Falling for the Wingman (The Kelly Brothers, Book 3) by Crista McHugh Read Free Book Online Page B

could make this second last forever. Caleb’s lips moved against hers, stripping past all her defenses and exposing that terrified core inside her. For a brief moment, she forgot that this was all for show. She indulged in the fantasy that he was kissing her because he wanted her, not because he was trying to give the town gossips enough fodder to make her sister jealous.
    She decided to make the most of the moment. She released her breath with a moan and kissed him back, slipping her tongue into his mouth.
    A hard ridge in his pants pressed into the softness of her stomach and emboldened her. Despite his declarations of love for Kourtney, Caleb couldn’t hide the evidence of his arousal. She had the sign she’d been looking for. Hope intensified her desire. She dug her hands into the soft fabric on his T-shirt and rubbed against the hard planes of his body like they were lovers.
    Caleb grabbed her ass and stopped the grinding, but he still kept her pressed against him. Now it was his turn to moan. He nipped at her bottom lip and pulled away with a shaky breath. “Do you think that was enough?”
    A quick peek inside the café revealed that both Mindy and Mrs. Jefferies were back on their phones, this time with florid cheeks and rapidly moving mouths. “It got people talking.”
    “Good.” But instead of letting her go, he kissed her one more time, although with less passion than before. “Let’s stop before things get out of hand and they cite us for violating those public lewdness acts.”
    “Indeed.” Right now, it was taking every ounce of self-control not to jump his bones. She pulled away and glanced down at his pants. Yes, there was still a hard ridge there, but it wasn’t in the usual spot for a hard-on. She ran her hand over the bulge. “What do you have in your pocket?”
    He looked away and gave her an embarrassed smile as they walked down the sidewalk away from the café. For a split second, she worried she may have been mistaken and he had a really crooked erection. But then he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a familiar figurine. “It’s my good luck charm.”
    Alex’s throat choked up when she recognized the angel she’d made shortly after she’d met Caleb. He’d let it slip that his call sign was “Crooked Halo,” and she’d been inspired to create the little figurine out of spare parts and give it to her sister two Christmases ago. “Where did you get that?”
    “From your sister. She gave it to me the Christmas before I deployed.”
    Alex dug her nails into her palms. Talk about re-gifting. She doubted Kourtney had kept it longer than a few hours before giving it away.
    “I thought it was cute, what with my call sign and all.” He stroked his thumb over the angel’s face, and his voice grew quiet. “Now I truly believe it’s a lucky charm.”
    The anger evaporated as she watched him stare with love at the collection of small metal bits she’d soldered together. “How so?”
    “You know us pilots. We’re a superstitious bunch. I took this with me so I could have a little something to remember Kourtney by and kept it in my flight suit. It wasn’t until I barely missed getting hit by a SAM that I started to believe it was lucky. After that, it never left my pocket.” To prove his point, he placed the figurine back into the safety of his pocket.
    Part of her wanted to laugh from the absurdity of it all. When she’d asked for a sign, she’d never expected the bulge in his pants to be the figurine she’d made. “Did she ever tell you where she got it?”
    “I never asked. At first, I thought it was a little gag gift. You know, one of those things you find at a flea market for ninety-nine cents. Then I realized that the wings were a World War II–issued badge, and it started to grow on me.”
    She gave a bitter laugh. Maybe there was still some hope she’d grow on him.
    “I’ll ask her once I get her alone.” He gave her a grin. “So, what’s the plan