Play Fling (A Stupid Cupid Book) (29 page)

“Elliott was actually nice about it,” she
said, only about half aware anymore of the conversation. “I dangled
his career in his face and then he pitied me when—genius that I
am—I finally figured out what is really going on.”

Everything had fallen apart, all her flimsy
little love match stitches had come undone. She’d completely
misread Jason Munkle. Toyed with Elliott’s career and in the end,
Brooke would be alone. Alone and betrayed by her best friend. All
Millie had left was AJ.

The rest was over now. Or would be in three
days, days she had to stuff full of memories with AJ. Of course,
that would be a lot easier if he could stop retreating and just
kiss her. He just kept eyeing her, thinking.

Millie put her hands on her hips. They
yearned to feel him. She gave up. Maybe he would come to her. Two
years of unspoken promises building between them crashed down on
her heart. She needed him and begging would be really hard for her.
But she would beg.

AJ licked his lips. His eyes burned when at
last they met hers. She let herself believe they burned for her.
“What is really happening here?” he asked.

“Like I said when I came in. I can’t match
Brooke.” Her voice was pitchy. She tried to level it. “I failed.
It’s over.”

Her thighs warmed as her words’ ramifications
welled inside her. Why had she waited all this time? What had she
been thinking to avoid these emotions? To deny the way he made her
feel?

She’d been scared. Rightfully so. In all Kiki
Kent’s escapades and affairs, never had she felt like this. What AJ
did to her ran deeper and purer than any worldly experience. He was
more man than any woman should have to resist. Now she was ready to
risk dying in the flames. Just one problem: How does one seduce
perfection?

“Elliott loves her,” he said thoughtfully,
invading the silent air.

“I’m pretty sure, yes.” She winced inwardly.
The truth hurting. “He stood his ground against me. Yet he didn’t
gloat much when he won. I misjudged him.” Completely.

Too late now.

“Are you certain she cannot love him as
well?” AJ put his hands out as though making an offering.

“You didn’t hear her voice. She’s seriously
terrified. My guess is, he told her and she is freaking out.”
Millie shook her head. “Besides, I don’t see how she could. Brooke
cares too much about order to risk being with a guy like him. Too
rebellious. Too complicated.”

He stepped toward her. His bare chest flexed
as he moved. “Could you be wrong?”

“I’d say I’m really good at being wrong, but
I don’t think I am when it comes to this. In fact, Brooke
practically begged me to come over twenty minutes ago. I think
she’s freaking out about how Elliott feels about her.”

“Can you be certain?”

She thought about it a moment. Certain? “How
certain?”

AJ continued. “If what you say proves true,
might Brooke simply be too scared to admit to her own
feelings?”

Well, Millie definitely knew how that felt.
But Brooke? Neat and tidy and grounded Brooke?

“Millie, if she is in love, don’t you
realize, you might be able to bring them together?” He drew closer
with each word, his gaze mesmerizing her. The air grew electric
between them. “You could still have time to match Brooke.”

Millie swallowed. “But, he’s all wrong for
her. He’s risk and change and everything she fights against.” All
she could think of was kissing him, feeling him. Touching his bare
skin. “How? What could I ever I possibly do in three days
time?”

He only nodded, coming closer. “What we need,
we fear.”

Her heart thrummed, her body purred. “No. Not
just fear. It’s who she is. She needs someone stable. Someone who
won’t leave her in ten years because he’s come to his senses and
fallen for a student.”

He stopped in front of her, mere inches away.
“That’s your fear. You aren’t giving her a chance.”

“It’s too big a gamble. It’s her life, AJ.
Her heart. She’s my best friend and you’re asking me to gamble on
her whole future.”

“It’s her gamble.” He reached out and tucked
a lock of hair behind her ear. His hand grazed along her cheek.
“You’re not giving her a chance. Think about it,” he near
whispered.

Her breaths came fast and hot. Her mind
warred between her attraction and her duty. If he was right, could
she help Brooke face her feelings? “He’ll have told her what I
did.”

“He may not have.”

“If Brooke is in love with Elliott, then I am
up for the world’s biggest idiot award.” She leaned in closer. “If
they are a match, what have I been doing all this time? Besides
getting everything wrong?”

