Pyramids and Promises (Omega Mu Alpha Brothers Book 2) (16 page)

It was terrifying. There was really no choice for her though. She didn’t say it out loud. She wasn’t ready for that, but she’d fallen for him too.

“T
ommy!” Conner threw down his iPad and sighed disgustedly.

“You bellowed?” Tommy popped in with his ever present pad and pencil.

“Is it too early for whiskey?” Conner sneered. Somehow Cahill Jr. and Trent’s presentation had received the go ahead from Old Man Cahill. They were taking over all of Conner’s drill jobs in Upper Egypt. Conner really hated those two.

“That is an ugly scowl.” Tommy shook his head and pursed his lips. “And yes, nine-thirty is too early for whiskey. Would you like another coffee?”

Conner got out half a good filthy curse word before Tommy held up his hand.

“If you’re going to be vulgar, I’m leaving.”

“Really?” Conner arched an eyebrow. “The things I’ve heard you say.”

“You are in a nasty mood. Must not have gone well in the desert. Shame. A trip like that. Would have worked with me.” Tommy sighed.

That did it. Conner laughed.

“Everything went just fine this weekend.” More than fine. Perfect actually. Jessica. He closed his eyes and thought about how absolutely, wonderfully tousled she had looked in the morning sunshine.

“You are such a mess.” Tommy sat in one of the chairs facing Conner’s desk with an exasperated look.

“What?”

“One minute you’re yelling and wanting to drink, and the next you’re practically glowing. I don’t know whether to get out the riot gear or be jealous of your latest piece.”

“Jessica is not my latest piece.” Conner frowned. Leave it to Tommy to make her sound cheap and temporary. “It’s more than that.”

“Everyone since Nour is a piece.” Tommy leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Unless, we can finally say you’re moving on.”

“Sometimes you overstep.” Conner picked his iPad back up. He’d much rather deal with Cahill Jr’s load of crap than listen to Tommy reorder his love life.

“Or I hit a little too close to home,” said Tommy quietly. “I hope so, boss. Nour is far from good for you.”

“What have you heard about the new wells in Upper Egypt?”

“Junior has got those on lock. His drill team is taking them. Your guys from Zigazag really need to step up and deliver. Junior is throwing a big birthday bash, and Cahill is expected to announce his retirement. If he names Junior as his replacement, you’re in trouble.” Tommy shook his head. “Apparently, he’s been playing the doting son. Sunday dinners. Golf on Friday. The whole lot.”

Years of partying and now Junior decides he wanted to be a respectable business man. He thought he could slide right in and push Conner to the side.

“Schedule a call with the Zigazag team. I need to let them know these next few jobs need to be spot on.” Conner had to try and put a pair of blue eyes out of his head. At least for a few hours, or he might be in the market for a new job.

“I think I could actually commit murder for a Dominos’ delivery right now.” Molly punched her ball of dough. “I hate making my own pizza.”

“This is the closest to Dominos as you’re going to get. Unless you want that crap they call Dominos here?” Marcy flittered around the kitchen in an apron. The perfect little Betty Crocker lookalike.

Pizza night with the Ms was an all-day affair. Well, really longer than that. They special ordered cheese, sausage, and pepperoni from Italy through the commissary. They made sauce days in advance so the flavors could all marry together. The dough they prepped the night before. Marcy had to have the perfect rise. It was really hilarious and ridiculous. Jessica wouldn’t have expected any less.

“You should see her when it comes time to have a cookout.” Molly nodded at Marcy. “It’s a wonder she doesn’t slaughter and grind her own meat for hamburgers and hot dogs.”

“Say what you will.” Marcy wagged her finger at Molly. “When you live this far from home, it’s the small details that matter. People rave about my cookouts.”

“That they do.” Melinda spread her dough on the baking stone, but she winked at Molly. “So, Jessica, how are things with the fella?”

Jessica groaned. Couldn’t they ask about work?

“Oh yes, what amazing adventure has he whisked you off on now?”

Jessica blushed from her toes to the top of her head.

“Must be juicy. Look at those cheeks.” Marcy giggled.

Jessica laughed. They’d never let her brush it off now.

“We were in the desert last weekend. It was fun.”

“All kinds of fun?” Marcy asked.

Molly gave up on her dough. She leaned on the counter and plopped her chin in her hands.

“Grown-up fun?” She grinned. “I miss the big romantic gestures of dating.”

Jessica looked to Melinda for help, but she shrugged with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah, it was grown-up fun.” Jessica focused on stretching her dough into a perfectly round circle. “I’m not used to the big romantic gestures. It’s a bit overwhelming.”

