He nodded. “And then keeping quiet becomes a habit.”
God, how could he know me so well? “I didn’t even notice how many times I swallowed my words, until that thing at work.” At his raised eyebrow, I explained. “I didn’t say anything when I was blamed for something I didn’t do. I didn’t even fight it, and that’s what…”
“Prompted you to start this whole rejection thing?”
“Exposure therapy. So I’ll stop acting like a coward.”
He kept silent for a moment, then touched my elbow. “Or you could just stop mentally checking yourself. You’ve got plenty of fight in you, Ellie. You just have to stop fighting yourself first.”
Deep stuff. And also true. I leaned forward onto the steering wheel, dropping my elbows along the contours as I stared out at the traffic. “It’s not as easy as you think.”
“I think it’s damn hard. But look what happened when you took a risk with me.” He flashed me a charming smile.
“One evening of hot sex. And now we’re saddled with each other for months.”
His expression became sober. “You don’t have to, Ellie.”
“You’re doing this to protect my reputation, not yours. It’d be stupid for me to fight it.”
“I know it’s not easy.”
I stared at him. Another car zipped in front of me but I didn’t care. “Easy?” I echoed. “It’s the easiest thing in the world. I’m going to date a hot celebrity. For months.”
“But—”
“But nothing. I feel bad for you. No more models on your arm. No more—”
“Baseball babes are really boring.”
“Really? Is that why you had four of them in your hotel room in Miami?”
He winced. “Do not believe everything you read about me.”
“So you didn’t have four women in a sex party in—”
“The details don’t matter,” he interrupted, and I knew I’d scored a hit. Plus, his blush was really cute.
“It’s okay,” I said. I’d known from the beginning that he wasn’t a Boy Scout. Still, I couldn’t resist teasing him. “But if you ask me to put on a bikini and roll around in Jell-O—”
“Please say yes. Please.”
I felt my cheeks heat as I considered the possibility. If he asked, I might do it. I…might.
“Woohoo!” he cheered. “Now I know what I want for Christmas!”
“Christmas?” I gaped. “We’re staying together through the holidays?”
“If that’s my present, you bet we are.”
And then I laughed. Finally, a real laugh, light and happy. Because that’s what he did to me. And bonus, the traffic was starting to thin. I accelerated and settled into the drive, feeling more at ease than I had since first asking him out. He seemed to sense my change, because he relaxed, too. He sank into the seat, though a moment later, he was playing with the controls…which, in my old Camry, meant he tilted the seat back in a lurch.
“I’m sorry. This car wasn’t really meant for someone over six foot.”
“It’s fine,” he said, though I could tell he was hurting.
“What is it? Your ribs?”
“Yeah. But it’s not too bad.”
