“I did that on purpose. I’ve needed some time to think, so I’ve been lying low for over a week.”
My stomach flutters, and I choke on my water. “You’ve been home every night? Alone?”
He just nods his head, and I begin to panic. Did Will find out about me sleeping with Decker? Is that why he called? Did I just ruin a lifetime friendship between my brother and his best friend? Oh my God, what if Decker has to move out?
“Is everything okay?” I ask, forcing the panic down.
On the bright side, the potential romance with my boss no longer seems so heavy. Because if Decker is home alonethinking, it can’t be good. Decker’s not exactly a thinker. He’s more of a doer. Usually of women.
“I’m fine. Are you worried about me, Holly Jordan?”
“You scare me when you talk about thinking. And being alone. I tend to jump to conclusions—like you’re terminally ill. Or you caught something that can’t be cured with medication.”
He laughs. “If I were terminally ill, everyone would expect me to spend my last days with women. Now, an incurable STD? That would make sense to be alone.”
“Okay, fair, but you’re not really big on the whole ‘thinking’ thing. No offense. You’re more action than introspection.”
“That’s gotta change.”
The way he never takes his eyes from me makes me uneasy. “Oh God, did you knock someone up? Are you going to be a father?”
The thought of Decker having a baby with some faceless woman makes me irrationally angry. Not annoyed but punch-the-woman angry. Which I couldn’t do if she was pregnant, and then I’d spiral.
Kind of like I’m doing now.
“No,” he says, flashing that cocky grin I hate to admit still makes me weak in the knees. “But I’m going to tell you something, Holly, and I need you not to freak out.”
“Okay… But for future reference, telling me not to freak out will usually have the opposite effect.”
“You just imagined punching a pregnant woman you thought I knocked up, didn’t you?”
How the hell… “No…”
“Liar.”
“Okay, maybe. But you said you’re not going to be a— It doesn’t matter. What am I not supposed to freak out about?”
“For the record, I protect myself every time. The chances of a baby are very low.”
I frown. “You didn’t with me.”
And just like that, the impromptu shower sex memory pops into my head. God, that was good.
“You’re the only one.”
Does that make me special? “What’s going on, Decker? You said not to freak out, but you’re dragging this out. And I’m starting to freak out. And you continuously staring at me like that is really not helping.”
“You’re the only woman I haven’t been diligent about wrapping my shit with. Which made me think. And I realized I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since that shower. Actually, since you moved into your brother’s room, but it’s different now.”
“At least I’m not alone in thinking about it every day,” I say. “But are you thinking about it because it was good or… bad?”
“Oh, it was fantastic. The best, actually.”
Well, damn if I don’t have a proud smirk involuntarily forming on my face. He may be a man-whore, but being ranked number one among many, many women is like winning the gold at the Olympics. “Thank you.”
“You asked me about settling down before all that happened, and I told you I hadn’t met the right woman yet. I lied.”
“You… lied to me?”
