Secretly Hers (Sterling Canyon)(25)

 

“Again, TMI!” Maura’s fingers drummed the tabletop. “I mean, really, Kelsey. You’re not going all fifty shades on me, are you?”

 

“No.” Kelsey’s hand found her hip again, her brow lowering. “But stop being such a prude.” Then she waved off the remark. “I’m serious, though. This will probably be the only time in my life that I can enjoy myself in bed without worrying about how it might affect the relationship . . .”

 

Maura’s eyes grew as wide and round as golf balls. “Are you actually listening to the words coming out of your mouth, or do you think you’re making sense just because you’re talking fast?”

 

Kelsey waved her hand in the air. “I haven’t even told you the best part yet. Trip’s going to help me reel in the next guy I’m interested in dating.”

 

“Stop.” Maura raised one hand. “He’s going to help get you together with some other guy? Honestly, that’s not the best part. It’s the dumbest point on your list.”

 

Kelsey sank onto a kitchen chair. “Is not.”

 

Maura nodded. “Yes, it is. You’re telling me you’re going to be having hot sex with Trip while simultaneously trying to woo some other guy? How does that even work?”

 

“We haven’t discussed all the details.” Kelsey frowned, realizing it could get tricky. “I wouldn’t continue being with Trip once I started up with someone else, but who knows when I’ll meet someone I really like. In the meantime, why can’t I have fun sexy-times with a really gorgeous guy?”

 

“Because I know you. You’re not going to be able to keep your heart out of the equation past your first orgasm. Then what? It’s one thing to go out with him if you think there’s a chance for something real. But if you agree to go through with this crazy deal, you’re going to get hurt.”

 

She knew her sister meant well, but Maura’s delivery sounded more like a reprimand than concern. Kelsey wasn’t a child.

 

“Not this time.” Kelsey shook her head. “Trust me. I know what Trip is and isn’t capable of, and I know what he does and doesn’t want. This is a mutual decision—purely physical.”

 

Maura leaned forward, brow furrowed with concern. “Kelsey, you don’t do purely physical. I’d bet everything this was his big idea, not yours. He’s seducing you with promises he can’t possibly keep, and you’re letting yourself get in way over your head.”

 

Maura’s lemon-face temporarily set Kelsey back on her heels.

 

“You know what I need from my sister right now? Support, not judgment.” Kelsey cast a hard glare at Maura, then stood and tossed her empty can in the recycling bin. “I’m sure you, with your doting husband, picket fence, and two kids, can’t imagine what it feels like to be thirty-one and alone and going crazy thanks to the ticking biological clock you can’t escape or slow down. It’s been a long, cold winter, spring, and summer. If I can find a little heat with a charming, if superficial, man, why would you try to ruin it for me?”

 

Maura stood and approached Kelsey, grabbing her into a hug. “I’m sorry. I’m not judging you. I’m worried about you. I know you, Kels. I know you’re going to start to care for him, and from everything you’ve admitted, he’s never going to give you what you deserve. What you really want and need.”

 

Kelsey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from getting choked up by her own fears and doubts. “I know he’s not what I need, but for the short term, he’s a good substitute.”

 

 

 

Kelsey stood before her mirror, her body humming in anticipation even as she tried to calm her nerves with a large glass of full-bodied Italian red wine. She glanced at the clock: 8:56.

 

Turning to one side, she examined herself. Four-inch BCBG black strappy heels—check. Sheer black negligee with lace trim—check. Spritz of Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede cologne behind ears, on her cleavage, and behind the knees—check. Dimmed lighting, soft music, opened bottle of red wine. Blindfold, silk robe sash, edible body paint.

 

All set.

 

Well, almost. She picked up Trip’s cowboy hat and stuck it on her head. Now she was ready.

 

Maura had been wrong. Kelsey knew exactly what she was doing. The blindfold would protect her heart by creating distance. The sash, well, that was just something she’d always wanted to try and, despite Trip’s playboy persona, she knew he’d never hurt her. For one thing, Grey would kill him. For another, her intuition sensed an odd code of honor about him.