“Do you need to? Last night was fun. We both enjoyed it. You don’t need to stop loving Billy, or fall in love with me, for us to keep having fun together.”
Wouldn’t that amount to me using him for sex?
“I want to keep having fun with you, Flynn.”
“Like friends with benefits?”
“Yes. What do you want?”
“I don’t want to hurt you or Billy.”
“The only way you’ll hurt me is by not being honest with me.”
“And Billy?”
He shrugs. “Why does he need to find out? I’m not going to tell him.”
“Nor am I.”
“Besides, you’re divorced. What you do, who you see, and who you fuck, is none of his business anymore.”
“But you’re his brother. Histwin. You’re not some stranger I met in a bar.”
“We did meet in a bar,” he deadpans.
It’s hard not to laugh, but I manage it.
“Are you saying you don’t want this to happen again?” he asks.
Am I? I shake my head. “Ido, Jimmy. That’s theproblem. I wish things weren’t so messy. I wish youwerea stranger. But you’renot. You’re my ex-husband’s brother, and if we continue this, someone is going to get hurt.” And it could be Jimmy. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“What are you saying?”
I roll onto my back, flop my arms above my head, and stare at the ceiling. “I need some time to think and figure my thoughts out. Anything less would be unfair to you.”
“All right.”
I blink. “All right?”
“Yes. You need time to think. I’m good with that.”
“You are?”
“Yes. You promised me one night, nothing more. Now you’re telling me you might want more, but you need some time to be sure. Or am I misunderstanding?”
“You’re not.”
“Then I’m good with waiting.”
The air whooshes out of my lungs. “You are too good to be true.”
He sighs. “No, I’m not. I’m treating you how you deserve to be treated.”
I roll onto my side and cup his cheek. “And you deserve someone who can be with you without reservations. I want to be that person, but right now, I’m not.”
He puts his hand over mine. “I’m happy to wait until you are.”
I blink back tears. “What if I can’t be that person?”
