The privacy fence he’d built kept his neighbors from peering into his in-ground pool. The covered patio that ran the length of the house had access from both his living room and his bedroom.
Derek studied Charlie’s face, wishing he could tell what she was thinking. He’d had the team over before to cookout and swim, but this was different. This was the first time Derek found himself giving a damn what someone else thought of his humble abode.
Charlie was also the first woman not connected to the team to step foot inside his home.
As a rule, Derek never brought a woman he was seeing to his house. At first, it was just a precaution. After what happened to Jake and Trevor’s women, the odds of danger following him or any other member of the team home seemed too great.
Then, there was the other thing. Derek couldn’t really put a name to it, but he could never bring himself to invite any of the women he’d been with home. Made things too personal, he supposed. Which was odd given that he had no problems gettingpersonalwith them anywhere else.
Wonder what Charlie would think about all the women you’ve been with.
A shot of guilt hit as he looked at the woman sitting beside him. He shouldn’t feel bad. It wasn’t like he and Charlie had ever dated or anything. Hell, she was married to someone else, for fuck’s sake.
Still, when he thought of all the women he’d slept with, Derek felt ashamed.
Somewhere deep down, he understood it was a symptom of something deeper. Something that settled inside him eleven years ago when the girl he thought he was falling in love with ran off and married another man.
Shaking it off, he got out of the car and pulled her bag from the back seat.
“It’s not much, but it’s mine.”
“It’s cute.”
His lips curved. “That’s exactly what I was goin’ for when I bought it.”
He was rewarded with another half-smile as she walked around the front of the car, but Derek found himself craving the way her eyes used to light up with laughter.
I’ll get you to laugh again, sweetheart.
After unlocking the door and disarming his state-of-the-art alarm system, he flipped the light switch on the wall next to him.
Charlie stood still, taking everything in.
Derek cleared his throat. “Like I said, it’s not much.”
“I like it. It’s very...comfortable.”
Before he could stop himself, Derek heard himself saying, “Well, I’m sure your place in New York is a hell of a lot nicer.”
As if a shade had suddenly been drawn, Charlie’s expression became void of all emotion.
“That place was a glorified prison.”
Way to go, asshole.“Shit, Charlie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I don’t want you feeling as though you have to walk on eggshells around me.”
“I don’t.”
A ghost of a smile hit her lips. “You still don’t lie very well.”
Derek snorted. “Yeah, I know. Never have been good at hiding my feelings. The guys are always givin’ me shit about it.”
The doorbell rang, making Charlie jump.
“Easy, darlin’.” Derek went to the door and checked the peephole. “It’s just Jake and Liv.” He disarmed the alarm system again and let his friends in. “Hey, guys. Thanks for comin’.”
“Of course.” Olivia rose to her tiptoes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
