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I frown at my bare ring finger, thinking of the engagement plans and vacation Dash and I were going on in less than two weeks. A vacation I need to either cancel, go on alone, or offer to my ex. I won’t be planning a wedding now either or looking for a place for Dash and me to live and finally start our lives together as husband and wife.
The tears that form in my eyes aren’t for the loss of Dash, but the disappointment he ended up being, the time I put toward us, and the promise for the dream future I’d hoped to finally achieve.
“I have a lot more time to put towards it now.”
Easton lowers in front of me and cups my hand. “I think it would be good for you to focus on yourself for a while. Push yourself to try new things and pursue new dreams.”
And here it is. Easton, in one of his rare moments, where he opens up and lets out his heart. “I like you best when you’re like this.”
“What’s this?”
“All of you, and not just a piece of you. The piece you share the most but that hides the best parts of you.”
Emotions stir in his eyes. Surprise, fear, admiration. He holds my gaze for a long moment, his warm hands cocooning my fingers. “I’ll do it. I’ll get naked and pose for you, but I have one condition.”
“Okay,” I draw out the word.
“No photographer. You have to take the pictures.”
“But I’m not a professional. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t want to mess it up.”
“It’s me, baby.” He winks. “How could you mess this up?”
I roll my eyes, the way I often do around him, and lean back, my hand slipping from his. Moments pass as I consider his requirement. Then, I blow out a noisy breath. “All right. But you have to do exactly what I tell you to do. You have to flirt with the camera. You have to give me bedroom eyes and help me however I need. These have to be porn worthy.”
He stands, his thick brows arching high. “This is sounding better and better. Maybe I can get a few of you?—”
“No.”
“Just in your bra and panties. Not completely nude.”
“No.” I stand, my phone in hand.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked.”
I step close and peer up into his eyes. “That didn’t count because I wasn’t aware I was naked, and you were helping me as a friend, so you shouldn’t have been looking.”
“I only caught glimpses because I wasn’t trying to look. That’s what the pictures are for, so I can see what I missed.”
A smear of red near the collar of his jacket catches my attention. It’s not blood. He hasn’t shaved and his skin is otherwise flawless. It could be ketchup, or worse, lipstick—a reminder that he could have been with another woman last night. I don’t want to be jealous, but I am.
I step back and scoff. “What are pictures compared to the real thing?”
His brows bunch together. “Are you offering your naked body to me?”
“What? No. I’m referring to the women you sleep with regularly. Last night for example.”
He pinches his brows and sighs. “You are a confusing woman, Sadie. The most confusing.” A text sounds on his phone. He removes it from his pocket and reads the screen.
“It’s from Steven,” he says, as if I should know who that is.
“Who?”
“The PI looking into your attacker.”
“Oh.” I hug myself against a sudden chill in my bones.
I hadn’t thought about that night since I got here. It was only a matter of time before it caught back up to me. I’ve been so occupied and distracted by Easton, Everleigh, the change of scenery, my day job, murder marathons, and working on my book cover designs, it had slipped my mind. For that, I’m thankful, especially to Easton for letting me crash his life.
