Matching Mr. Right(58)
And he was even going to cook? “Okay. But we’re going to have to talk about who’s sleeping on this side of the bed.”
Nick reached for his beer and took a long pull. “We’ll share.”
“We’ll see.” She took another bite and smiled at how pretty his face was, except for his one little flaw. “How’d you break your nose?”
His pizza stopped halfway to his lips. “It’s embarrassing.”
She finished off her pizza, took a slug from her beer and then straddled him. “Maybe I’ll just have to kiss you all over until you crack.”
He tossed what was left of his second slice onto the tray. “I’m pretty stubborn.”
“I know.” Shelby slipped off her robe and ran kisses over his hard chest. “But I’m relentless.”
Nick closed his eyes and groaned. “Thank God.”
After a few minutes of kisses and torture she said, “Tell.”
“Dammit, Shelby,” he growled.
“Okay. Fine. You know what? I’m bored.”
She started to roll off of him, but his big hands stopped her and then he flipped her onto her back. “Bored? You’re gonna pay for that.”
She could hardly wait for whatever punishment he had in mind. Just as he was about to show her, she placed a hand on his chest. “Nope, not unless you tell.”
A vein swelled on his forehead as he narrowed his eyes. “Lori hit a line drive that took a bad bounce.”
“Your sister broke your nose with a baseball?” She laughed so hard her ribs hurt. “I love that.”
Nick ignored her laughter, more concerned with their unfinished business. He kissed the sensitive skin in front of her ear, sending a delicious shiver up her spine, and whispered, “It was a bad bounce. Focus, Shelby.”
She closed her eyes as a smile lingered on her lips. “’Kay.”
***
Nick ran his hand through his still-damp hair as he monitored the bacon bubbling in the pan on the stove. What had he been thinking? He’d just broken all his own damned rules. He’d planned to show her the fire report, eat some pizza, and then be on his way. He had an important proposal to finish.
But instead he’d spent the night. And what a night. But what if she found out what he’d been up to? It’d hurt her even worse. That’s the last thing he wanted to do.
But Shelby wanted to be with him, too. The desire in her eyes made her impossible to resist.
And then he’d gone and done the one thing he swore he’d never do. Fall in love. But if he were honest, his plan had fallen apart shortly after he’d met her. Shelby was like no one else. And to think, he worried it’d be Shelby who’d get too attached if they slept together. Looks like the joke was on him.
His plan to shred the report he’d originally planned to give to his sister and never tell Shelby about it wasn’t going to work. The guilt, and weirdly, his grandmother’s voice in his head, told him it would just eat at him. He needed to come clean. Would she understand if he told her about his grandmother? And explain he hadn’t stolen files or computer lists, nothing illegal. That he’d stopped spying and snooping right when he realized he had feelings for her. And that he hadn’t and wouldn’t give the information he’d learned to Lori.
Then he’d find some other way to keep his promise to his grandmother and save her matchmaking legacy.
Shaking off the negative thoughts, he plucked the bacon out and laid it on a paper towel to drain. Then he cracked eggs into the bacon grease the way his mom always did.
But his mind kept shifting back to Shelby. Was he what was best for her? No one in his family had ever stayed married. Hell, his mom hadn’t even remarried in the past twenty years. It wasn’t in their genes, apparently.
Shelby’d told him Greg’s parents had been together for almost forty years. That’s the kind of background a guy should have to be good enough for Shelby. Greg would instinctively know what he had to do to make a family and a marriage work. Nick had no clue.
What had he gone and done?
“Something smells fantastic.” Shelby slipped her arms around his waist and kissed his bare back. “Not that I don’t like the view, but cooking bacon shirtless could get painful if you’re not careful.”
When he turned and kissed her, his doubts disappeared. No one but him deserved to kiss Shelby every morning like this. Greg could find his own woman.
He reluctantly broke their kiss. “I couldn’t find my shirt. But good timing, everything’s almost ready.”
Convinced he could pull off his new plan, he dished up their breakfast. Meanwhile, Shelby poured the coffee and snagged the bread from the toaster. It was nice, working together. Not awkward at all to be with her after they’d made love most of the night.