idea of soul mates is not ridiculous. My grandmother—”
“Is a very sweet lady, but a little off her rocker. Was she serious? Or is this some whacked-out game she plays to get new clients?” Ouch. I didn’t mean that. Not really.
Scot’s eyes iced over. “My grandmother is far from delusional.”
“I didn’t say she was delusional. I
like
her. But you can’t tell me that you agree with her. You made that quite clear this morning.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Unless you’ve changed your mind? Is that why you’re here?”
His jaw hardened, so much I probably could’ve cracked an egg against it. “I am not here because I believe you are my soul mate.” He laughed again, but the sound held no mirth. “In fact, I’d be willing to bet that there isn’t a man alive who’s right for you.”
My chest constricted and I bit back shock. “What is your problem?”
“That’s the same question I asked myself when I found you cozying up to my grandmother this morning.” Scot narrowed his gaze. I felt the burn of it to the tips of my toes. “MaybeI was rude. I’ll give you that. And I probably do owe you an apology, but this”—he nodded toward the pizza—“wasn’t about that. I just needed you to hear me out.”
“And you thought the best way to do that was to come into my home and insult me?” To give him credit, he looked chagrined. But he remained quiet, so I said, “You’d actually bet money that there isn’t a man anywhere in this world who is right for me? Wow, Scot, I had no idea you knew me so well.”
“I know enough.”
A host of stupid, messy, nonsensical emotions swarmed me. It was a first, and I reacted completely on instinct. I lunged forward, grabbed his arm and tugged with every ounce of strength in my five-foot-five, one-hundred-and-twenty-and-a-half-pound frame. His six feet plus of who-knows-how-many pounds didn’t budge.
That didn’t stop me from tugging harder. “Get out. This conversation is over.”
His free hand clasped my wrist, the touch of his fingers searing my skin, sending a jolt of electricity through me. With one quick yank, I toppled over, and just that fast I was in his lap. His arms closed in, capturing me.
“We can sit like this and talk or you can go back to your chair. I haven’t said what I came to say, and I’m not leaving until we’re finished.” Hot breath tickled my cheek. His scent, woodsy and warm, assailed my senses. “Your choice, Julia.”
“Let go of me,” I said, my voice strangled. “You are in
my
home. I call the shots here.” Okay, it was rather a ridiculous statement when I couldn’t even move, but that didn’t make my point less valid. Still, he didn’t so much as twitch, just continued to hold me tight.
A sob crawled into my throat, but I choked it down. “You said I was the last woman you’d want to date. Really? The
last
woman?”
Something about the tone of my voice must have gotten to him, because he dropped his arms. I nearly vaulted over the coffee table to escape. Right at that minute, I wished I knew karate or jujitsu or some other type of dangerous but cool-looking martial art. I’d send a flying kick his way so fast he wouldn’t see it coming. Just to get his body closer to the door, mind you. Not because my feelings were so awfully hurt.
“You don’t like me. I get that,” I said. “But I don’t get why. Why, Scot?” Maybe if I understood that part of the equation, everything else would slide into focus.
He ran his hands over his eyes, his face incredibly drawn. “Leslie, for one,” he admitted. “But I’m not here to go into that.”
“What does Leslie have to do with this? I mean, she didn’t cheat on you with me. I was an innocent bystander.” Oh. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the whole cheating thing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He didn’t seem to hear. “Innocent? You preached to her constantly about the unreliability of feelings. That her feelings for
“Is a very sweet lady, but a little off her rocker. Was she serious? Or is this some whacked-out game she plays to get new clients?” Ouch. I didn’t mean that. Not really.
Scot’s eyes iced over. “My grandmother is far from delusional.”
“I didn’t say she was delusional. I
like
her. But you can’t tell me that you agree with her. You made that quite clear this morning.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Unless you’ve changed your mind? Is that why you’re here?”
His jaw hardened, so much I probably could’ve cracked an egg against it. “I am not here because I believe you are my soul mate.” He laughed again, but the sound held no mirth. “In fact, I’d be willing to bet that there isn’t a man alive who’s right for you.”
My chest constricted and I bit back shock. “What is your problem?”
“That’s the same question I asked myself when I found you cozying up to my grandmother this morning.” Scot narrowed his gaze. I felt the burn of it to the tips of my toes. “MaybeI was rude. I’ll give you that. And I probably do owe you an apology, but this”—he nodded toward the pizza—“wasn’t about that. I just needed you to hear me out.”
“And you thought the best way to do that was to come into my home and insult me?” To give him credit, he looked chagrined. But he remained quiet, so I said, “You’d actually bet money that there isn’t a man anywhere in this world who is right for me? Wow, Scot, I had no idea you knew me so well.”
“I know enough.”
A host of stupid, messy, nonsensical emotions swarmed me. It was a first, and I reacted completely on instinct. I lunged forward, grabbed his arm and tugged with every ounce of strength in my five-foot-five, one-hundred-and-twenty-and-a-half-pound frame. His six feet plus of who-knows-how-many pounds didn’t budge.
That didn’t stop me from tugging harder. “Get out. This conversation is over.”
His free hand clasped my wrist, the touch of his fingers searing my skin, sending a jolt of electricity through me. With one quick yank, I toppled over, and just that fast I was in his lap. His arms closed in, capturing me.
“We can sit like this and talk or you can go back to your chair. I haven’t said what I came to say, and I’m not leaving until we’re finished.” Hot breath tickled my cheek. His scent, woodsy and warm, assailed my senses. “Your choice, Julia.”
“Let go of me,” I said, my voice strangled. “You are in
my
home. I call the shots here.” Okay, it was rather a ridiculous statement when I couldn’t even move, but that didn’t make my point less valid. Still, he didn’t so much as twitch, just continued to hold me tight.
A sob crawled into my throat, but I choked it down. “You said I was the last woman you’d want to date. Really? The
last
woman?”
Something about the tone of my voice must have gotten to him, because he dropped his arms. I nearly vaulted over the coffee table to escape. Right at that minute, I wished I knew karate or jujitsu or some other type of dangerous but cool-looking martial art. I’d send a flying kick his way so fast he wouldn’t see it coming. Just to get his body closer to the door, mind you. Not because my feelings were so awfully hurt.
“You don’t like me. I get that,” I said. “But I don’t get why. Why, Scot?” Maybe if I understood that part of the equation, everything else would slide into focus.
He ran his hands over his eyes, his face incredibly drawn. “Leslie, for one,” he admitted. “But I’m not here to go into that.”
“What does Leslie have to do with this? I mean, she didn’t cheat on you with me. I was an innocent bystander.” Oh. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the whole cheating thing. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He didn’t seem to hear. “Innocent? You preached to her constantly about the unreliability of feelings. That her feelings for
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