To Love a Player (15 page)

"I hear you got the Toller Building in New York," Scott said after taking a sip of his drink. I nodded while sipping my own. I had found out that Scott's dad had been trying to buy out the business and somehow my dad came along with a better offer. He smirked at me, "And you get to lead the Acquisition Team?"

"Yep," I said, watching Mollie dance with her new friends. She looked like she was having a good time, laughing and singing along to the music. I also took notice of the male attention they were starting to attract, so I looked back at Scott and said, "If you'll excuse me, I have a girl to dance with."

I set down my drink and maneuvered my way through the crowd. My hands found her waist as our bodies matched the rhythm of the song. She turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck as I pulled her close to me. I saw over her head, the jealous eyes of the guys that wanted to approach her, so I thought that I would push the envelope and I leaned in, hovering my mouth just over hers. She opened her mouth eagerly and I deepened the kiss, letting our tongues dance around each other. Her taste was silky, sweet, and addicting. I felt myself lifting her off the ground as I tried to get more of her.

"Whoa, get a room!" Marnie teased next to us, making us pull out of the kiss reluctantly. Mollie put her forehead against mine as she laughed softly. Her eyes were dark and her voice breathy as she said, "Sometimes I don't like her so much."

I laughed, nodding my head. I set her down gently, kissing her forehead.  I wrapped my arms around her, pressing her tight against me. I got three thumbs up, each from Rita, Sam, and Kara, who were all dancing with their boyfriends. I gave them a wide smile as I rested my head against Mollie's cheek. I loved the feel of her in my arms, she just fit so perfectly in them and I knew that I never wanted to let her go.

18

Mollie

The morning light streamed through the curtains, waking me up gently as I stretched out in my bed. I rolled over, softly laughing at the sound of Marnie snoring next to me. I poked her, causing her to grunt and I snorted back a laugh as she went back to snoring. I looked over and saw that it was early still, but I could not seem to get back to sleep. I quietly got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Thoughts from last night flooded my mind as the hot water beat down on me. The party was a blast and I loved being in Callen's arms as we danced to the music. I was surprised at how our bodies just seemed to interact as though we were one person. The burning sensation of his fingers on my skin as he grazed my open back was enough to drive me crazy for him. I bit my lower lip as I thought about the deep passionate kisses we shared numerous times throughout the night. That boy definitely knew how to leave me wanting more.

I touched my lips, remembering how sweetly he kissed at my bedroom door as he said goodnight. Marnie said that I could sleep in his room, but Callen didn't want to be rude and leave her all by herself. He did, teasingly, offer for us all to sleep in his bed, but Marnie and I quickly turned that offer down flat.

It was also nice to meet Callen's real friends and I was glad that he wanted me to meet them. They helped me see a different side of him—a funny, relaxed side and probably my favorite side of him. We made plans to get together when Callen came back home from New York.

Ugh, I was not ready to let him go for a whole month. It didn't seem fair that we were standing on the edge of a new relationship and now he had to leave. I just felt that it left the door wide open for something bad to happen and I wasn't sure that I was prepared for that. Maybe since he was going to be gone, we could take things a day at a time and not rush into anything until he was back.

I stepped out of the shower and got dressed. Marnie was still passed out, but was now spread out in the middle of my bed. I rolled my eyes as I shook my head at her and slipped out of my room. I noticed that Callen's door was still closed, so I decided that I would start breakfast. One of my best dishes that I could make was waffles, so I set out making the waffles that my mom usually made on Sunday mornings.

I heard muffled noises and smelled a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen when I finally opened my eyes. Blinking as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I looked over and noticed that it was only about eight-thirty in the morning. I stretched myself out, feeling my muscles begging me to get up.

Last night was awesome. Seeing Mollie interact easily with my friends was reassuring that she was perfect for me. I just hoped that the three girls swarming her like bees weren't going to scare her away. I loved each of those girls, but they could be a bit overwhelming. Sophie hated them, so it was hard to hang out with them when she was around. They had a strong opinion of how they felt about her, too.

They really loved Mollie and I was glad. They all, even the guys, approved of my budding relationship and I was even more excited about getting it started. I was worried, though, about having to be gone to New York for a whole month, but hoped that my plans tonight helped ease any fears we had.