“So he did good?” Marcy spared her a smile.

“He did. It was perfect actually.”

Molly sighed. “I’m so jealous.”

“Are you falling for him?” Melinda asked. The other two Ms glanced at each other and then watched Jessica. Everything stood still for a heartbeat. Jessica knew the answer, but how nuts would she sound if she said yes?

“Well, that’s all the answer I need,” said Marcy after a few moments of heavy silence.

“It’s crazy, I know.” Jessica bit her lip.

“You can’t help how you feel.” Molly, of course, sweet Molly would say something so kind.

“Twitterpated,” said Melinda. “We’ve all been there. Just remember to use your head, love. Don’t get too carried away. Be smart. You’ve been through a lot this last year. We’d hate to see you get your heart broken again. Keep your eyes open.”

“So much easier said than done,” said Marcy.

Jessica thought about Conner’s green eyes and his seductive smile. How tender his kiss was, how gentle his hands. So much easier said than done. Marcy didn’t even know the half of it.

C
onner called and made sure the plane was ready. Jessica was meeting him at the airport. She couldn’t take two Thursdays off in a row, so the trip to Prague would be short. However, she did manage to get off two hours early. It didn’t make sense for Conner to drive all the way downtown to get her. He sent a car to pick her up and spent an extra couple of hours at work himself.

He got to the airport first. Jessica showed up ten minutes later. She greeted him with a long kiss.

“Nice to see you too,” he said when she finally pulled away.

“I don’t like being away from you. This week has been a bit torturous.”

“I told you that you could move in.”

She swatted his arm, but grinned. “It is way too early for that, and you know it.”

They’d decided to sleep at their own places during the week so it wasn’t difficult to get to work, but that meant they stayed up way too late. Neither was ready to leave when the night was over. This was all a part of new relationships, but Conner was ready to skip all of that and head straight for the part where they were together all the time. He told Jessica as much on Wednesday, and she went home early that night.

He followed her onto the airplane, and she settled into one of the seats. She was still a little wide-eyed looking around. He had hoped she would be getting used to the luxury by now, because that meant she was looking at him as more of a long-term commitment. It was easy to get comfortable with private jets and penthouse suites. He still flew commercial sometimes but always first class. He wasn’t sure he’d know what do with himself if he found himself cramped back in economy on a twelve-hour flight.

He grabbed a couple of Cokes from the galley and handed Jessica one as he sat down.

“How long’s the flight?”

“A couple of hours. Have you ever been to Prague?” he asked. They hadn’t talked much about this trip, and he figured that living in Moscow, she’d probably been to the Czech Republic before. But if not, he’d be happy to show her the sights around the lovely old European city. Maybe instead of oil, he should have gone into tourism. Though, if that was the case, he’d probably still be chasing that elusive first mil.

“No. It was on my list of places to see, but we never made it out there.”

“It’s one of the prettiest cities in the world. You’ll love it.”

“I’m sure I will. I’m excited to meet your friend too. Do you think he’ll tell me any crazy college stories about you?”

Conner cringed. He hadn’t thought of that. Blake was one of his best friends. He knew all of Conner’s stories, and Blake always embellished.

“Yeah, probably, but if I were you, I wouldn’t believe half of them.”

“That’s what they all say. I’ll bet every one of the stories he tells me is true. Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Her eyes danced, and she bounced her foot. Conner took a sip and waited.

“Are you part of the mile high club?”

Conner choked on his Coke.

“What? Did you really just ask me that?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Well, no, I’m not.” He took another drink. This girl constantly surprised him.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, took his Coke out of his hand, and straddled him. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. “Would you like to be?”

Jessica was all grins and giggles when they left the airport.

They were meeting Blake for drinks at seven. Conner sent their bags on to the hotel and ordered a car for them.

“So his girlfriend isn’t here yet?” asked Jessica. She was fussing with her hair.

“No. She isn’t due until early tomorrow morning. She’s flying in from Rome.” Conner grinned. He’d never seen her act so girly before.

It was already dark, but the lights of Prague twinkled. Jessica craned her neck. Conner couldn’t wait to take her around. The cathedrals alone were going to blow her mind.

Blake was already at the restaurant. He stood and waved when they walked in.

Jessica blushed when she caught sight of Blake, and Conner gave him a hard look. He and Blake were very different. Blake was a behemoth. Seriously, the guy could have been a professional body builder or a lumberjack or something. He had bulk where Conner had definition. By the way Jessica was ogling him, he was afraid he’d misjudged her taste.