Mr. Wrong Number (Mr. Wrong Number, #1)

by Lynn Painter

Mr. Wrong Number: I texted the wrong number, didn’t I? Me: Yeah, you did.

Colin Holy shit. Miss Misdial is Olivia?

“My apologies for interrupting you at my house.” He let go of my arms and I saw him flex his fingers before his hands dropped to his sides. Seriously? He was flexing his hand like he was Mr. Darcy at freaking Netherfield? He gave me a dickish smile and said, “How dare I?”

Me: Because in my opinion, there are two types of people. Those who are so happy to be spending time with you that they’re down for anything, and those who are not. If she says she can’t because of her hair or her shoes or because she has to be up early in the morning, she isn’t a girl who will ever just roll with it. Mr. Wrong Number: That makes a weird kind of sense. Me: Do it. I dare you. Mr. Wrong Number: I’ll be back.

I squealed again and then we were hugging. It was a total friend hug, a hug of supportive congratulations, but as soon as it commenced my brain was shorting out from the feel of his hands wrapped around my waist. The smell of his neck. The bumpy musculature of his shoulders. I pulled back, but when I did—holy damn—his blue eyes were hot. I licked my lower lip, about to blabber some bullshit small talk, when his hands came up to my face and his mouth came down on mine.

Well, shit—like I needed more visuals of Liv in bed. I’d gone from finding her the most annoying girl on the planet to being inexplicably obsessed with her. She still irritated the hell out of me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the way she rolled her eyes and the way her face got that intensity to it when she was typing one hundred words per minute on her laptop. I lowered my voice and turned away from the table. “It is not a sex thing, though gratitudial favors will not be turned down should you feel inclined.” “Gratitudial?” “That’s right.” I heard her laugh again. “Well, I am incredibly gratitudial, Colin. This was the nicest surprise and I think I’m going to take a second nap on my very own bed the minute I get off the phone.” “Did you already take—” “Oh, yeah. Your bed was amazing, by the way.” I started laughing; of course she had.

“Oh, holy fuck, yes, Liv,” Colin rasped as he breathed against my mouth, “Come on—” I said through gritted teeth, “Don’t rush me.” Which made him chuckle and growl into my ear, “I would never rush you, Marshall. Take all the time you need, because I could stay in here for fucking ever.”

“Oh, my God, you are so adorable I want to pinch your fucking cheeks. Look at you, all insecure about the ex.” “I’m not insecure about the ex, you shit. I’m just curious.”

She was the first thing I thought of when I woke up in the morning, the last thing before I fell asleep. I would blow off anything to be with her, because everything was brighter when Olivia was around.

It probably meant I was weak, but all the little inside jokes and easy banter we’d shared had blossomed into something huge and full, and now they were gone. It was like that line in You’ve Got Mail. “All this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings.”

“I love you.” Everything went quiet in the world as his words crashed into me. “What?” He swallowed again, his throat moving hard before he said, “I love you. I know I screwed everything up and I know we were going to keep it casual, but I somehow fell in love with you. I can’t believe it myself, but in spite of our lifetime of hatred for each other, I am completely lost without you in my life.”

“When we went to Fleming’s and you let that dog knock you down in the parking lot, I realized something. You aren’t a hot mess at all, Livvie. You’re just this . . . this . . . human tornado who is so alive, so filled with the

energy of the moment, that there occasionally is a little collateral damage.”

I opened my mouth and had no words—for once. “But all the damages are worth it. They’re but a small price. I wish I lived in the moment like you do.” He took his hands out of his pockets and stepped closer, and his palms slid over my cheeks. “You have no idea how much I admire that about you.” “Colin.” I looked up at his handsome face and wasn’t sure any compliment had ever meant that much to me in my entire life. “Are you saying that I’m your hero? That I’m the wind beneath your—” He stopped my words with a kiss, one of his Colin specials that left me grasping at his shirt while he reminded me how good it’d been with us. As if I needed reminding. He lifted his...