The smell of the sweet batter was making it hard to lay in bed anymore, so I threw on a pair of shorts and opened the door to my room. Mollie had her back to me, so I slowly crept over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She startled in surprise as she turned around, her eyes wide. I laughed as I kissed the dusting of flour on her nose.

"Good morning," I said, tilting her lips up to mine so that I could give her a proper good morning kiss. She wrapped her hands around my neck and ran her fingers up the back of my hair as I deepened the kiss. I honestly knew that I would never get tired of kissing her like this. I loved the way her tongue felt in my mouth and loved the taste of its sweetness as it ran over mine. Her body molded against mine as I pulled her in as close as she could get.

I gently lifted her up, placing her on the counter as I stood in between her legs. I cupped her face in my hands as I slowly pulled back. I rested my forehead against hers and sighed contently, "God, I love kissing you."

She let out a soft laugh as she nodded. I pulled her to me and kissed her gently, just once, and looked around the kitchen at what she was preparing. She gave me a sheepish smile as she said, "I couldn't sleep so I thought that I would make breakfast. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course," I said, lifting her off the counter and hugging her before letting her get back to cooking. "It smells awesome."

"Well, let's hope that it tastes awesome," she laughed as she opened up the waffle maker and took out the waffles that were in it. She placed them on a plate and handed it to me, saying, "It's not as high quality as you make, but it's from a secret family recipe that I learned when I was little. My mom used to make these every Sunday morning when I was growing up."

I added some butter and syrup to the waffle and cut off a piece. It practically melted in my mouth and was so delicious that I groaned in satisfaction. It was quite possibly the best waffle I had ever eaten and I quickly took another bite. She looked up at me with a hesitant smile, waiting for me to tell her what I thought. I swallowed the second bite and flashed her a genuine smile as I said, "These are amazing, babe!"

"Babe?" she asked, a small smile started to spread across her lips into a bigger one. I shrugged sheepishly and asked, "Is it okay to call you that? I mean, we haven't really talked about us yet."

She grinned, "Yes, you can call me 'babe'. I like it."

"Great," I said, setting down my plate, wrapping my arms around her. I gazed into her eyes and searched them as I asked, "Do you have any plans tonight?"

She shook her head and I smiled, "Good, because I want to take you someplace special tonight."

"Okay," she whispered softly before I kissed her. She let out a soft whimper when I pulled away and, trust me, I would have stood there kissing her, but I really wanted to finish her delicious waffle. I smiled at her after I took another bite and mumbled, "This is seriously good, hon."

"Ooh, hon?" Marnie teased as she came out of Mollie's room. I saw Mollie's cheeks flushed pink and I reached over, stroking one with my thumb. She smiled shyly at me as I leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. Marnie clapped excitedly as she said, "Ooh yum! I love Mollie's waffles!"

"Me too," I said as I stuffed another bite in my mouth. Mollie dished up the waffle that had just finished and handed it to Marnie, who dove into it, moaning as she chewed. She swallowed the bite and gave me a pointed look as she said, "When you two get married, be prepared to eat a lot of waffles because this is about the only thing that Mollie can make."

Mollie's eyes widened at her in surprise and her face went red. Marrying Mollie? I actually liked the thought of that happening...someday. I pulled her into a hug and she gave me a sheepish look as she nodded in agreement and said, "It is true, I'm a horrible cook. I'm not sure how I'm going to survive without you here to cook for me."

"Ah I get it," I teased, winking at her. "You only like me because of my cooking. I see how it is."

Marnie laughed, teasing, "Of course, why else would she be into you?"

"When does she leave?" I asked, jokingly, and glanced at Mollie. Marnie's eyes narrowed mockingly at me as she took another bite of her waffle. Mollie laughed as she pulled another waffle out of the waffle maker and put it on a plate for herself. "She's leaving in a few hours and you should know that I like you for a whole lot more than your amazing chef skills."

Marnie stuck her tongue out at me as I wrapped my arms around Mollie's waist and said, "I hope so, and speaking of my amazing chef skills, I'm kicking you out of the house this afternoon. I have to prepare something for tonight."

"Ooh, what's tonight?" Marnie asked, grinning from ear to ear. I raised my eyebrows at her and smiled, "None of your business."

