“Any man? You don’t want me,” I cackled.
“If I were another man, I would want you, but trust me when I tell you that you don’t want someone like me.”
I sauntered over to him, running my finger down his arm, feeling much bolder than I should. “And what kind of man is that?”
Taking the drink from my hand, he set it on the table. “The type of man who takes what he wants and never apologizes.”
“And you don’t want that with me?”
“No,” he smiled softly.
I stumbled back a step, but he caught me by the waist, pulling me closer to him. “Because I’m not sexy enough? That’s got to be it, right? I’m not one of those girls who throws herself at men. Even now,” I laughed, “I’m a terrible seductress.”
“I think you’d be just fine at seducing the right man. But Bailey, you don’t want me, and you know it.”
My smile instantly faded. I couldn’t hide the fact that not only did I not want to be with this man, my heart only belonged to a man I could no longer have.
“Why is it so easy for men?” I whispered. “Why is it so easy for you to throw us away?”
“That’s not what’s happening.”
“Not with you,” I mumbled, my eyes drifting away from his handsome face. “God, you must think I’m such a fool. I come here and throw myself at you, then decide I don’t want you, then try to convince myself to go through with it anyway. What a mess I am.”
Needing to get away from him, I snatched the drink he had taken from me and downed the contents.
“It’s time to face the facts,” I murmured. “I was never what he wanted. I only let myself think that because…because I was already in love with him. Because I wanted him to love me just as much. And when he finally asked me to dance, I thought that was my chance. How foolish I’ve been.”
“It’s not foolish to want love.”
“No, but it’s foolish to throw yourself into a situation without considering all the possibilities. Like the fact that I was blinded by aninfatuation.” Sucking in a ragged breath, I looked up at him. “Do you think that’s all it really was? An infatuation?”
“Only you can answer that.” Walking over to me, he took my hand. “You should get some sleep.”
“Sleep?” I huffed out. “Is that what I need?”
“Well, since you drank that much faster than I would have recommended, yes, I’d say you need sleep before you wake up with the worst hangover of your life.”
“Maybe it’s exactly what I needed.”
“For what? To forget?”
I shook my head, grinning as the room slanted to the right, and then sharply to the left.
Archer’s hand shot out, grabbing me before I fell over. “Take it easy.”
“I don’t want to take it easy. You know what I want?”
“Tell me,” he said, trying to guide me over to the couch.
“I want to forget all about him. I want to screw him the way he screwed me, and then walk away feeling nothing.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a wise decision.”
“And why not?” I asked, tearing my arm out of his. “He can do it. Why can’t I?”
“Because it doesn’t work that way for girls,” he argued.
Scoffing, I headed for the door as gracefully as I could muster, which wasn’t very well. But I was determined to go over there and prove to Liam that I could move on from him.
