And suddenly she knew she couldn’t let any of that go.She couldn’t lethimgo.No matter how afraid she was.
“Look,” he said.He tapped his fingers on his knees as if he were nervous.But Knox Turner would never be nervous.“I’d planned on apologizing for kissing you in front of everyone.But that would be a lie.Seeing that guy hurt you scared the crap out of me.I thought he was going for you, that he wouldn’t stop, that he might even punch you.I lost all rational thought that would have told me not to touch you.Maybe I shouldn’t have done it.But I’m still not sorry I did.”He put his hand to his beautiful chest, his shirt white against his tanned skin.“I needed to touch you, taste you, hold you so that I’d know you were okay.”
All the tension in her chest finally eased.She’d thought her talk with Holt had squeezed it out of her, but only Knox truly made it go away.“I thought it would jeopardize my job,” she admitted.“That it might even upset my relationship with my daughters.”
He cocked his head.“And did it?”
She shook her head, then dug another hole, plopped in a flower, tamped the earth down around it as she talked.“You’re right.No one cares.”She shrugged, resting the trowel on her thigh.“I’ve been thinking this whole weekend.About you and me.Even the girls talked to me about you.”All right, they were hergirls.They could both be fifty years old and they’d still be hergirls.
But even now, after talking to Holt in his office, after Ruby egged her on, after everything the girls and Lee had said, it was still hard to express what she wanted.But she needed to say it.She needed to be strong.She needed to go for it.Because what they had was too good to give up without a fight.“I want a relationship with you.”
There, she’d said it, and the sky hadn’t fallen and lightning had struck her.
Leaning forward, elbows on his knees, his gaze roved over her.“We’re already in a relationship.”
She agreed.“I know.But I thought you’d want to hear the words.”
“Yeah, I want the words.”He laughed softly.“I was actually going to get down on my knees and beg you.But the tile is all covered in dirt.”
Her face ached with the brilliance of her smile.“I’d have thought you’d love rolling around in the dirt and letting it all go.”
He grinned.“You ain’t seen nothing yet, baby.I’ve got so many adventures planned for you.”
But before he could rise out of the chair and sweep her into the house to follow up on his plans, she said, “We need a few ground rules.”
The humor washed off his face, and he put a hand to his forehead like a swooning maiden.“What kind of rules now?”
She shrugged.“Just regular stuff.”
“Like what?”His voice was suddenly harsh, his eyes narrowed.
Maybe she should have waited until after the sex to tell him the rules.But she’d started, and she needed to get it out of the way.Then she could mollify him by taking him in her mouth.“You know, just stuff like how we won’t live in each other’s pockets.I do my thing when I want, and you do your thing.”
“Mything?”There was definitely an edge to his words now.“What does that mean?Like I go fuck whoever I want and you go fuck whoever you want?”
She shook her head.“That’s not what I mean it all.We need to be exclusive.”
He released the fist he’d curled his hand into.“All right.We’re exclusive.But if you want to go on a spa weekend with the girls or I want to play golf with Court, neither of us needs to ask permission.Right?”
She smiled.“That’s it exactly.”He was getting it.
“All right, I can handle thatrule.”But there was still a harsh emphasis on the word.“What else?”
“Just things like our work.If I say I have to work late, then that’s what I have to do.Same goes for you.We don’t question each other about those responsibilities.”
“I’m down with that.”But his eyes were shuttered, and she couldn’t read him.
“We shouldn’t actually live together or anything like that.You should have your space and I should have mine.We shouldn’t have to report to each other on everything we do.That’s what I’m saying.”
He nodded tentatively.“All right, we each have our own space, and we don’t report to each other.”
His flat tone got under her skin.She was just being reasonable, so they both understood.And she had to go on.“And I don’t want you to pick out the clothes I wear.”
“Pick out your clothes?”His face screwed up in disbelief.“Why would I do that?You’re already a gorgeous dresser.”
She shrugged.“I don’t know.Like if I wear a blouse you thought was too revealing, you don’t get to say I need to change it.”
Hands hanging between his knees, he lasered her with a look.“As I recall, I was the one who suggested you wear that revealing tank top for a walk in the park.And to the best of my knowledge, I’ve never dictated what you wear.”
