Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 116031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 580(@200wpm)___ 464(@250wpm)___ 387(@300wpm)
“I’m not free. I never will be again. You saw the paparazzi at the clerk’s office.”
With a soft laugh, she pats me on the chest. “Free from me, silly.” She turns to walk away, but I catch her by the wrist.
“With you is the freest I’ve felt in years.” Our eyes are latched, her browns to my blues. The long hair hanging over her shoulders doesn’t hide the rise and fall of her chest from heavier breaths.
She licks her lips, captivating me to watch the sexiest of gestures. She doesn’t even have to try, and I’m mesmerized by her. “Shane—” Her gaze drops to the phone on the counter, the vibration making it buzz. Her expression falls as disillusionment settles in. I’ve seen that face enough to recognize it. Pulling her wrist away, she exhales an exhaustive breath. “I have a long drive.”
“What just happened?”
“Nothing.” She walks around the counter and grabs the bottle of water she started before the wine. “Nothing at all.”
The phone buzzes again. This time, I glance down at it to find a screen full of messages. Fuck.
“You should get it. It must be important for Teri with an I to send so many texts.”
Teri was insistent that I spelled her name with an I on the end the first time we met. It became a running joke all two times we’ve hooked up. “It’s not important.”
Her eyebrows rise as if she thought I’d say something else. She grabs her keys off the coffee table, then levels me with a look. “That makes it worse.”
She starts for the door before I catch up—with her meaning and her steps. “What’s worse?”
“She was worth your time when you were sleeping with her but not after. I feel sorry for Teri with an I.”
I stop at the entrance to the hallway and lean against the wall. “I’m not chasing you, Cat.”
“Thank God.”
“I won’t apologize for how I live my life either.”
She turns back. “No one says you need to, but you should be honest with her.”
“With her . . . or you? I told you I don’t do relationships. She knew that when we met, so I’d say that’s pretty fucking honest.”
Flipping her hair over her right shoulder as if the language is too crass, she looks down at the floor between us. I bet if she had pearls, she’d be clutching them.
As if those texts didn’t already cause enough damage, my phone buzzes on the counter where I left it.
I exhale my frustration with the damn phone adding to my issues and justifying myself to Cat like I need to. I don’t. “I can’t control the text messages I get from other women.”
She looks up with a mission in her eyes. “No one says you need to, but you should be honest with her.”
“It’s my business, babe.”
“So you can bring up my sex life whenever it suits you, but yours is off-limits? Got it, babe.”
“Whose sex life are we talking about again? I was only aware of one.”
Red seeps up her neck and strikes her cheeks. “Screw you, Shane.”
“Watch your language, sweetheart.”
She tugs the door open with enough force to damage the sheetrock, but she doesn’t release it. She stands there with her back to me, her hand holding the handle like she needs the support. “Why did you have to ruin it?” she asks, her voice much quieter.
“It’s what I do.”
Nodding slowly, she walks forward, closing the door behind her.
I stand in the wake of her disappointment, left alone in my righteous indignation. Closing my eyes, I condemn every thought I have telling me to go after her. Nothing good will come of it. I’ll disappoint her now or hurt her later. Cat doesn’t deserve either.
Fuck it.
I tug open the door, ready to chase her down the driveway like I said I wouldn’t. “Whoa!” I catch myself before tripping over her sitting on the top step. “Fuck, give a guy a heart attack, why don’t you. You almost got trampled.” She glances up as I walk down the other two steps and turn to face her. “What are you doing?”
“Beating myself up.” She looks at me. “I have no right to judge you.” Standing, she adds, “To the world, even to you before a few days ago, you were single.”
I probably shouldn’t smile, but her staking claim over me because of some error is adorable. I knowingly acknowledge that’s typically the last thing I want a girl to do to me. Again, Cat is different. Not sure why, but I’d like to find out. “So you don’t consider yourself single?”
The question has her searching our surroundings for an answer, but she won’t find it there. Just like I didn’t. “I haven’t thought about it, but I guess I am. A technicality doesn’t change anything.”
“Except in the state’s view,” I add.