Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
The more I sifted through her clothing, the more I felt wrong about keeping anything that wasn’t rightfully mine. I didn’t want to inherit something from my aunt solely because she’d died. I decided the best course of action would be to give all the clothes and shoes to charity, rather than picking out certain things. The latter felt like greedy entitlement. It also felt easier to give it all away and not have to think about each item and the memories that would never be made.
I froze at the sound of footsteps.
Then came his voice from behind me. “Well, of all the places I imagined I’d find you tonight, this wasn’t on my list.”
Shit. I turned slowly. “How did you know I was in here?”
“I noticed the bedroom door open. Thought that was a little weird. So figured I’d check things out.”
“You aren’t supposed to be home at this time.”
“Spoken like someone who’s specifically trying to make sure she avoids me.”
“I’m not gonna deny that.”
“You shouldn’t. You’re a master at it lately.”
“Apparently not anymore.”
“Actually, I came home early hoping I’d catch you. I knew you wouldn’t be expecting me, and I figured your guard would be down.”
“Why do you want to see me?”
“I think you know why.”
“It’s not necessary to talk about it.”
“I think it is. You ran off before you let me explain why I said no to you.”
Cut right to the chase, why don’t you? Cringing, I took a seat on the floor and crossed my legs. “I don’t need to be reminded of that night. But you reminded me there’s a very good reason I’d never made the first move before.”
“I loved that you made the first move.”
“I could tell,” I said sarcastically.
He joined me on the ground and situated himself on the side of the closet that housed his father’s clothes. A waft of his amazing scent registered, and I felt my body tingle. Damn it.
“Technically, it wasn’t the first move, though,” he said. “That was all mine when I licked that body shot off of you.”
My nipples stiffened.
“I was having a little too much fun with that game,” he added. “And the last thing I wanted to do was continue to take advantage of the situation. We’d both been drinking that night.”
“Nice try. But we weren’t drunk. Just buzzed. I knew what I was doing.”
“Me, too. But any amount of alcohol messes with your inhibitions.”
He had a point, but unfortunately, I hadn’t been anywhere near under the influence enough to forget my humiliation.
“There’s so much more to why I didn’t take you up on your offer, Primrose.” He exhaled. “I don’t know if I’ve properly articulated just how hard it was for me to come back to California. It took me a month to leave Boston and face everything. I’d imagined that coming back to this empty place and getting thrown headfirst into my father’s unfinished business was going to be the most horrible experience of my life. But then there was you, an unexpected light in this miserable darkness. Someone who not only had also just been through losing someone, but who seemed to make me smile at every turn.”
I listened quietly, unable to come up with anything to say.
“No one has captivated me like you have. Every time I talk to you, it’s the highlight of my day. I look forward to the moments we run into each other.”
Desperate to get the formal rejection over with, I interrupted. “Fine. So you want to be friends. You like me, but you’re not attracted to me in a physical way. No need to say more. I said it before you had to. I get it. Really. You don’t need to explain any—”
“That could not be further from the truth. I think you’re stunning.” His eyes seared into mine. “But you said yourself that you’re a serial monogamist. And I’m not relationship material—at least at this point in my life. Given that we live together, becoming anything more than friends would make our lives very complicated. I know you’re not the type to just fuck and forget about it. Nor do you deserve that. I want you to have everything you truly desire. I’m just not the right person to give it to you.”
What he said made a lot of sense.
After a moment, I nodded. “I’m sorry I put you in a position to have to reject me.”
“It wasn’t rejection. It was restraint.” He looked into my eyes. “What about my licking your body made you think I wasn’t interested? I did want to go to your room. More than anything I’d wanted in a long time. For once in my life, though, I’m trying to do the responsible thing when it comes to a woman I’ve grown to care about.” He leaned toward me. “Make no mistake, I do care about you, Primrose, even though we haven’t known each other that long.”