My tremulous breath caught and slowed as my gaze sank to his mouth. Hard and perfect and somehow, I knew withoutknowingthat those lips would take care of me in a way no man had ever done before. That he’d take care of me in that way, the same as he’d done in every other,like I was the only thing that mattered.
His gaze probed mine, so deep and intimate I felt the caress between my thighs.What if I told him to kiss me again?
The thought rippled through my mind and then sank like a stone—like a diamond, to be exact. The one still sitting around my ring finger, a reminder I couldn’t ask for more.
Like he heard my thought, Max stiffened and slowly disentangled himself from around me. “It’s been a long day, Daze. There’s nothing else to do…nothing else to worry about tonight. Just relax, and we can unpack in the morning.”
I nodded because what else was I going to do?Ask him to kiss you,a voice begged, and I quickly shut it down.
“Thank you.”
He lowered his chin and let himself out.
It was only when the door closed that I let my eyes drop to my hand, to Todd’s engagement ring. I knew what Max thought. I saw it like a billboard across his broken stare when he kept himself away from me. He thought I still wanted Todd. That in spite of everything, I still pined for the man who’d left me, pregnant, at the altar.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
It was true. I still wore the ring for a man, but that man wasn’t Todd. I wore it for Max. To remind myself that Max deserved better. I’d made the wrong choice four years ago. I’d told myself I was too smart and too cautious to end up in a bad relationship, and then I did everything I could to prove that was true instead of accepting that Todd was a mistake.
They say when you find yourself in a hole, to stop digging. I hadn’t stopped. I’d dug in deeper.
I kept the ring on, not because I wanted Todd back in my life, but as a reminder. I hadn’t chosen Max the first time, and no matter how I wanted him, he deserved someone who’d chosen him first. He deserved someone who wasn’t pregnant with another man’s baby.
“It’s going to be okay,”I said softly, cradling my hands under my stomach as I sank onto the edge of the bed. A groan bubbled from my lips. It was so comfortable. Beyond comfortable.It was heavenly.Yet despite his instruction, my mind couldn’t rest.
Like a rubber band stretched too tight, I was exhausted but couldn’t relax. And neither could my little sprout, who kicked up a storm as I wandered around the room for a few minutes, exploring the massive, marble-tiled bathroom with its huge walk-in shower that had a soaking tub sitting inside it. I was definitely going to take advantage of that tub, but not tonight.
Maybe if I put on some music, it would relax me.
Where was my phone?
I went back into the bedroom and looked around, under the bags and over by the window. Nothing. Had I left it downstairs?Had I even brought it inside?
“Shoot.” I was pretty positive I left it in the truck.
Barefoot, I padded downstairs and headed for the front door. As soon as I went to flip the lock, I stopped. Max would’ve locked the truck too. And was there an alarm system? Probably. I looked around like I had the code to disarm it if there were one.
Retreating, I went to the kitchen. Sure enough, on the far end of the room was a small hallway with a single door. Max’s room…his new room. Maybe I could catch him before he got in the shower. All I needed were the keys and the alarm code.
I knocked on the door.No response.
Crap.
“Max?” I called, but that felt like it did even less than knocking. Swallowing, I stared at the handle. If I went in, I could knock on the bathroom door. Then he’d hear me.
But what if the bathroom door was open?
Okay, well, I didn’t have to go inside the bathroom. I could just call to him through the open door. I reasoned with myself through various scenarios, none of which included simply waiting for him to finish and come out of his room. Later, I could figure out why that was, because right now, my hand was on the knob, and I was opening the door.
My eyes traveled quickly through the room, confirming that Max was definitely in the bathroom, in the shower. Only then did it strike me how distinct Max’s stamp was on the master bedroom. By comparison, this room was…nice. Pale, soothing blue walls and a navy bedspread. It was peaceful. Not that the master wasn’t, but there was just something else about it. Maybe the size of the bed?
Whatever it was, I’d think on it later because my gaze snagged on Max’s shirt on the floor, and my throat tightened, too tight to swallow the saliva pooling in my mouth. A few feet to the right of it, I saw his pants and boxers.
Heat rushed my head, and I gripped the doorframe. This was a bad idea. I didn’t need my phone. I didn’t need music. I needed a bed and to be as far away from the man who’d inhabit my dreams.
A low groan tumbled through the crack in the bathroom door. My head snapped toward it.
Was that?—
