Dare Me. Jo Leigh

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       4

      FOUR A.M. As he stared at the ceiling, thoughts of Molly and what they could have been doing kept Cam up, pissed that he couldn’t turn off his brain.

      Since the date had ended earlier than he’d expected, he’d gone down to the bar to help out after his shower. The plan had been to get some relief then hit the sack, but that hadn’t worked out, either.

      Sunday through Thursday, they were open till two. As soon as their last customer left, Cam had helped the Sunday night crew clean everything. He’d made an excellent favor swap with Solomon, their senior bartender. Solomon now owed him a weekend night off for scrubbing the floors in the kitchen and subbing in behind the bar. The physical exercise and focus had been a good distraction from thinking about Molly. Unfortunately, the distraction had stopped working as soon as he had.

      He’d tried to convince himself he was tired enough to sleep. After lying in bed as the minutes marched on, he went for one more round with his right hand. It didn’t take long to get hard, not when he could picture her so clearly. Shit, he could still practically feel her breast under his palm.

      If this didn’t do the trick, he’d get out his notebook and work some calculus problems. Those had always put him to sleep.

      * * *

      MOLLY SQUIRMED IN her bed, unable to find a comfortable position. She wouldn’t look at the clock. Not again. Every time she did, she was compelled to figure out how many hours she had until her alarm went off if she immediately fell asleep.

      The last reading had been at two-fifteen. Her alarm would go off at five-thirty.

      All because she was the most horrible person in all of New York. And New Jersey, and probably Connecticut and, what the hell, Rhode Island, too.

      The look on Cameron’s face when she’d pulled the emergency cord. She might as well have slapped him across the face. What she’d actually done was probably worse for a guy.

      She’d been having this internal debate since she’d walked into her apartment and turned on her computer. She’d gone straight to The Four Sisters Brewpub’s website. It was an impressive site with lots of history about the place, including how many blue ribbons Cameron’s beer had won in the past. But none in the past five years.

      They’d barely scratched the surface of each other’s lives. She had questions. Far too many for a brief encounter of the sexual kind. Where had he gone to school? What did he do when he wasn’t crafting beers, or was he like her, obsessed and never truly away from his career?

      The world of wine was very competitive. Very few made any kind of splash at all, and barely a trickle became internationally noted.

      She wished Phillip and Simone had planned on coming to New York for Friday’s ceremony. But it was understandable that they couldn’t just drop everything for one banquet. Bordeaux to New York was a major trip, and they were so busy with the vineyard and the business. Simone had mentioned a possible visit in the fall, so that was something to look forward to.

      In the meantime, if Molly had Cam on her arm, no one would wonder where her parents were. Of course, Phillip and Simone weren’t her real parents; she’d known them for only twelve years. But they’d brought her into their incredible home, into their lives. It had been a rebirth, the only one that mattered to her.

      She’d have liked to introduce them to Cameron. He’d have gotten on well with Phillip especially. Phillip enjoyed a cold beer from time to time, although you would never guess it. But he’d have liked that Cameron was the brains behind his brews.

      And now here Molly was, unable to sleep, her mind still chock-full of Cameron. Which wasn’t wise. She barely knew him, and best-case scenario, she’d be with him from Friday evening through Saturday morning. If she was very lucky, maybe they’d have breakfast together, but that thought, that hope, was already crossing a line.

      She’d lived on fantasies most of her life. Only one had ever come true. Phillip and Simone hadn’t actually adopted her, but that was okay. Just the odds of finding an amazing foster СКАЧАТЬ