“Yeah, fat lot of good money does you when it comes to relationships.”
“Relationships are hard with or without money. We didn’t have money growing up and Mom and Dad fought all the time about it. Especially after he left. He wasn’t happy he still had to give her money to support us.”
“Oh.” I had no idea he was raised by a single mother. “It must have been tough.”
“Got tougher when she got sick and Carter had to take care of all of us.”
My chest tightens. With sadness for a woman I don’t know and the boys she tried to raise, and guilt. I never went without. I still don’t. I might not be super close to my parents, but they’re there and support me.
“I’m sorry.”
There is so much I don’t know about the Boyd men. In spite of getting closer with Olivia since she started dating Carter, we haven’t spoken about him or his brothers deeper than the superficial level.
I can’t deny the urge to ask more about Garrett’s past. Except we agreed on one night. No strings. And this conversation feels like more strings than a shop full of yarn.
And because I want to dive deeper into what made this man the way he is, I push away from him. Sitting up, I turn away to hide my naked chest. But mainly I look away because I can’t face him and say what I need to say.
“I should get going. I’ve got a meeting at eight.” I don’t wait for him to comment. I get out of bed and go in search of my clothes. The sooner I get away from Garrett and the emotions flooding my chest, the better.
If I stay any longer, I’m afraid I won’t want to leave at all, and that’s not what this is. I might have been out of the dating game for years but after months of walking that battlefield, I know what men want nowadays.
Garrett already got it. And more. I’m sure the last thing he wants is a middle-aged woman clinging desperately to him.
“I’ll call a ride and wait downstairs. I’m sure you’ve got things to do.”
10
GARRETT
Something changed back upstairs in my bed. And before I could determine what, Lexi was dressed and heading out my door. I don’t think I’ve pulled my clothes on so fast in my life. It’s a good thing I don’t mind going commando because there was no way I was hunting up underwear.
Now I’m standing on the sidewalk next to Lexi waiting for her ride to arrive because no matter how much I argue, she wouldn’t let me drive her home.
Does she not want me to know where she lives?
If I really thought that was the problem, I wouldn’t be as panicked as I am. No, knowing her address isn’t the issue.
I’ve tried to determine what happened by rerunning every second of our night together but devoid of sleep, my brain just isn’t getting there. And every time I open my mouth to ask her what’s wrong, she finds something to say and talks right over the top of me. As much as I want to know all about her, I don’t want to know minute details of what she has on her plate at work this week.
I think she’s finding excuses to avoid seeing me again. Reminding me how busy she is and how important she is atExclusively Yours, the company she part owns with Livi. I think it’s a subtle hint that we aren’t more than a night tangled in the sheets.
But fuck that shit. I’m not pretending there wasn’t a significant shift in my anatomy—in my soul—each time I sank my cock inside her. She can hide from it, I’ll let her. For now.
I’ll give her today. One day. That’s all she gets before I’m in her face reminding her who I am and that she felt the connection I did last night.
It’s hard to believe that before last night I was fine to let the memory of this woman torment me and not do anything about it. Except now I have more than a quick glimpse of her etched on my memory banks. I’ve got hours of touching, kissing, tasting, fucking, and every second of it is engraved deep in my bones.
No. There is no way things between us end on the sidewalk outside my house.
I just need a plan, a strategy, a course of action to dig myself deeper under her skin. I’m there, but right now she’s running scared, and nothing anyone says, not even Lexi can convince me she’s doing anything else.
She wants me as much as I want her. The evidence of that was in the way she jerked forward when I placed my hand on her lower back as we exited the building behind us, the way her cheeks flush every time she glances at me. The way her body tightens, her nipples in particular, as I move into her personal space.
Yeah, I’m under her skin. Now I just have to burrow deeper, sink into her bones like she has mine, and I’m not delusional enough to think that will happen overnight.
“I’ll take a look at the Jag today and let you know what I find.”
“Oh, right. Okay.” She stumbles over her words, her gaze flicking up to meet mine briefly. “Thanks.”
