Page 34 of Decidedly Off Limits

My cell phone pinged. Trent:Have you considered bull riding as a hobby?

Haha! I’d fall on my butt before the bull even left the chute.And knowing my luck, some hot cowboy would witness my disgrace and tell all his hot cowboy friends about it.

I texted back:I just registered for a drawing class.

Can you draw?

No, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to by the time I’m finished.

We texted back and forth a few more times, organizing the upcoming dinner for our friends.

Holly phoned me the next evening. “Trent told me you guys are having a dinner party. Is there anything I can bring?”

“No, just you. I thought…” My throat squeezed tight, like a Shrinky Dink picture shrinking in the oven. Holly and I had become friends, and I wanted to help her win her man—even if the man was the same one I was falling for. “I thought I could help you with Trent.”

Maybe then I could finally move past my feelings for him.

Or not.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, he’s asking his friend to join us and Erin’s bringing her husband. It will almost be like couples night.” Only I wasn’t planning to hook up with his friend.

I told Holly to do whatever she could Saturday night to steer the conversation away from work. And I would do what I could to create a romantic atmosphere—for Holly and Trent’s sake.

The annoying voice at the back of my head pouted and acted like a petulant four-year-old over my plan.

I mentally locked it away in one of my colorful little owl boxes and threw away the key.

15

Trent

Normally I was a confident man. I had to be for my job. And when it came to women, I had long since learned from the time I turned sixteen that it didn’t take much for them to be interested in me. A smile here. A compliment there. A brief touch.

But as I waited for Kelsey to answer the door, my confidence took a hike. Why was it that the one woman who wasn’t interested in me was the only woman I wanted?

On the positive side, thanks to Liam, I got to spend more time with Kelsey now than I had since returning from New York City. Maybe I could send him a card. Would porn be too much, to thank him for making it easier for me to hang out with his little sister while fantasizing about her?

Yeah, I thought so.

Kelsey’s front door opened. “Do you have everything?” she asked, then bit her lip.

Did she look adorable? Damn right she did—and I wasn’t talking about how whenever she did that my cock tightened. No, it was the rest of the package that did it for me too. She was wearing black yoga pants and a tank top that showed off her sexy curves. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She looked ready to attend a yoga class instead of cooking a three-course meal for our friends.

She looked perfect—other than her eyes, which were red and watery. Panic plowed through me, almost knocking me onto my ass. “What’s wrong? Is it Liam?”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“I started chopping the onions before you got here.”

I stepped into the house, carrying grocery bags filled with what Kelsey didn’t already have. I’d gone into the office this morning and bought the fresh mushrooms for the ravioli on my way here.

She closed the door behind me and I followed her into the kitchen. “Did you cut them face down on the cutting board? Like Chef André told us to do?” I asked.

She scrunched up her nose. “No, I forgot that part. God, I must look a mess.” She wiped her fingers under her eyes, which probably wasn’t such a bright idea given she might’ve had onion juice on them.