then stares at me all wide-eyed. “I decided to take a walk on the beach earlier.”
“And?”
“He joined me on the pier.”
My core temperature jumps a few degrees. “He followed you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“It started off innocent enough…”
I smack the table.
“He invited me to his party and I met his friends. I drank half a glass of Champagne and told him good night. That’s when he asked me out.”
I appreciate her candor, but in my experience, women are too nice, especially to men like Bishop. He uses his bedside manner on unsuspecting girls all the time. I’ve witnessed it firsthand. Hell, he tried to get in Julia’s panties a few times. “Did you turn him down?”
“Listen, Camden.” She pokes me in the chest. “I’m not Julia.”
I close my eyes, collecting my thoughts. “Think I don’t know that?” I open my eyes.
“Maybe we rushed into this without thinking clearly, Joshua. You’re suspicious, I’m skeptical. Where does that leave us?”
I won’t let her use our negative experiences in our past relationships as an excuse to give up on us before we’ve even had a chance to start. “On equal ground,” I say. “Wesley and Julia cheated. I’m over her, darlin’.” I grab her hand. “I’d say you and I have more moral clarity than the average person after what we’ve been through. For me, that translates into hope. And I’m pretty confident I don’t have to worry about you sneaking around behind my back because you don’t agree with my choices of where to live and work. How’s that for putting a positive spin on things?”
She’s appraising me. “Pretty slick, Ivy League.”
Yeah—if we’re talking about neglected body parts. I quickly banish that thought from my mind. She wants to talk this out. I’ll try. “Just being honest, Macey.”
“I’ll never cheat,” she assures me. “And if my mind starts to wander, I promise to let you know up front. No games.”
“Are you making a commitment?”
She curls her fingers under her chin. “Sure sounded like it.”
I don’t know how to explain the intensity of my feelings without scaring her. Making love with her triggered something inside me. I can’t put it into words yet. “Hold on.” I walk to the front door, open it, and scoop the obliterated blooms off the welcome mat. When I turn around, she busts out laughing.
“Look what you did to my babies.”
“Where’d you get them?”
“I made a quick trip to the greenhouse on my property.”
“You’re a florist?”
“No,” she giggles. “The gardener raises some exotic species. I have no use for the greenhouse and he does such a wonderful job with my landscaping, it seemed like a perfect arrangement. Whenever I want a bouquet, I take what I want.”
I look down at my flowers. One appears to have survived my angry shoe. “Shall we give the little guy a second chance?” I point to the kitchen. “Second cabinet on the left side of the sink. I think my mother bought a couple of vases.”
She finds one and fills it with water. I carefully place the single orchid in the vase. “Thank you,” I say, grateful she’s so understanding. In fact, her consistently controlled manner leaves me in awe. And nervous. Is there some kind of crazy hiding inside her, or is this girl really too good to be true? Time will tell.
“You’re welcome.” She stands in front of me. “But there’s heavy penance to get in my good graces again.”
“Hail Marys or my checkbook?”
She slaps my arm. “That’s terrible, Camden.”
I smile.
“No sex,” she informs me. “I’ll stay the night, but all we can do is cuddle.”
A week into this and she’s already using sex as a weapon? “Think you can manipulate me with that little snatch?”
“Sure do.” She’s so fucking confident, and absolutely correct.
“On one condition.”
“What?” She plays along.
“If you’re here when I wake up, the deal is off.”
There’s an inscrutable
“And?”
“He joined me on the pier.”
My core temperature jumps a few degrees. “He followed you?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“It started off innocent enough…”
I smack the table.
“He invited me to his party and I met his friends. I drank half a glass of Champagne and told him good night. That’s when he asked me out.”
I appreciate her candor, but in my experience, women are too nice, especially to men like Bishop. He uses his bedside manner on unsuspecting girls all the time. I’ve witnessed it firsthand. Hell, he tried to get in Julia’s panties a few times. “Did you turn him down?”
“Listen, Camden.” She pokes me in the chest. “I’m not Julia.”
I close my eyes, collecting my thoughts. “Think I don’t know that?” I open my eyes.
“Maybe we rushed into this without thinking clearly, Joshua. You’re suspicious, I’m skeptical. Where does that leave us?”
I won’t let her use our negative experiences in our past relationships as an excuse to give up on us before we’ve even had a chance to start. “On equal ground,” I say. “Wesley and Julia cheated. I’m over her, darlin’.” I grab her hand. “I’d say you and I have more moral clarity than the average person after what we’ve been through. For me, that translates into hope. And I’m pretty confident I don’t have to worry about you sneaking around behind my back because you don’t agree with my choices of where to live and work. How’s that for putting a positive spin on things?”
She’s appraising me. “Pretty slick, Ivy League.”
Yeah—if we’re talking about neglected body parts. I quickly banish that thought from my mind. She wants to talk this out. I’ll try. “Just being honest, Macey.”
“I’ll never cheat,” she assures me. “And if my mind starts to wander, I promise to let you know up front. No games.”
“Are you making a commitment?”
She curls her fingers under her chin. “Sure sounded like it.”
I don’t know how to explain the intensity of my feelings without scaring her. Making love with her triggered something inside me. I can’t put it into words yet. “Hold on.” I walk to the front door, open it, and scoop the obliterated blooms off the welcome mat. When I turn around, she busts out laughing.
“Look what you did to my babies.”
“Where’d you get them?”
“I made a quick trip to the greenhouse on my property.”
“You’re a florist?”
“No,” she giggles. “The gardener raises some exotic species. I have no use for the greenhouse and he does such a wonderful job with my landscaping, it seemed like a perfect arrangement. Whenever I want a bouquet, I take what I want.”
I look down at my flowers. One appears to have survived my angry shoe. “Shall we give the little guy a second chance?” I point to the kitchen. “Second cabinet on the left side of the sink. I think my mother bought a couple of vases.”
She finds one and fills it with water. I carefully place the single orchid in the vase. “Thank you,” I say, grateful she’s so understanding. In fact, her consistently controlled manner leaves me in awe. And nervous. Is there some kind of crazy hiding inside her, or is this girl really too good to be true? Time will tell.
“You’re welcome.” She stands in front of me. “But there’s heavy penance to get in my good graces again.”
“Hail Marys or my checkbook?”
She slaps my arm. “That’s terrible, Camden.”
I smile.
“No sex,” she informs me. “I’ll stay the night, but all we can do is cuddle.”
A week into this and she’s already using sex as a weapon? “Think you can manipulate me with that little snatch?”
“Sure do.” She’s so fucking confident, and absolutely correct.
“On one condition.”
“What?” She plays along.
“If you’re here when I wake up, the deal is off.”
There’s an inscrutable
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