I glanced to the open closet door. “He’s hiding in the closet. Just shut the door in case he decides to make another run for it.”

Brock slipped in, quickly closing the door. As I got a good look at him, the flutter in my belly increased until it felt like a swarm of hummingbirds.

The beard was gone.

His jaw was bare and the hard, chiseled line was on full display. So was the faint scar on his lip. I wanted to touch it—kiss it. He wore a black Henley and a pair of jeans, and somehow he looked like he belonged in his own personal jet. He wore those clothes. They didn’t wear him, and he looked amazing.

“Really loving that top,” he said, and I blinked, drawing my gaze back to his. He’d been checking me out as I’d been doing the same thing. He walked over to me. His finger skimmed along the collar of my sweater, over the swells of my breasts. “I really love this shirt.”

“Perv,” I murmured as I reached up and placed a hand on his cheek. “You shaved.”

“Yeah, figured it was time. You like?”

“Like it either way.” Biting down on my lip, I dragged my hand along his jaw. The skin was impossibly smooth.

Brock dipped his head and my hand slid back to the nape of his neck. The kiss was sweet and felt different since the beard was gone. “You sure about tonight?”

A faint smile tugged at my lips as I lowered my cheek to his shoulder and inhaled deeply.

“I mean, we can stay in.” A hand slipped over my lower back and down the curve of my rear. “Wait until your parents go to bed, then I can creep into your bedroom like we’re both teens. Keep you to myself.”

I laughed. “I’m sure. I want to go.” I looked up, searching his face as a seed of doubt blossomed. Maybe he didn’t want to go . . . to go with me. “Do you want to go with—”

“Babe.” The grip on my ass tightened. “If you’re about to ask if I want to go with you, I might turn you over my knee.”

I raised my brow. “I really would like to see you try that.”

“I bet you would really like it.”

Maybe, but that wasn’t the point. I inhaled deeply. “If you want to go and so do I, then what are we waiting for?”

His grin was slow. “Then let’s go.”

* * *

My stomach churned as I climbed out of the car, the cute Coach wristlet dangling from my wrist. The parking lot was full. Not entirely surprising since it was the night before Thanksgiving and many would have the next day off, which meant many would spend Thanksgiving hung over.