“A churro?” Ashanti asked once they were ensconced in the ascending elevator.
“I guess it could work,” he said with a shrug.
They got off on the eleventh floor and negotiated the network of short hallways that brought them to their rooms. The brief reprieve from the awkwardness that the comical encounter in the lobby offered evaporated as they approached her door.
Ashanti turned to face him.
“Uh, thanks for going out with me. This was fun. Hey, maybe you should call Von tonight and tell him. He kept stressing how much he wanted you to have fun.”
Thad didn’t respond to her rambling. He just stared at her.
Words, Ashanti realized, were unnecessary. His eyes said it all.
She could scarcely breathe as she absorbed all that his intense gaze conveyed: the heat, the longing, the disquieting way it called bullshit on every excuse she could even think to throw at him.
“We can’t keep pretending,” Thad finally said.
“Yes, we can.” She nodded like a bobblehead doll. “We absolutely can.”
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and backed up against the wall opposite her door. Regarding her with a look that was equal parts frustration and need. “I’ve tried not to wantthis—to want you. I told myself that I wasn’t ready for it, that it wasn’t the right time, that I need to concentrate on getting The PX off the ground before I jumped into anything serious.” He shook his head. “None of it’s working.”
“Try harder,” she said.
“People already think we’re together,” he pointed out. “Why don’t we just… I don’t know… see what happens?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
She barked out a shaky laugh. “Because.”
She hated that it was the only thing she could think to say. She never let the twins get away with answeringbecausewhen she asked them a question.
The door next to Thad’s opened and a middle-aged man with perfectly coiffed silver hair like a dad from an early nineties sitcom came out carrying an ice bucket.
“Oh, excuse me,” he said, walking between them. He stopped, turned, and pointed at Ashanti. “You’re Duchess and Puddin’s mom. I’ve almost convinced my wife to get a Frenchie because of you.”
Ashanti flashed him a faint smile. “Good luck with that.”
Once he’d continued his trek to the ice machine, she grabbed Thad by the arm, used the keycard to open the door to her room, and pulled him inside.
Duchess immediately scampered over to her, her stubby tail wiggling at 100 mph. Ashanti tossed her keycard and the bag of cupcakes on the extra-long TV stand/dresser combo and scooped her up. She pressed a kiss to the top of her head and deposited her on the bed where she burrowed under the covers.
Ashanti turned to face Thad.
“Look, I will admit that I am extremely attracted to you.” She covered her face in her hands. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”
“It wasn’t really a secret,” Thad said.
She dropped her hands. “Really?”
“I’m just saying.” He shrugged. “It’s not a secret that I’m extremely attracted to you too.Beyondextremely.”
Ashanti brought her hand to her throat to massage the lump of desire lodged in it.
“I can’t,” she said. “Things are just too complicated with the twins, and I’m trying to buy another house—my dream location—for the daycare. And you’ve got all kinds of stuff going on.” She let out a sigh. “I can’t do a relationship right now, and I don’t do casual sex.”
The air in the room grew dense with the arousal, frustration, and yearning that pulsed between them.
