I opened my palms and bowed my head. “I deserved the slap, definitely. I accept that.”
She smiled. “Really? You’re accepting it?”
“Yeah, I am. I’m not normally like…this. I’m not normally an asshole.”
“What are you normally like?”
I was a little thrown by the question. “Different.”
“That doesn’t tell me anything. Different could be worse than what I’ve seen.” When she shuffled, the movement made the little strap of her top drift down her shoulder, drawing my attention to her fully rounded breasts.
I’d avoided looking at them all evening, all evening as she spent most of it in those wet clothes that clung to her figure.
“Hey, eyes up,” she chided.
Fuck.I hadn’t meant to get caught staring. Hell, I hadn’t meant to stare at all. I opened my mouth to say something but couldn’t think of anything that could redeem myself.
What could I say? That I wasn’t looking? I totally was.
With a slight flush to her cheeks and a little giggle, she adjusted the straps on her shoulders. “If you’re going to ogle my tits right in front of me, I have to at least know if I’d like the other version of you.”
I opened my mouth again then closed it.
Would she like the real me? The version of me who wasn’t always tensely wound up and worrying about Aria?
I couldn’t remember what it felt like to be that guy. I did know he was fun, and…I missed him.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Yes you would.”
She inclined her head to the side, assessing me. Interest now flickered in her blue gaze. My eyes dropped to her mouth as her lips parted and slid into a sexy smile.
“And you have a sixteen-year-old who I kind of adore?”
That made me smile. It was a nice thing to hear.
“Looks that way.” It sure did, and said sixteen-year-old had given me an ultimatum that morning. “My daughter would like you to join us for dinner tomorrow.”
Aria had told me if I didn’t ask Brooke to join us for dinner, she would never speak to me again. Ever.
“Us?”
“Me and her. Aria and me.Us.” As I looked at Brooke, I knew I’d be a fool not to take note of the attraction that sparked between us.
I would have been lying if I’d said I didn’t feel it.
“I’ll go for her. I know for sure I definitely like her, though you haven’t impressed me yet.”
I had to laugh, and damn it sounded weird, like the laughter was coming from someone else.
“Brooke, I just spent all evening fixing your pipes and clearing the water away from the floors.” I thought that was impressive enough. “Also, the other day, I saved you from falling over in the grocery store.”
“You fixed my pipes and cleaned up the water because you felt guilty for calling me a walking Barbie with daddy’s credit card. I’m still upset about that.” She narrowed her eyes at me.
Guilt consumed me. I still felt bad that I’d actually said it. “I’m really sorry ,again.”
“I’ve half forgiven you. Also, the grocery store incident was…well, you were in the way. It would have been evil if you’d let me fall over when I bumped into you.”
I didn’t think I’d ever met anyone quite like her.
Classy, sexy, and…quirky.
“How about we start fresh?” I brought my hands together.
She considered the offer. “Okay, but I’m still going to dinner for Aria.”
“Just so I know, what will I have to do to impress you?” I couldn’t help myself. It was curiosity.
“I’ll let you know.”
