Melissa: I could be persuaded.
Me: I’m outside your door.
I send the last message as I’m walking up her drive, and by the time I get to the door, Melissa’s opening it. She’s dressed in exercise clothes, capri-length yoga pants and a strappy blue sports bra, and her face is a little flushed. I must have interrupted a workout.
“Pretty confident of your welcome, huh Dr. Carlton?” she asks with a laugh.
“I’m an optimist,” I say with a shrug. “And I need to talk to you.” I don’t want her to think this is a booty call, and given the way she looks in those yoga pants, my body could use the reminder too.
“Okay.” She opens the door wider and leads me through to the living room. There’s a workout video paused on the TV and an exercise mat on the floor. “Your timing’s good,” she tells me, as she picks up the remote and turns off the TV. “That workout video’s impossible, there’s no way that girl can be human. Probably some sort of AI trickery.”
“Probably.”
She sits down on the couch, and I purposefully choose an armchair a safe distance away. This could easily turn into a booty call if I sit too close.
“So what did you want to talk about?” she asks.
I decide to jump right into it. “Melissa, I want us to be exclusive. I don’t want you to date anyone else.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen in surprise. “I wasn’t planning to.”
Some of the tension leaves my chest. “Good. I won’t either.”
“I mean, there was only Austin, but I think he understood?—”
“Oh, he understood.” If Austin hadn’t sensed therewas something serious between Melissa and me, he wouldn’t have given her up so easily.
“Uh huh.” The corner of Melissa’s mouth quirks up. “You looked like you wanted to knock him out last night.”
“I seriously considered it,” I say, and I’m only half joking. “I was jealous, okay?”
“Okay.” Her lips quirk higher. “Is that what you wanted to talk about?”
“Mostly, yeah. And I realized that last night was—well—pretty physical, and I didn’t want you to think that’s all I want. I want a relationship, Melissa.”
There’s a beat of silence before she replies.
“I’d like that, too, Luke,” she says carefully. “But I think we should take it slow.”
“Sure.” It’s not quite the answer I was hoping for, but I try not to let my disappointment show.
“We’re not the same people we were ten years ago,” she continues. “We can’t just pick up where we left off. Even though we’re still . . .” she pauses and blushes. “Still physically compatible, it doesn’t mean the rest of it will work.”
“It doesn’t mean it won’t.” She has a point, I guess, but it’s not one I like.
“That’s true,” Melissa says slowly. “But I have to think about Claire and Liam. They’ve had to deal with the divorce and the move, so I need to give them as much stability as I can. And I think Olivia will probably move in with Troy soon, if she hasn’t already, so they’ll have to process that too.”
“Okay,” I say with a nod. Damn Troy. I doubt he worried about the impact his new relationship would have on his kids.
She takes a deep breath. “And I don’t want the kids toget used to having you around if it’s not going to be a long-term thing.”
“I see this as a long-term thing, Milly,” I tell her. “But I get it. We’ll go slow.”
She nods, relieved. “We can start with the weekends Claire and Liam are in Toronto. And maybe you could come over during the week sometimes, after they’re asleep.”
“We’ll have to soundproof your bedroom,” I say with a grin. “Or they might not stay asleep.”
“I’m notthatloud,” she protests, a little indignant. “It was never an issue . . .”