AJ grinned mischievously. He bent closer and
stroked her cheek. “Maybe you didn’t get anything wrong.”

She tore her gaze from his mouth. “No, I did.
I guarantee I did. I blackmailed Elliott, was ready to kidnap
Jason, maybe even drug Brooke.” Her libido hummed as he drew
tantalizing circles over her palm. “I didn’t even guess about
Gordon. I’ve gotten it all wrong.”

“Exactly.” Gently, he pulled her down to the
sofa with him. “Hear me out.”

Millie exhaled. Her senses drank him in. His
scent, his deep tone of voice, his very nearness. Three days.

“How did they meet?” he asked.

Why did his voice have to be so melodic? It
was beyond distracting. “He’s her history class’ assistant
professor or something. She turned in a paper to him…no, wait.”
Millie racked her brain. There was something more there. “They
might have met before that. At The Book Exchange maybe?”

AJ cocked his head, grinning. “When?”

“The day I stood her up.” Millie inhaled
sharply. “Oh, you have to be kidding me. You’re saying I’m going to
get credit for matching Brooke because I ditched her to break into
her apartment only to lead myself onto a wild goose chase after
Jason?”

“No, I don’t think accidentally throwing them
into each other’s paths is enough.” AJ scrubbed a hand over his
face. “Not enough to keep me here, anyway, and that is what we need
right now.”

You want to stay?
A secret part of her
craved confirming she meant something to him, that in some way, he
needed her too. In the end, she only looked at him for a long
moment, the question unspoken. “But, do I still have time to fix
this?” Millie finally asked.

His eyes lowered to her mouth. “Three days
time.”

“I could kiss you,” Millie said quietly. She
could lean in, press her lips to his, breathe him in, taste him. A
quickening rippled through her.

AJ didn’t falter. His expression remained
placid, but his eyes burned hotter. Was he leaving it up to her?
Would he back away or did he want her to cross this line between
them?

She doubted she would be able to stop if she
started anything with him. He would have to. And she would likely
beg him not to. Then what? If she matched Brooke and he could stay,
and she had made a fool of herself, how could she live down the
next umpteen years with him?

“I can give you something powerful,” he said,
tingling her palm with another circle.

Her heart peppered with hope. Her mouth
watered. “Powerful?”

“Yes.” He brought her wrist to his lips. “My
most potent cocktail. You’ll have to make certain only Brooke gets
it and that she and Elliott come together before it wears off.”

Chemistry? Yes, of course. For Brooke and
Elliott. A strand of reality fell through her fog of desire. “But I
thought it was all about energy and focus. Are you saying you can
make some sort of potion?”

“It’s complicated and with as little time as
we have left,” he said, slowly lowering her wrist. “Perhaps I can
extrapolate on the topic another time?”

Millie nodded, wishing her wrist wasn’t now
lying limp on her thigh. “Brooke wants me to come over right now.
Maybe I could somehow undo my blackmail blunder and convince
Elliott to come over, too?”

AJ nodded thoughtfully. “If she does love
him, the concoction will force her to realize it. But, if she
doesn’t…well, she’ll still need him, but things could get ugly. Can
you make certain he’ll come?”

“I don’t know. I think so.” His face seemed
to draw closer with her every word. “I can show up, apologize,
grovel….”

AJ closed his eyes. His breath tickled
against her neck. “Millicent?”

She could smell his minty breath. Her hands
gripped the sofa edge. “Yes?”

He opened his eyes and what shone there
pierced her. “I need you to be stronger than me right now.”

Stronger? How could she be the stronger one?
She was only human and wanted him so badly her whole being hummed.
“I don’t want to be strong, AJ. I want to give in. What if I fail?
What if Elliott has told Brooke what I’ve done? Three days are all
we—.”

“Shh,” he interrupted. He touched her hair,
trailed a finger down her jaw. “I’ll be here. I know you can do
this, Millicent. Don’t expect the worst. But you’re too damned
tempting looking at me the way you are and you smell so good.
You’re doing things to me and I don’t think I can be a gentleman
right now.”

Hidden parts of her melted with every word.
How could she move away?

“Please,” he said, his voice strained.

