May the Best Man Win by Mira Lyn Kelly Page B

ride.
    His mouth was running before he’d had the chance to check it. “We’re only going a few blocks apart. Hop in and we’ll share.”
    The words had barely left his mouth before he was ready to drag himself around the corner for a solid ass kicking. Because seriously, what was that?
    Share a cab with Emily?
    So he could sit in close quarters with her even longer. Soak up even more of that subtle scent she was wearing, the one he couldn’t quite identify but made him curious enough to want to burrow his nose into her neck and see if he could figure out what it was.
    Maybe their legs would touch again.
    Maybe if they did, she’d look at him. Their eyes would meet and hold.
    Maybe he’d get to hear that little catch in her breath, see the heat slip beneath her skin and—
    â€œPass,” she replied succinctly, her eyes dropping back to her phone.
    Christ.
    What was he thinking?
    Suddenly the more familiar, definitely more comforting sensations wrapped around him snug and warm.
    Annoyance. Frustration.
    Hostility.
    He didn’t like Emily. So what did it matter if she didn’t want to ride with him?
    â€œFine. Get in the cab,” he said flatly, his hand already circling her arm and firmly pulling her toward the waiting car. “I’ll take the next one.”
    What. The. Fuck.

Chapter 7
    Standing on the terrace of the Westin Chicago River North hotel overlooking the water, Emily tried to tell herself that the anticipatory high she had going was solely the result of excitement over helping a friend. It had nothing do with the fact that, after a week, she would be seeing Jase again. That they’d be alone.
    No one there to keep them civilized.
    Too bad that jump in her pulse when he strolled through the lobby doors with his overcoat open, the wind catching the short waves of his hair as he squinted into the morning sun—yeah, that jump —was calling her a liar.
    â€œMorning, Em,” he said, meeting her at the garden’s edge to hand her a steaming cup of coffee. “Eye of newt and toe of frog, just the way you like it.”
    The laugh was out before she could stop it, but then she took a piping-hot sip of what could only be described as an incredible cup of coffee, indeed dressed just the way she liked it. So maybe she’d let Jase slide for making her crack a smile before she got her first jab in.
    â€œMorning.”
    He looked like he was waiting for her to hit him with a zinger. She smiled. Let him wait. “Thanks for meeting me early. I’m hoping we can hit most of these venues today.”
    Jase leaned closer, checking the list she’d pulled up on her phone.
    â€œNice picks. Yeah, but there’s a major renovation starting next month on this second one, so we’ll have to see. Number three, though…”
    Her gaze cut to where he was leaning over her shoulder, to the day-old stubble roughing up his solid jaw and the way the muscles along his neck moved as he spoke.
    â€œâ€¦Anyway, there’s room to dance, so it’s got that.” He glanced up then and nodded at the river in front of them. “Too bad it’s going to be the middle of winter. The view right here is pretty spectacular.”
    She’d been thinking the same thing before he arrived. While Indian summer temps were already behind them, the sun was shining, casting a golden glow over the bridges, skyline, and Riverwalk. The terrace wouldn’t accommodate the number of guests Sally and Romeo were planning, but the view really was something else. “The ballroom downstairs is still gorgeous, though. Ready to get started and have a look?”
    Clearing his throat, he stepped back. “Sooner we start, sooner we’re done.”
    Right.
    Six hours and eight hotels later, they were standing outside Subway where Jase had just inhaled a twelve-inch turkey on seven grain and Emily was still nibbling the last of her crack-addictive white