Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 543(@200wpm)___ 434(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
He loomed over her. “Do you care about me at all, Jayna?”
What kind of question was that? “Of course I do. I wouldn’t have slept with you if I didn’t care. And that’s why I’m apologizing. I was going to tell you about working with Paul. I wasn’t planning on hiding it. I thought it would be a fairly easy way to make some money, but I didn’t take into account how it would make us look to the town or your feelings about me being involved with your family. I misread some signals, and that’s my fault, not yours.”
“Your fault.” He said the words with no intonation, as though he couldn’t quite recognize them.
“Yes, mine.” She needed to make herself clear and maybe they could find their footing again, this time on even ground. “I should have asked for clarity about our relationship rather than assuming we felt the same way.”
His jaw went tight, a stubborn look coming into his eyes. “Didn’t you do the same thing with your ex? His behavior was your fault because you knew who he was. Is that what you’re saying?”
The last thing she wanted to do was talk about Todd. However, he had a point. “Not exactly, but it’s similar. I knew going into it that this would be a short-term relationship with you, and I made too much of it. I shouldn’t have been surprised by your reaction. We’re two consenting adults who don’t have any connections beyond sex and work. Your mother has made it plain to you that I’m not a right fit for your family. Not that any of that matters.”
“Because we’re only sleeping together and you’re going to leave as soon as possible.”
She felt pinned by his eyes even though he was feet away from her. She wasn’t about to admit to him that she’d lied. In the last few weeks, she hadn’t paid much attention to her job search. “I’m going to find a job, Quaid. I’ve always been planning on finding a job as soon as the ethics complaint is finished.”
“I happen to know that you’re going to receive an offer from the city,” Quaid replied.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” The idea of working for the city made her happier than she would have believed a month or two ago. The first thing she’d do would be to figure out a way to save the library from the clutches of Quaid’s client.
But she couldn’t take that job. She wasn’t going to stay in town and watch him find someone his mother approved of, watch him start a family, watch him be happy. She wanted him to be happy, but she couldn’t watch it.
“Because you think I want to please my mother?”
The problem was she knew he had trouble with his mother, but she also knew he’d promised his father he would take care of her. That wasn’t a promise Quaid would break lightly. “I think you’re devoted to your family.”
He nodded as though he’d expected the answer. “And I asked you to not represent my brother because I’m . . . what? I’m afraid to let you near him?”
This was starting to sound like he was questioning a witness. “What is going on, Quaid?”
“I’d like to understand what you’re thinking,” he admitted. “Since, according to you, this is all your fault.”
She put her hands on her hips, frustration welling because he was deliberately misunderstanding her. “I didn’t say that. I said I misunderstood a few things.”
He took a step toward her, head tilting down so he could look into her eyes. “So we don’t want any more misunderstandings. Why did I not want you to work for my brother?”
They’d gone over this, but he seemed to need to play this out like a case he was prosecuting. “Because you don’t want me near your family.”
“And why don’t I want you near my family?” he asked, moving in again.
Emotion welled because she didn’t want to go over this. There was so much tension between them, and it was time to ratchet it down. He needed to understand that she wasn’t going to make trouble for him. “Quaid, you’re making a big deal out of something that’s not. It’s okay. We’re not in a serious relationship. It’s normal that you wouldn’t want a casual fling to get tied up in your family’s business.”
“You are involved in a casual fling, Ms. Cardet,” he said, his voice going deep. “I am not, and that’s where you went very wrong.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He moved closer to her, and this time she backed up because she could sense the well of emotion in him. “It means that you were right about you misunderstanding the situation but wrong about who was serious and who was not. I’ve been serious about you since the day you walked into my office. You—I’m starting to believe—viewed me as an opportunity.”