Her belly trembled. Her body begged her to
give in, to forget everything. He wouldn’t refuse her. He wanted
her just as much as she wanted him.

He might regret it, though.

She couldn’t afford that. She wouldn’t do
that to him. Scooting away helped. Every additional separating inch
helped. Soon, she stood on her wobbly legs and her head began to
clear.

AJ stood as well. He didn’t look at her.
“Give me half an hour and I’ll get you what you need.”

His innocent words wrought images of him
inside of her. His mouth on her breast, down her belly, between her
open thighs. She nearly groaned, knowing he would not, in fact,
give her what she needed. Not today. But he would give her the
chance to make things right for Brooke. If she wasn’t too late.

Chapter Twenty-three

Brooke smoothed both hands over her hair
again. Her reflection in the bathroom mirror looked far better than
she felt. Her skin glowed, her hair swung neatly back into place.
Inside, her heart raced, her skin flashed with warmth. Her belly
fluttered. Love? Terrifying, complicated, and messy love?

This was not supposed to have happened. Not
to her. Not like this, with him. When her heart wasn’t quaking in
fear, it soared, buoyant as a balloon.

Nothing could be worse than this. She was a
merry-go-round kind of girl, not a roller coaster chick. They made
her puke.

Brooke left the bathroom and paced the length
of her apartment.

Any minute now, Mille would be here. Given
that Brooke had kept Elliott a secret for so long, she might have a
lot of explaining to do when she got here. But, oh well. She
couldn’t hide him, or this, any longer. Millie would just have to
understand. Wouldn’t she? She wouldn’t feel betrayed that her
closest friend hadn’t trusted her with her biggest secret, would
she?

Brooke couldn’t stomach that potential pain
now. She had to focus on the Elliott issue.

Millie would understand. Then, together,
they’d figure out what to do, how to wrap Brooke’s brain around the
last few weeks’ events. Jeez. Weeks? How could so much happen in
such a small window of time? It wasn’t possible, was it? No.

Her stomach ached. Sick, but not queasy. That
roiling sensation that forms as the metal cart ratchets higher,
closer to the lip of a drop that falls from view, and all you can
do is scream and hold on for dear life.

She perched on the sofa arm and chewed a
nail. The TV Guide channel scrolled the evening’s menu but she
didn’t read a single listing. She counted them instead. Twenty-one,
twenty-two, twenty-three. What if she hurt Elliott? What if she
hurt him so badly she ruined all women for him? What if she
devastated him? How could she withstand to hurt him at all? He was
so sweet and open and brave through their relationship so far. If
she could even characterize it as a relationship.

The alternative was too much to consider,
though. It wasn’t as though she could be with him. The odds were
simply too stacked against a relationship like theirs. She didn’t
even know how too young for her he even was yet. There had to be a
way to resolve this without crushing him.

He was in love with her.

She wished she knew what to do, how to
feel.

A knock sounded, snapping her out of her
muddle. “Finally!” Brooke rushed to the door. She swung it open.
“Nancy? I thought you were…I mean, uh…hi there.”

Shoulders scrunched up to her ears, Nancy
Munkle waved rapidly.

Brooke shifted. “What are you doing
here?”

“Brooke, honey, be a dear and invite an old
lady in. It’s freezing out here.”

Alright. “Of course, come in.” Stepping back,
feeling her spine ramrod straighten, Brooke remembered to shut her
gaping jaw. “How are you?”

Funny how some things never changed. Nancy
always had a knack for easing a person into comfort and approval,
then wham, she nailed you to the wall. But, with what? What on
earth did Nancy have to nail Brooke with? Nancy no longer had a say
in Brooke’s life. She’d lost that delusional right almost two years
ago. Surely, one Turkey Day dinner hadn’t placed some accidental
deposit in the Munkle guilt bank.

Wringing her hands and fumbling with her
coat, Nancy scanned Brooke’s apartment.

“Nancy,” Brooke said to break the silence.
“Can I get you something? Water?”

“Oh, no thank you. I don’t want to trouble
you.” She hardly looked Brooke’s way. “Oh, just look at me. Honey,
tomorrow night has me so nervous and I can’t think in that house. I
got in my car and you know it practically drove itself here.” Her
eyes flitted from wall to floor to sofa to entryway table.