So was she. “Face it, we had mind-blowing sex. I can understand why you’d say what you did. Can we just agree that nobody thinks straight when they’re in the grip of something that compelling?”
“We did have mind-blowing sex, but I was planning to say all that before I walked into this room.” He pulled her close and cupped her cheek, tilting her face up to his. “Yes, I talked to Luis last night and he?—”
“I respect Luis, respect his opinion, but he can’t possibly know?—”
“That’s right. He can’t. Not for sure. I took that into consideration. I put myself in your shoes, and I’ll admit that’s tough because?—”
“I wear a size seven and you wear a size thirteen?” Maybe humor would help them through this.
He smiled. “You wear an eight.”
“Just testing.”
“I don’t know everything about you. I didn’t know how you chose boyfriends. That was new information. I wouldn’t have guessed you’d let Auntie Kat talk you into those undies, so we can still surprise each other.”
“You surprised me just now. I had no idea?—”
“Yeah, I screwed that up.”
“Meaning we can just sort of forget it ever happened?”
His chest heaved. “Afraid not. Yes, I want your body so much that it makes me nuts sometimes.”
“Ditto. And when we’re temporarily nuts, we’re not logical. We’re not considering the ramifications.”
“I agree.”
“Good. So can we take a breath and?—”
“I’m not nuts all the time. Or even most of the time. Desire comes and goes. Love stays. I feel it every time I think of you, every time I watch you listening so earnestly during a council meeting, every time I catch sight of you coming down the street.”
“That’s affection.”
He held her gaze. “It’s way deeper than affection, Trace. But it’s taken years for me to see it for what it is. You’re my beloved,mi amor.”
She gulped. Spence used to call Raquel that.
“Bottom line, I love you. My proposal stands.”
Just as she’d feared, he’d come to a conclusion and was holding his ground. “I don’t know what to do right now.”
“I can see that.” Sadness flickered in his eyes. “Turns out there’s something I need to do.” Picking up his jeans from the floor, he pulled something out of his back pocket. “I’m activating the escape clause.” He ripped the paper in two and handed it to her. “Our contract is null and void.”
Her head hurt so bad she was dizzy with the pain. She took a shaky breath. “So that’s it? We’re done?”
“Not even close. I love you now and I’ll keep on loving you. The question is still on the table. You haven’t said yes, but you haven’t said no, either.”
“Oh, well, then, the answer is?—”
“Don’t. I’m begging you. Give yourself time. Like I said, try listening to your heart and your gut instead of your head. We’reboth lousy at that, but if you can manage it, you might be surprised by what you discover.”
She gazed at him, shivering from the sudden chill that had come over her. “All right. I promise to give it a shot.”
“Thank you.” He gathered up his clothes and started for the door. “I’ll dress in the living room.”
She moved toward the closet, forcing her body to perform the simple task of getting ready to go down to her office. Underwear, socks, jeans, blouse, boots. She pitied her next two clients, who would get a zombie for an attorney today.
“Trace?”
