopped his steps. A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. ”Zane called. He asked if I'd swing by his house to make sure the surprise he got for Sophie arrived okay.”
”Did it?” She wanted to ask what surprise, but held back. Sophie would no doubt want to share the news.
”Yes.”
”Do you want to come in and eat?” What was she doing? Her mouth had decided to operate on its own free will. ”I mean I'm guessing you were going to eat on your drive home and that's not really safe.”
”Thanks, but I should...” His brows furrowed in concentration, or maybe it was debate. Whatever it was, several seconds of silence only magnified the charged air particles between them.
”It's okay,” she said. ”Thanks for the special delivery.” She leaned on the door to close it.
”Hold on. I'd like to come in.” He ran to his car and grabbed his own brown bag.
Super happy for his company, she swung the door wide as he approached. His arm brushed hers when he stepped inside and the contact, combined with how good he smelled, had her a little weak in the knees.
”Table? Couch?” He asked, looking like he belonged in her house.
”Couch. I was about to watch a movie.” She hurried into the kitchen to grab forks, napkins and another bottle of water.
”Is Cooper here?”
”No. He's in LA to... ” Was Bryce really here hoping to talk to her brother?
”To meet with another agent?”
”Yes.” She leaned against the kitchen counter for a moment to stop the sudden shake in her legs.
”You okay?” Bryce asked.
She turned to find him right beside her. He picked the napkins and forks up off the counter. ”Do you honestly think he's ready to go pro?”
”I do.”
”What if I don't?”
Bryce didn't just look at her, he seemed to look inside her with genuine regard. ”I get that you're worried about him, but that isn't a good reason to keep him from following his dreams.”
”You don't know-”
”I know more than you think.” He twisted around and walked back to the couch, leaving her to dwell on what he meant.
He sat in the middle of her sofa, leaving just enough room for her on either side. Her stomach fluttered at the idea that even though they might not agree on Cooper, he wanted to be close to her. When she sat and her bare knee touched his covered one, the quivers intensified. And, oh c.r.a.p. She looked down at herself. She'd forgotten she only had on her Victoria's Secret sleep s.h.i.+rt.
She haphazardly dropped the bottles of water onto the ottoman. ”I'm going to put on some sweats.”
Bryce took hold of her arm. ”You don't need to change on my account.”
What about on her account? She needed more of a barrier between her nakedness and his nearness because she definitely wasn't thinking about food or Tiffany's. She was thinking about straddling his lap and licking his neck.
And she didn't think she'd imagined the predatory gleam in his eyes. He might be as conflicted as her about what they were doing, but the attraction couldn't be refuted.
If he wasn't going to let her bareness bother him, though, then she wouldn't let it bother her either. ”Okay,” she relented.
”What movie are we watching?” He opened the Styrofoam lid on his take-out.
She tucked one leg under her bottom and got busy with her own food. ”Breakfast at Tiffany's. It's one of my favorites.”
He made a face, no doubt wis.h.i.+ng he'd scored an action film instead, but lifted the remote and pressed play. She stifled a giggle. And swallowed a s.h.i.+ver when he gave her a sidelong glance that tracked from her face down to her legs before he took a bite of his dinner.
Somehow halfway through the movie, Honor found herself nestled next to him. His arm was wrapped around her, her head and hand were on his chest, and rather than hear the words coming from the characters on the TV, she heard the beating of his heart. Felt each lub-dub like a song she wanted to play on repeat over and over and over again. She thought about the quote she remembered best from the movie...
”You know what's wrong with you, Miss Whoever-You-Are? You're chicken. You've got no guts. You're afraid to stick out your chin and say, 'Okay, life's a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that's the only chance anybody's got for real happiness.'”
Honor had never thought herself a chicken, only matter-of-fact. She couldn't change her feathers.
But was it true? If she never took another chance on love, would she ever be truly happy? Part of her wanted what Sophie and Zane had.
The other part made it her mission to fly free.
With a gentle touch, Bryce tickled the hand she had on his chest with the tips of his fingers. Lazy strokes across her knuckles, her skin. ”I feel you thinking,” he whispered. ”You okay?”
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