“You were sharing quite well this morning,” he states while side eyeing me.
“Mmm.”
There are a few beats of silence in which I start feeling more uncomfortable and wanting to explain myself. “And I have had a boyfriend. I don’t know why Harry is so sure I haven’t.”
He nods thoughtfully. “Did you ever tell Harry about a boyfriend?”
“No,” I snort. “He doesn’t want to hear about my love life.”
“Maybe that’s why he was unsure you’ve ever had a relationship. How is he supposed to know if you don’t tell him?”
It’s too early and I am not caffeinated enough for logic, so I just stare at him.
“Okay, so tell me about the boyfriend.” He stares out the windscreen with a narrowed brow.
“Not much to tell. He was okay. Made his own cheese. Bit weird.”
“How did you avoid sharing a bed with him?”
“You’re getting very personal for nine o’clock in the morning.” I glare at him.
“We were a lot more personal at seven o’clock this morning.”
I roll my eyes. “I usually told him I had to work early or that I wasn’t feeling great. To be honest he wasn’t all that bothered.”
“Idiot.”
“Excuse me?”
“He’s an idiot. If I was with you, I’d definitely be bothered about not getting to share your bed.”
My eyes widen. “You mean any girl?”
It’s his turn to shrug. “Sure.”
“Well, I need my sleep and I would have thought I’d struggle to relax with another person in bed with me. Until last night, that is.”
He nods. “So, what happened then? With the boyfriend.”
I sigh, I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want him to think of all the reasons I’m not a suitable girlfriend even though he would never think of me that way. “He didn’t like some of the posts I put online.”
“The more risqué pictures, I’m guessing?”
I swallow hard, the skin at the back of my neck prickling. “You’ve seen them?”
His lip twitch before he schools his features. “A few.”
Oh God. Jake Partridge has seen me in my underwear. And he groped my butt in his sleep. Life is a crazy thing. “Right. Well, he didn’t like them and decided he didn’t want to continue our relationship.” When he says nothing, I feel like I need to keep talking. “I know some people might think it’s not appropriate, but I happen to like what I do so it’s really none of their business. You boys are all welcome to your opinions, and I know Harry thinks I’m one partner away from making porn—”
“Let’s be clear,” Jake raises his voice slightly to cut me off. “I amnotyour brother.”
Er, okay. What am I meant to say to that? “Good, else that arse groping would have beenreallyinappropriate.”
He grins so wide it looks salacious, and I can’t help but stare at his lips stretched over perfect, white teeth. “All I’m saying is, don’t assume I feel the same as H. I think it’s really cool what you do.”
“Thanks,” I whisper over a harsh exhale.
We’ve pulled up at the house and Jake gets out without another word. I take half a second to put my game face on, then follow him. But he doesn’t go to the front door; he rounds the hood to hold my door open. Once I’m safely out, he closes the car door and crowds me against it. Earth and time stand still and all I can hear is the roaring of blood in my ears as he leans closer to me. My gaze drops to those lips again, focussing on the way his dark beard frames them. I want so badly to run my fingers through it, to feel how coarse or soft it is, to feel the sharpness of his jawline beneath it. My tongue darts out to wet my parted lips and his eyes flick to track the movement.
