“Definitely,” Sarah seconded.
“He’s in love with you,” Emily confirmed with a nod.
Mara’s heart beat faster and her palms grew sweaty at the thought. There was nothing she wanted more than for the women’s predictions to be true.
The conversation turned directions after a few moments of silence, the ladies talking about the wedding as they stuffed favor bags. It was a simple task, but Mara had never felt more comfortable, so a part of something that bonded her together with other females, a group of women she could easily call friends. There wasn’t a bit of cattiness in any of them, and they were genuinely warm and caring.
Cutting off any negative thoughts about Jared, she just enjoyed the memory of how blissful it had been when they’d woken up together that morning. Jared had held her close the entire night, his powerful arms still wrapped around her when they woke.
For now, those feelings, that sense of closeness would have to be enough.
CHAPTER 15
“Hey, beautiful . . . your website is up.”
Mara gaped at Jared, who was standing right outside the door she’d opened to his knock, her first cup of coffee still in her hand. Jared was never this cheerful in the morning, and this was very unusual behavior for him before nine a.m. He generally woke up, drank his coffee, and grumbled as he went downstairs to his gym. By the looks of his damp hair and mischievous grin, he’d already gone through his morning routine, which included a shower after he hit the gym, and it was only eight o’clock.
He’s up early.
Holding the door open for him, she watched him saunter into the living room, and he smelled deliciously of coffee, fresh air, and sandalwood as he brushed past her.
God, he smells good.
Dressed in jeans and his normal button-down shirt, he looked good enough to eat for breakfast, and Mara had to clench her fist around her mug to keep from reaching for him and making him her first meal of the day. “It’s up?” The sight and scent of Jared distracted her so much that it had taken her a while to process what he’d said.
Moving to the kitchen and helping himself to a cup of coffee, he turned to her with a naughty grin and propped his hip casually against the cupboard. “It’s been up since the second I saw you.”
Her eyes went immediately to his groin, and then back up to his face. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see anything because his shirttail was covering his crotch. She nodded. “Our website, you mean? It’s live?”
He smirked. “That’s up, too.”
Too? Wicked man!
She tried not to smile, but her lips turned up as she watched him take a sip of his coffee. Jared Sinclair was way too hot not to appreciate when he was being perverted, and his flirty words made her heart flutter inside her chest.
He looks so damn perfect, and I’m a mess.
Mara had barely gotten out of bed. She ran a hand through her wild hair, fairly doubtful that her cotton, pink pajamas were really turning him on right now.
“You look beautiful,” Jared drawled slowly, as though he could read her mind. “You look warm, luscious, and cuddly, like you just crawled out of bed.”
“I did,” she told him unhappily, still trying to finger comb her hair. “I never thought you’d be here this early, and I’m behind schedule.” She walked to the cupboard and took out some ibuprofen for her headache. “I think I had one too many strawberry daiquiris with the bridal party.”
“So the girls were playing last night?” Jared asked with amusement in his voice.
Mara shrugged. “Talking mostly and putting together the bags for wedding favors. And drinking.” She swallowed the pills with a sip of her coffee, trying to forget just how much she’d said that she wished she could unsay now. Groaning inwardly, she wished she hadn’t spilled her guts about Jared. Not that she thought the women would gossip, but just because the relationship was way too new to be so intense.
“How many did you drink?”
“Three? I think.”
“Tell me you didn’t drive home,” Jared growled, crowding her against the cupboard.
“I didn’t drive,” she assured him quietly, knowing how sensitive he probably was after what had happened to his friend and girlfriend. “Dante just lives down the road. I walked. And please don’t try to tell me you guys were angels at Grady’s house.” She looked up at him expectantly.
He lifted a brow. “We had a few. It was all very tame. Evan dropped us off. He wasn’t drinking.” Jared moved away from her and into the living room. “Do you want to see your website or not?”
She drained the rest of her coffee by taking several gulps, then set her empty mug down on the kitchen cupboard. “Yes,” Mara squealed, then regretted it because it made her head hurt worse. Still, she was excited to see her completed site. Moving behind Jared, who now had his laptop open, she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his back. “Thank you.”
Placing his coffee carefully on one of the low tables near the couch, Jared held the laptop with one hand and pecked the keys with another. Without stopping what he was doing, he muttered, “If you move those hands down another six inches, you won’t be seeing this site until this afternoon.” Setting the computer on the coffee table, he turned and wrapped his arms around her. Stroking a hand down her back, a lopsided smile on his lips, he said lightly, “Hmm . . . I was right . . . very cuddly.”
Mara shivered as she felt the warmth of his palm through the light cotton of her pajama top. “I know, right? Very sexy lingerie.” The top was flimsy, with spaghetti straps and lace, but it was far from seductive. The matching drawstring shorts hung almost to her knees. It was light, comfortable sleepwear for summer, but nothing to inspire a man to ravage her.