Читать книгу A Wrong Bed Christmas: Ignited - Liz Talley - Страница 14

6

ALEXIS KNEW THE minute the words came out of her mouth that she shouldn’t have said them. What was wrong with her? It was as if she were bound and determined to make the worst mistake of her life in record time.

“I’m sorry,” she said, quickly making amends. “I shouldn’t have said that. It was totally inappropriate. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. My brain is certainly not acting responsibly—not that that’s a big surprise given my track record, but I really am trying to change bad habits.”

His chuckle seemed forced, but what could she expect after she’d just let her potty mouth get the best of her. “Hey, it’s okay,” he reassured her. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. We’ve all made mistakes that we’re not proud of. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with being proud of a skill.”

She couldn’t help herself. “When you say things like that it makes me not sorry at all.”

A beat of charged silence flowed between them, filling the crisp air with heat. Layton shook his head. “We’re a pair to draw to, aren’t we?”

“As in, we both have the same problem recognizing what boundaries to pay attention to?”

“Exactly,” he agreed ruefully. “I know it’s wrong to look at my buddy’s little sister the way I’m looking at you now, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember why I was supposed to keep my distance.”

A delighted flush tickled her cheeks. “And if I wasn’t your buddy’s little sister?” she prompted.

He didn’t hesitate. “Then we sure as hell wouldn’t be hanging lights right now.”

What he didn’t say was plainly in his gaze. Her breath caught. “Maybe we could pretend that I’m not your buddy’s little sister. Just for today.”

“I’m not sure that would work. Eventually Erik would find out and I really don’t want to lose a friend because, you know, I couldn’t keep my hands to myself.”

It was solid reasoning, and that he was holding back to protect the feelings of a friend meant something, but it really didn’t change the fact that she wanted him and she wasn’t sure she wanted to deny herself. “I understand and I think it’s awesome that you’re the kind of guy who cares, but there’s something about you that I can’t quite get out of my head and maybe it’s because I’m in a reckless frame of mind or maybe it’s because you’re the hottest guy I’ve seen in a along time, but right about now, I’d much rather spend my weekend making all sorts of mistakes with you than anything else. So what are we going to do about that?”