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“Okay, I’ll get a few snacks, and we can start.” Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I was looking forward to this way too much.
He mumbled an affirmative. I was pretty sure he’d just stuffed Cheetos in his mouth.
We’d both settled in with our movie-watching necessities and set up the ability for us to watch the movie together. I kind of wished he was here with me. I curled up on my couch, tugged my soft blue blanket up, and snuggled underneath.
“Where are you?” he asked while we were setting up the movie.
“On my couch. You?’
“My bed.” His words and husky voice made me regret asking when all I could picture was him naked on a big huge bed.
“We should start watching,” I squeaked, ignoring his sexy chuckle. “Ready?”
I hit play and was relieved when the movie started, effectively distracting me.
As we watched the beginning, I munched on crackers and cheese. “I love movies from the eighties,” I said as the yacht crossed the screen.
“Me too,” he said. “I remember loving this movie as a kid.”
“Really?”
“My mom was a big fan, and we watched it over and over. She said it was payback for all the movies I watched on constant repeat.”
I tried hard not to think of the rustling coming from his end of the phone.
When we got to the scene where Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn met for the first time, I gasped. “I’d forgotten how awful she was.”
“Well, not all rich people are total jerks.”
“I agree.” He had no idea I was including myself in that. “But there’s a particular billionaire that was a bit like Goldie when we first met.”
He groaned. “I’d like to think we’ve gotten past that.”
“I think we have.” I meant it too. Now that we were getting along, I didn’t want things to go back to the way they used to be. “Now stop distracting me. We’re missing half of the movie because you keep talking,” I said.
“You’re the boss,” he lowered his voice. There were so many ways I could take that and respond. I chose levity, remembering what I told him at the first Winter Festival meeting.
“Good of you to remember that.”
“I know how to choose my battles. Besides, I can't wait to see how you take charge Friday night.”
I pressed my knees together and gulped a large mouthful of wine. If he kept this up throughout the rest of the movie, it would make it torturous to wait until Friday. Although I had to say, as sexually frustrating as it was, I didn’t hate it.
Chapter Fifteen
BECKETT
Ichecked in with Wren again to be sure there wasn’t food she didn’t like or any allergies she forgot to disclose. When I asked what she wanted to eat, her only request was nothing too fancy.
I settled on something easy. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas. Of course, I’d forgotten how long mashed potatoes took to make and had just finished them. The meatloaf was in the oven and had a few minutes before it was done.
The front doorbell peeled.
Shit.I still wasn’t ready.
I hurried to the front door and opened it. Wren stood there, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other, her beautiful curves accentuated by the light blue wrap dress she wore. Although she could wear a paper bag and still be stunning. She worried her ruby-red lips between her teeth and gave me a hesitant smile.
“I thought about wearing a trench coat with nothing underneath but thought it might make dinner weird.” Her awkward grin and attempt at humor tempered my need for her. She was nervous.