Page 62 of Rum & Coke

His little hands flapped excitedly.

My grin widened, still thinking about the kiss. “I know. I’m more than just happy.”

“If I need to sleep on your couch tonight, just call. I don’t mind staying over if you need to have alone time.” She wiggled her brows, causing me to laugh.

“I’m not going home with him. He has … uh, work tomorrow, and he needs to deal with that before we can take the next step.”

She sat on my couch. “He will. I’ve already told you that he has it bad for you. He’ll quit his nighttime job. Just call if you won’t be home.”

“That won’t happen. Colt would freak if I wasn’t here in the morning.”

“That may be true, but just in case, you have my number.” She grinned, and I got the impression she really wanted me to go home with Vinny. Maybe it was because I was happy and Vinny made me that way. If I didn’t have Colt, Iwouldprobably go home with him, but I did have Colt and I needed to be home when he woke. He had routines, rituals and a specific schedule to keep, and I wasn’t ready to change or upset his little world for my pleasure.

“Also, just a reminder that I have that thing at my boss’s house tomorrow, and Melony is going with me.”

“I remember. It’s not a problem.”

There was a knock on my door behind me. My grin instantly widened, and I leaned off of the door and peeked in the peephole. I opened the door to see the man who took my breath away standing in khaki shorts and a dark blue tee that hugged him all the right places. “You’re wearing that to the wedding?”

He chuckled. “We’re getting ready at the house.”

“Oh. Well, let me get my purse, and then I’m ready to go.” I walked to my kitchen table, which was still in view of the living room.

Vinny stepped inside and waved at Sophia before walking to where she sat on the couch and leaned down to hug her. “Sophia, are you aging in reverse?”

“Stop.” She blushed and waved him off as they broke apart. “I’m not the one you need to compliment.”

Vinny turned toward me and grinned. “The problem with that, Sophia, is the way I want to compliment our Tessa isn’t PG.”

I stopped mid-step as I was walking toward Colton to say goodbye, and bit my lip as I looked at Vinny. No words were spoken. I took a deep breath and knelt beside Colton, kissing him and saying goodbye. Vinny said goodbye to Colt before grabbing my hand and leading me out the door.

“You kids have fun,” Sophia called out as she stood to lock the door behind us.

“We will,” Vinny replied.

We walked down to his SUV, hand in hand. Just before he opened the passenger side door to let me slide inside, he turned me so my back was against the car. Without a word, his mouth met mine, and like the other night, we kissed as though we were starving for each other. After several moments, we broke apart, and Vinny opened the door. Still, no words were spoken as I slid inside and he shut the door. He got in, cranked the engine, and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together before pulling out of my complex.

“Who all are coming?” I asked as we pulled onto the freeway.

“All the guys plus a few of the S&R girls—”

“Really?”

“Yeah. One of our own is getting married.”

“No, I know. I’m just excited to meet female escorts.”

“Why?”

I shrugged. “Just to pick their brains.”

“You want to join S&R?”

I snorted. “No, of course not.”

“So, you want to get the lowdown on Duane Wood?”

“Maybe.” I smirked.