“She’s my financial advisor,” I fill him in as we start walking again.
This time he’s the one to stop walking.
I pause and look at him. “What?”
“Your financial advisor?”
“Yeah,” I nod.
“I’ve been trying to get you in with my guy for the past year and some chick with a pretty face is all it took?”
Chuckling, I head for the house again but not before I hear him mutter something laughingly under his breath.
“Son of a bitch.”
***
Lilah’s voice reaches me before I see her. We’ve just stepped into the house, but I make a beeline for the sliding backdoor when I hear splashing and laughter.
Gabriel’s right on my heels, his shower forgotten.
Body glistening with tanning oil, Lilah is stretched out on a lounger with oversized glasses covering her face. Her bikini is barely there, the thin red straps crisscrossing dangerously and hardly covering anything.
I need to have a seat before I announce to everyone present just how excited I am to see her.
I’ve almost reached Lilah’s chair when movement from the corner of my eye steals my attention.
A petite woman in a yellow swimsuit is sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Charli.
She smiles and waves at me as if we’ve met before. The woman stands and starts walking to us when Lilah looks up at me from her lounging position.
“Hi,” she greets, shooting me an inviting smile.
I drop onto the seat near her feet and instinctively pull her feet into my lap.
“How was your trip, Cupcake?”
She twists her lips in a wry smile just as Charli appears at her side.
“Don’t you dare complain about my driving,” the small woman warns making Lilah laugh.
“I wasn’t going to say a thing about your lead foot,” Lilah jokes. Then she turns to me to make the introductions.
“So you’re the guy my best friend won’t shut up about,” Charli says, extending her hand in my direction.
Surprised, I stare at Lilah only to find her blushing. Even under the clunky sunglasses, her red cheeks are visible.
On my feet, I hug Charli and welcome her to my home.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Charli. I’m glad you could make it with Lilah. Thanks for getting her here safely,” I say with an easy smile.
“Thanks for having me, but we’ve met before,” she informs me.
I frown and instantly look to Lilah for help but she ignores me. Payback for laughing at her secret.
“At the bar. But it’s no surprise that you don’t remember. You only had eyes for Lilah. Much like right now,” she teases.
The only thing I remember about that night is Lilah and that damn cupcake. Everything else is a blur…
I’m just about to apologize for my flightiness when Gabriel clears his throat from the door.
Shit.
I forgot all about him.
He steps forward and nods politely at Lilah after I make introductions. Then his eyes are trained solely on Charli.
As the two of them chat, I drop down into the oversized seat with Lilah again. Taking in her oiled body is going to be my undoing.
“You’re killing me with this bikini.” Reaching up, I tug gently at the strings knotted at her hip bone.
Lilah shivers in response before recovering and giving me a coy smile.
“Oh, do you like it?”
Groaning at her playful tone, I gaze at her unblinking. “More than like it.”
Tossing a furtive glance in the direction of the pool, Lilah seems to weigh our options before speaking.
“Show me,” she dares, her legs rubbing across my lap in open invitation.
Before she can finish, I’m standing with her thrown over my shoulder.
Her squealing draws the attention of Charli who looks on amused as I walk back through the double doors. And Gabriel is too busy gawking at her to notice us.
“What about Charli? I can’t leave her alone in a strange place!” Lilah says, smacking at my legs once I reach the staircase.
“She’ll be just fine without us.”
Twenty-seven
LILAH
A heavy weight is thrown across my abdomen waking me.
It’s Andrew’s arm pulling me to him.
Opening my eyes, I take in the lavish décor of the bedroom and remember where I am. Andrew’s beach house in the Hamptons.
Last night is a blur as my eyes adjust to the sunlight streaming in through the open bay windows in the corner of the room. I can hear the waves breaking against the sand because his backyard opens up to a private beach.
Talk about heavenly…
Despite the house being situated on the beach, there’s still a pool and Jacuzzi near the back of the place. It’s absolutely breathtaking and so different from his extravagant estate back in Connecticut.
Not surprisingly, I find that this house is a better fit for his laid-back personality and artistic lifestyle. When he told me he only comes out a couple times a year, I was floored.
I’d pack up my life in a second if I owned a place like this…
“What are you up thinking about so early?” Andrew grumbles from behind me.
His already deep voice is sleep laden and even sexier than usual. I swear if my body wasn’t so exhausted from last night’s marathon session, I’d probably be rubbing up against him like a cat in heat.
“Good morning,” I say, rolling onto my back to look up at him.
Waking up beside him feels way more comforting than it should. I’ve grown so used to sleeping alone in my bed that it catches me by surprise how acclimated I’ve gotten to having him with me in such a short period of time.
“How did you sleep?” he asks, burying his head in my neck.
The stubble on his chin tickles my sensitive skin, making me squirm before I sigh blissfully at the hot kisses he presses against my throat.
“You taste good,” he murmurs as his tongue sweeps over the exposed flesh.
Melting into the plush mattress, I feel the pulse reignite at my center.
His fingers make a lazy trail down my naked torso and dance over my abdomen. Suddenly I’m awake
