stick around to get to know Dad?”
“As long as it took.”
“So why won’t you give Chantal the same courtesy?”
Zane couldn’t tell Wyatt the truth: that he was terrified he wouldn’t be able to leave if he fell any harder for her. Wanting more than a fleeting fuck and actually committing to a relationship were poles apart. He’d wanted to change his ways, to leave the shallowness of the past behind. But sticking around for Chantal would thrust him headfirst into a place he wasn’t sure he was ready to be. A place where he may need to choose between his home and his heart.
“Your expression says it all.” Wyatt puckered up and made exaggerated smooching sounds. “You’ve got it bad, bro.”
When Zane didn’t react to the teasing, Wyatt stopped. “If you stick around, make sure it’s for you. Not because of some half-assed idea you have that Christopher will come to his senses and want to play happy families.” Wyatt tapped his chest. “I gave up trying to get his attention years ago. And it’s not worth sacrificing yourself for the sake of family. But a woman like Chantal?” He whistled low. “Doesn’t come along very often, and if she’s half as into you as you’re into her, you owe it to yourself to give it a go.”
Touched by Wyatt’s advice, Zane reached across the table and slugged him on the arm. “Thanks, mate. Should’ve known a geek would be in touch with his feminine side.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes. “I deal in facts so it’s all about probabilities. You and Chantal making a go of it? A no brainer.”
Wyatt was right. He had it bad for Chantal.
Question was, what the hell was he going to do about it?
CHAPTER TWELVE
“What’s the deal with the computer hottie?” Ashlin hooked her ankle on the workout bar and stretched her hamstring, peering up at Chantal from where her head touched her knee.
Chantal would kill for flexibility like that. Even in her dancing days, she’d never had the kind of natural movement that Ashlin had.
“Wyatt? He’s a good guy. And from what I saw when you two met, he’s definitely into you.”
Ashlin stretched her other leg. “Single?”
“Do I look like a freaking dating site?”
Ashlin winced and straightened. “Ouch. PMS, much?”
Chantal eased out of her triceps stretch. “Sorry.”
“What’s up?” Ashlin picked up their water bottles and handed one to Chantal. “You were holed up in your office all afternoon after getting back from LA yesterday. You missed Miranda’s dawn yoga session and you’ve been hiding away all day ‘til now.”
“Busy catching up on work I missed while in LA.”
The lie slid easily from Chantal’s lips. Because if she voiced the truth, she’d end up a sniveling mess on the workout mats beneath their feet.
“Work, right.”
Damn, Ashlin saw right through her.
“I haven’t seen that hot Aussie around?” Ashlin lowered her voice. “Did you two hook up in LA? And if so, I want deets.”
Chantal sighed and sank onto the nearest bench. Maybe talking to Ashlin would be a good thing. Help her clarify. Reinforce she’d done the right thing. And start the arduous process of forgetting.
It had been impossible so far. On the flight home, she’d tried reading, watching a movie on her tablet, even Miranda’s foolproof meditation. Nothing had worked.
So she’d thrown herself into work all afternoon and well into last night, before downing half a bottle of wine at home in the hope of falling into an alcohol-induced coma.
Instead, she’d spent the night alternating between tossing, turning, shoving the pillow over her head and staring at the ceiling. Because every time she closed her eyes she saw Zane: touching her, caressing her, licking her…the intensity of his expression the second before he came, the mischief in his eyes when he wanted to start up all over again…
She couldn’t get him out of her mind.
Even a grueling Pilates session had done little to eradicate him
“As long as it took.”
“So why won’t you give Chantal the same courtesy?”
Zane couldn’t tell Wyatt the truth: that he was terrified he wouldn’t be able to leave if he fell any harder for her. Wanting more than a fleeting fuck and actually committing to a relationship were poles apart. He’d wanted to change his ways, to leave the shallowness of the past behind. But sticking around for Chantal would thrust him headfirst into a place he wasn’t sure he was ready to be. A place where he may need to choose between his home and his heart.
“Your expression says it all.” Wyatt puckered up and made exaggerated smooching sounds. “You’ve got it bad, bro.”
When Zane didn’t react to the teasing, Wyatt stopped. “If you stick around, make sure it’s for you. Not because of some half-assed idea you have that Christopher will come to his senses and want to play happy families.” Wyatt tapped his chest. “I gave up trying to get his attention years ago. And it’s not worth sacrificing yourself for the sake of family. But a woman like Chantal?” He whistled low. “Doesn’t come along very often, and if she’s half as into you as you’re into her, you owe it to yourself to give it a go.”
Touched by Wyatt’s advice, Zane reached across the table and slugged him on the arm. “Thanks, mate. Should’ve known a geek would be in touch with his feminine side.”
Wyatt rolled his eyes. “I deal in facts so it’s all about probabilities. You and Chantal making a go of it? A no brainer.”
Wyatt was right. He had it bad for Chantal.
Question was, what the hell was he going to do about it?
CHAPTER TWELVE
“What’s the deal with the computer hottie?” Ashlin hooked her ankle on the workout bar and stretched her hamstring, peering up at Chantal from where her head touched her knee.
Chantal would kill for flexibility like that. Even in her dancing days, she’d never had the kind of natural movement that Ashlin had.
“Wyatt? He’s a good guy. And from what I saw when you two met, he’s definitely into you.”
Ashlin stretched her other leg. “Single?”
“Do I look like a freaking dating site?”
Ashlin winced and straightened. “Ouch. PMS, much?”
Chantal eased out of her triceps stretch. “Sorry.”
“What’s up?” Ashlin picked up their water bottles and handed one to Chantal. “You were holed up in your office all afternoon after getting back from LA yesterday. You missed Miranda’s dawn yoga session and you’ve been hiding away all day ‘til now.”
“Busy catching up on work I missed while in LA.”
The lie slid easily from Chantal’s lips. Because if she voiced the truth, she’d end up a sniveling mess on the workout mats beneath their feet.
“Work, right.”
Damn, Ashlin saw right through her.
“I haven’t seen that hot Aussie around?” Ashlin lowered her voice. “Did you two hook up in LA? And if so, I want deets.”
Chantal sighed and sank onto the nearest bench. Maybe talking to Ashlin would be a good thing. Help her clarify. Reinforce she’d done the right thing. And start the arduous process of forgetting.
It had been impossible so far. On the flight home, she’d tried reading, watching a movie on her tablet, even Miranda’s foolproof meditation. Nothing had worked.
So she’d thrown herself into work all afternoon and well into last night, before downing half a bottle of wine at home in the hope of falling into an alcohol-induced coma.
Instead, she’d spent the night alternating between tossing, turning, shoving the pillow over her head and staring at the ceiling. Because every time she closed her eyes she saw Zane: touching her, caressing her, licking her…the intensity of his expression the second before he came, the mischief in his eyes when he wanted to start up all over again…
She couldn’t get him out of her mind.
Even a grueling Pilates session had done little to eradicate him
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