She nods. “Well, shit. I really thought you two would be good for each other. Her ex fucked her up so good I feel like she’s losthope for men and doesn’t know how to open up anymore.”
“Sounds like it,” I admit, running a hand through my hair. “She’s trying to rebuild her life, start a new career, and find her footing in a new town. I get it—I respect it. But I’ve been divorced for ten years now. I’m not sitting in that season of betrayal and heart break anymore. I haven’t been for years. Maybe she needs to let the dust settle a bit before jumping into anything. Find someone to let her walls down with.”
“Do you really believe that?”
I shrug. “Maybe. I think it’ll take a patient man to get through to her, though.”
“Well, all she was looking for was a quick hookup anyway,” she whispers under her breath.
I groan, gripping the back of my neck because yeah, I understand how she’s feeling. It’s beenso damn longfor me too. My hands deserve a medal at this point, considering how overworked they’ve been every night in the shower when I finally drag my ass home.
A whole year since I’ve been inside a woman, and the thought of a no-strings-attached hookup sounds relieving. But that’s not something Alessia’s ready for. She’s not ready to let her guard down enough. And I sure as hell don’t have the time to prove to her that I could be the guy to help her with that. She needs someone with the energy and patience for that. A one-night stand sounds nice on paper, but there’s feelings and emotions involved, especially for women. I would know, I’ve raised two of them.
“You don’t even have time for a one-night stand?” Natasha asks, wiggling her brows like the troublemaker she is.
“Why do you suddenly care so much about my sex life? I’ve been single for ten years and you’ve never tried to set me up with any of your friends before.”
Her lips roll under her teeth. “Well, maybe because shearranged a meet up with her cousin as payment for me scheduling your blind date.”
“How’d that go?”
She smiles and crosses her legs.
I hold up a hand to stop her. “Never mind, don’t tell me. I don’t think she’d want to see me again anyway. I’m telling you, the entire dinner she looked like I was holding her hostage.”
“Well, she might not have a choice.”
“What?”
Her grin is pure mischief as we hear the front door of her home downstairs open and then close.
“Oh, look who’s here—my roommate,” she says, barely suppressing a laugh.
“Natasha? Is that you?” A familiar voice calls from downstairs, drifting up the steps. The last time I heard that voice, it was telling me to basically fuck off and that she was more than capable to walk home in the dark, icy cold by herself because she didn’t want to be anywhere around me. But now, it sounds like butter and silk.
The bathroom door opens, and there’s Alessia, staring at me like I’m some goddamn burglar here to rip out the shitty wiring in her bathroom and sell it illegally for a premium.
Her lips part in surprise. “Um... W-what is your cousin doing in my bathroom?”
“Surprise,” I say, flashing a smile and waving a flashlight. She doesn’t return the smile, but she does look less tense. God, she’s stunning. She’s in this navy-blue dress skirt with a matching blouse dotted with little flowers. Total kindergarten teacher vibes. Her hair’s pulled up in some half-up, half-down thing, and she’s wearing heels that make her legs look impossibly long. Calves so toned that my brain instantly flashes to her wrapping them around my head while I’m between her legs.
I wonder if she’d crush me. I wonder if she’d squeeze them together to keep me right where she wants me to stay. I need to stop staring at her, but I can’t look away. Natasha was right, it has been a very long time since I’ve had sex.
Her smile says she’s caught me checking her out. I stare even harder. We might not be compatible, but I think our sexual energy is.
“I hired Gabriel to fix up the house,” Natasha pipes up, entirely too pleased with herself.
“You…” Alessia exhales sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Of course you did. He works in construction. He’s your cousin. I bet he’s giving you a great deal, too.”
“He lives three doors down,” Natasha adds, completely ignoring the obvious tension that’s now between us.
Alessia’s eyes snap to mine, narrowing further. “Youlivethree doorsdown?”
I raise my hands, palms up. “If you’d have let me walk you home Friday night like I wanted to, I would have told you that when we passed my place.”
Natasha looks between us, grinning like she’s orchestrated the world’s most chaotic meet-cute when really, this is the third time that we’ve met now.
“So,” she chirps, her voice sing-songy, “game night at Rhiannon’s tonight? You’re going to be there, right Gabe?”
