“I’m not doing anything illegal. I’m managing a very successful bar. I’m smart as we know.”
“True. I should have told my mother that you went to Columbia. That might have shut her up.”
“You don’t need to defend me. I’ve heard a lot worse in my life.”
“I know. But it’s still not nice and I hate even saying it.”
He put his hand on hers. “But it got you thinking, right?”
“Yeah. A little. But your money is yours. That’s your business. As long as you aren’t doing anything illegal, I don’t care. It’s not for me to know.”
He closed his eyes.
She was right with everything she said.
It wasn’t her business.
They hadn’t been together long enough for him to explain any of that.
For years he didn’t want anyone to know who he was so he was looked at as having that kind of wealth.
For being lumped into the same greedy category as the rest of his family.
For being a puppet when he was his own man.
“I’m smart with money and investments. I’ve taken some risks that have paid off.”
“See. That’s a simple explanation and makes so much more sense. I guess I had no reason to let it eat me up this afternoon.”
“Don’t do that.” He stood up and put his hand out. “Just ask me. I’ll be honest.”
It’s not like he feared she was going to ask if he was heir to an almost billion dollar fortune. As if she were going to put Dean Easton with Dr. D.T. Easton.
That was reaching.
“And I did. Are you asking me to go to bed now?”
“I am,” he said.
“I’m not tired,” she said, her finger poking him in the side.
“Neither am I, but I can tire us both out if you want.”
“I expect you to.”
The minute his door was shut, he yanked her into his arms, his mouth crushing hers.
They never went slow.
It felt as if every minute they had alone had to be rushed. As if they had to get to the end before something changed.
But he’d told himself that something changed for him weeks ago.
Maybe the first day he saw her. Then she came back. And came back again.
He almost messed up and wouldn’t do that a second time.
Neither of them deserved that.
