“I might want more than soup.” Maybe. Taking off my clothes sounds like suckage at the moment, but I think being naked must be better. I’m an Avery-sicle complete with chattering teeth.
Sean laughs and holds me tight. He lifts my feet off the ground, spinning me in a circle. When he puts me down, he presses his forehead to mine and says, “I was hoping you’d say that.”
CHAPTER 11
Sean buys a truck load of JONES BEACH crap from the vendor since neither of us brought a change of clothes, and soon we’re walking down the new boardwalk, hand in hand.
“Where are we going? I was promised soup, Ferro. Don’t screw with me. I’m still frozen.”
Sean makes a noise in the back of his throat that sounds an awful lot like humming before he glances over at me. “In good time, short one.”
“Short one? Are you Yoda now? Sensei? Or what? Besides, I prefer vertically challenged…and a cup of soup.” I stomp my flip flops and fold my arms over my chest.
Sean stops and smiles at me, snaking his fingers under the hem of my huge ass sweatshirt as he looks down at me. “You are such a baby when you’re hungry.”
My bottom lip juts out and I’m whining, “I am not,” before I can stop myself. A million excuses fill my head, but I realize that I don’t need to say any of them. Sean’s not complaining. In fact, he seems to like it.
Huh, turns out my mom was wrong. Whining isn’t unattractive. I wish she was here to have that discussion. My thoughts drift a little more before I look up at him again. It’s unreal how many different thoughts can fly through my mind at once. I’m not a logical person. My mind is a vortex, always swirling like a twister, ripping apart everything I’m seeing and hearing and trying to make sense of it. Like the man standing in front of me. This is a softer version of Sean. I’ve seen this edition a few times and I know he won’t stay like this for long. It’s something about this place, or that he’s intentionally unguarded right now. Or maybe it’s because he got wet and I fed him after midnight. I have no idea what made him act like this today, but I wish I saw more of this side of him. Sean seems to keep it locked away, like this side of his personality doesn’t exist. Maybe that’s what he wants people to think, because this part of him is clearly vulnerable. Even I can see that.
He slips his hand under my shirt and says, “What if I told you that I had dinner all arranged, but I forgot the soup?”
The corners of my mouth tip down as I consider his statement. “No soup?”
“I seriously doubt it. As it is, I gave the chef a coronary telling him to make dinner so fast. I almost suggested hamburgers, but I think he would have fired me.” Sean kisses my cheek and then takes my hand, pulling me toward one of the closed buildings. I assume that we’ll walk under the portico and out to the parking lot on the other side, but he stops and pulls the door open for me.
“Are we looting a state park gift shop?” I joke, and look over my shoulder at him. “Ooh! Dibs on the park passes! I’m going to cover myself in Empire Passport stickers!” There’s a huge smile on my face. I probably look like a deranged circus clown.
“What are you talking about?”
“The parking pass thingie that sticks on the car window so you get into the park for free. You don’t get out much, do you?”
Sean holds the door as I stand there, looking up at him. “I seriously wonder about you. It’s like there’s an old lady and a toddler fighting for control of your brain.”
I flick his nose and laugh. “The old lady won tonight, sonny. She’s a little crotchety since she’s learned that she’s not getting any soup!”
Smiling, he says, “Go inside, lunatic.”
“Make me, Mr. Ferro.” I say it lightly, teasingly. I don’t think Sean will do anything. He never does, so when he leans in close, his face a breath from mine, and makes a purring sound in the back of his throat, my jaw drops. As soon as he stops, I want to hear it again. I can’t remember why we’re standing in a doorway or what we were talking about. That sound is rarer than that dimple, which has been begging to be licked all day. Do you know how hard it is NOT to lick Sean Ferro? Add that dimple and I’m lost. But the deep, husky sound that came from Sean, from my Sean—oh my God—kill me now. I could die happy.
“Aroused again, Miss Stanz?”
Pressing my lips together, I stop gaping and punch his side. “Jerk.”
He laughs. “Translation: hells yeah.” I look over my shoulder as we walk over the threshold, and wonder if I know him at all. Since I keep wondering that, I assume that I don’t. When you know a person, they stop surprising you, don’t they? If he does anything else I might die of shock. Ooops. Spoke too soon.