"You're dating my best friend, bucko, everything's my business." Marnie said, grinning cheekily. I looked over at Mollie for help. She took her friend's empty plate and put it in the dishwasher as she said, "Come on, Mar, we need to leave the Master Chef to do his thing. You get in the shower while I clean up and I'll give you a tour and then take you over to meet Lacey and the kids before you go home."

Marnie's eyes lit up as she got up and disappeared into Mollie's room.

"So what do you think he's got planned for tonight?" Marnie asked me for the billionth time. Shrugging, I replied, again, "I don't know."

I was showing her around the property and we were walking down to the lake. I smiled when I saw it—I loved this place. The water looked extra sparkly in the early afternoon sun and the geese were gliding along gracefully. I smiled when I saw Lacey and the kids hanging out on the beach. They waved at me and Marnie grasped my arm as she squealed softly, "I can't believe that I'm about to meet my idol."

"Relax sweetie, she's just a regular person," I said as I patted her hand. Marnie gave me an incredulous look as she said, "Who also happens to be the coolest fashion designer!"

"I'm sure she'd enjoy hearing you say that!" I laughed and soon felt two arms attacking my legs. I scooped up Jace and said, "Hey cutie pie!"

He giggled as he sloppily kissed my cheek. I loved Jace's kisses, they were always sweet and always slobbery, but he was too cute to really notice. He wrapped his little pudgy arms around my neck as he said, "Hi Mowwie."

"Jace, this is my friend, Marnie," I said, introducing him. He gave Marnie a shy smile and said, "Hi."

She smiled sweetly at him as she said, "I have heard a lot about you, Jace! I am so glad to finally meet you."

He looked at me and back at her, still smiling shyly. Mara wrapped her arms around my thighs and I squatted down to her level, saying, "Hello Miss Mara, how are you today?"

"I'm good," she smiled sweetly at me. I introduced her to Marnie and she smiled at her saying, "You're pretty."

Marnie let out a soft laugh as she smiled down at her and said, "I think you are, too! And I am so glad to finally meet you, little lady!"

Mara held up her arms and Marnie scooped her up. We exchanged soft looks as we finished walking down the path to where Lacey and Elly were sitting in the sand. I heard Marnie gasp softly when Lacey stood up, smiling at us as we approached. Jace leaned into her arms and she said, "Hey, I didn't expect to see you today! How was Boston?"

"It went better than expected," I said, giving her a knowing smile. Callen told me that Lacey approved of the two of us getting together and knew that I had gone to Boston to end things with Ben. She hugged me and said, "I am so happy for you and my brother. I knew the second that he opened the door when you came to interview that there was something there."

"Thank you," I said as she gave me a gentle squeeze before she let go. I turned to Marnie, who I sensed was on the verge of a panic attack from just being this close to Lacey. She gave a nervous smile at us and I said, "I want you to meet my best friend, Marnie, who is also a huge fan of yours."

Lacey laughed softly as she said, "Well, it's nice to know that I still have those and it's really nice to finally put a face to the name. I've heard a lot about you, Marnie."

"It's so nice to meet you, too," Marnie said as she set down Mara to shake Lacey's hand. Lacey smiled genuinely as she let go and said, "We're about to go inside for lunch, would you two like to join us?"

Marnie looked at me, speechless, and I nodded, "Yeah, that would be great! Need help with anything?"

Lacey shook her head as she took the blanket from Elly, who had the bag they brought with them on her shoulder. I gave Elly a hug and said, "Marnie, this is my sidekick, Elly."

Marnie smiled at her as she said, "It's nice to meet you, finally. I think that you are the one that I've heard about most!"

Elly beamed a huge smile at me. It was true, I was always talking about Elly more. She was really a great young lady. I don't know if I was as poised and put together when I was her age as she is. She has been a huge help with her younger siblings and overall was just a sweet girl. My favorite part of the afternoons was hanging out with her while her siblings took their naps. I felt more like a big sister than a caretaker and definitely gave her the respect she so desperately needed when we talked about things going on in her life. I had told her that she could tell me anything and I would listen without judgment. I, of course, encouraged talking to her parents too and I knew that she and Lacey had gotten closer because of it.