Malena sighs. “Why are you interested in my relationship history?”
“Answer my question,” I reply. “You can ask me whatever you want in return. I need to know certain things.” Sliding my hands into my board shorts, I try to keep my nerves at bay. “Because if I’m going to date you, I need to know who to watch out for.” I take another three steps toward her. There’s a string on her hip peeking out from her board shorts. If I pulled it, her bottoms would loosen. Training my eyes on her face is hard when I’m so desperate for her body.
Pushing away from the table, she stands and turns to face me. “You’re worried about my exes?” Malena eyes my arms and my neck, then lets her gaze travel down the length of my body. “They aren’t anything to worry about. Not compared to you. I dated Dylan in high school.” Her gaze shifts to the left and then meets mine again.
My heart hammers. She’s so close I could reach out and touch the bare skin on her stomach, arms, and the sliver right above the waist of her shorts. “Who else here? In Bronze Bay?” I ask, my voice catching on the last word.
She steps forward. “A few one-night stands here and there. I don’t do relationships. Feelings are messy when it doesn’t work out in a small town. It’s best to leave them out altogether. I don’t want anyone to have to deal with my problems. Er, myresponsibilities. So, tell me, what about you? Any exes you hold a burning torch for?”
“I don’t hold torches,” I say, lifting one brow. “I also don’t want a one-night stand with you.”
“Why? Am I not good enough for you?” she asks.
I laugh once, loudly.
She holds one finger over her lips to silence me. “She’s going to sleep.”
“You’re too good for me. I plan on being in Bronze Bay for a long time, and I don’t want to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth. Sometimes it’s for the best to do things the way you’re supposed to do them. The right way.”
“Who is giving these rules to go by here? Who exactly told you how it’s supposed to be?” Malena sasses, her brown eyes challenging me, but her smirk telling me she’s enjoying the banter.
“Rules. Ah, me? I’m doling those out,” I reply, removing my hands from my pockets and clasping them behind my back. “If you’re amenable, of course.”
“Such a gentleman,” she says, stepping closer. “Tell me about the rules, Leif.”
I swallow down any remaining hesitation about diving into something I’m unfamiliar with and go for it. “We have rules in life, right? We have laws and guidelines, traffic rules, and common courtesy—all to keep us a highly functioning society,” I say.
She nods but looks somewhat confused, her lips pressed into a firm line. She makes a noise to signal for me to go on. “If we give whatever is between us rules, it would make sense that it would be highly functioning as well.”
“But I don’t get a say in said rules?” she asks, turning back to glance at the baby monitor on the table. “That doesn’t seem fair,” she finishes.
“They’re up for debate. It can be a team effort. I’ll tell you the ones that I’ve been thinking about, and you can tell me if you agree with them.”
“You’ve been thinking about relationship rules? That is so weird! How would you know if I’d even agree?”
I shrug, a gesture that catches her eye. “I didn’t, but I’m persuasive when I want something.”
Malena rolls her eyes and steps back into a stance that tells me she’s waiting for my almighty knowledge. “Go on. Hit me with it. What do you got?”
I’m able to formulate multiple plans in a short amount of time because of my chosen career path. It’s one of the skills that translates perfectly outside of work. I’m an expert decision maker. Malena makes me feel like I’m a little out of my league, but I’m going for it. “One,” I say. “We must use two forms of birth control.”
A slight pink rises to her cheeks at the unstated mention of sex.
She nods once, blinking rapidly. “Good one. I agree. Next.”
“You can never leave stuff at my place,” I say. My sisters. My family. I don’t want questions or have to give answers laced with lies.
She narrows her eyes. “And you can’t leave stuff at my house. In the spirit of keeping things even.”
“Deal,” I reply. “Number three.” I shift to the side and have to remind myself to keep my hands to myself. “You can’t meet my family.”
Malena scoffs. “So, it’s not like a real, real relationship then?”
I shake my head. “That one was for you. I figured you don’t want strings attached, but there has to be some commitment if we aren’t going to see other people at the same time, which we’re not. Meeting my family would be too…much.” Will she accept this reasoning?
“Your sisters?” she jumps. Of course she’s heard about the dynamic duo. Of course. “Fine. I agree with that.”
Malena looks a little less enchanted with my rules and with me at the mention of number three. But I made a vow to myself that I wouldn’t get any woman entangled with my parents or sisters until I was sure it was going somewhere. God knows how long that will take to figure out.
