Page 83 of Bad For Me (Rock Canyon, Idaho 5)

“You don’t like Eric, huh?”

“Actually, she likes him a lot but won’t admit it,” Gemma said, earning a glare from her bestie.

“I like Eric like cats like water,” Gracie said.

“So, a lot?” Gemma said.

As the two began bickering, Callie took Everett’s hand. “Wanna come in for

some coffee and look at a lot of owls?”

“Owls?” Everett repeated.

“Yeah.” Callie raised her voice into a high squeak as they walked around Gemma and Gracie. “ ’Cause they are so cute!”

“I heard that!” Gemma and Gracie said in unison.

EVERETT COULD HEAR Gracie and Gemma teasing Callie about him as they said their good-byes, and he smiled when he could almost hear the blush in her responses. Last night, he’d spent a lot of time analyzing Callie’s reaction to Justin and Val’s first dance song. Part of him had thought about holding out and waiting for her to come to him, but he had never been a wait-and-see kind of guy. Not with the way he felt about Callie.

The door shut loudly, and Callie came into the living room, looking worn out. “Finally.”

Everett felt the same way, though he was eager to hold her again. Holding out his arms, he pulled her down until she was cuddled against him.

“They are nice, but man, they fight like Justin and me.”

“I know! Maybe it’s part of growing up together, but ugh, it can make me crazy sometimes.” She grabbed the television remote off the coffee table. “What do you want to watch?”

“You.” He trailed his lips against the side of her neck to emphasize his desires, and she giggled. When he’d shown up on her porch, he’d been worried she would send him packing, but instead, she’d seemed genuinely happy to see him. And when he’d pulled her into his arms, she’d held onto him just as tight.

For the first time since they’d started this, he knew for sure she felt it too—their connection. The raw need that had him craving her whenever she was near. But along with that need came worries, and although he kept trying to bury them, some of her reactions to situations worried him. Whatever had happened to her in the past, she wasn’t dealing with it. Not with the way she withdrew and held herself back from the world. Every bone in his body wanted to bring it up, to talk about it and help her, but he was afraid if he mentioned it now, she’d pull back even further.

Patience, Silverton.

“You don’t want to watch me. I’m boring.”

“Not to me,” he said, nipping her skin, delighted when he felt her shiver.

While she clicked into the streaming video service, Everett concentrated on touching and tasting her, his hand slowly caressing her hip beneath the black yoga pants she was wearing.

“So, romantic comedy or slapstick?”

He pretended to consider her question seriously. “Slapstick.”

“And here I thought you were going to say rom-com.”

“What man worth his salt says yes to a rom-com?”

Callie leaned back and tilted her mouth up to kiss him. “A man who enjoys reading romance novels, perhaps?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t read romance novels.”

EVERETT WAS TEN minutes late picking up Justin and Val to take them to the airport, but it had been worth it to finish watching Uncle Buck with Callie. He had never seen the old John Candy comedy, but after seeing Callie belly laugh for an hour and a half, it was his new favorite movie.

“I can’t believe you were late. This is my honeymoon, man.” Justin’s grumbling was slowly chipping away at his good mood.

“We’ll make it up on the drive and besides, it takes twenty minutes to get through security at the Boise Airport and you allotted”—Everett looked at his clock on the dashboard—“an hour and a half.”

“Fine. I’m done arguing.”