I sighed before draining my bottle. “Well, what the hell do you suggest? I can’t afford to stay in a hotel for that long and—”
“I have a guest house.” He drained the rest of his beer before reaching into the fridge for another while I stood there with my mouth hanging open. “And I need an assistant.”
I shook my head. “You can’t be serious.”
I couldn’t live with this man. Okay, technically I wouldn’t be livingwithhim, but I’d be living on his property and working for him. No woman who’d burned up the sheets with Dade could resist the temptation of… a four-peat. Yeah, a four-peat. Because last night he’d been good for a triple header. Not even a collapsing bed slowed him down once he got his hands on me.
Just thinking about it made me drain my beer and reach for another. I held the cold bottle against the open neckline of my pink tank top, letting it cool me down. Only one little problem. His gaze was fixed on the bottle and dipping lower, heating me up all over again.
“It’s the perfect solution if you think about it.” He popped the top on his bottle before taking a swig. “We can give the job a trial run while you save up money for a place of your own and… you won’t have to stay with your parents anymore.” He smiled, like he knew that should seal the deal. “And staying here, we’d both have peace of mind. No way will anyone get past the guard at my gatehouse.”
“Even if I agreed to this,” I said, eyeing him carefully. “I’m not gonna live like a prisoner, Dade.” I couldn’t believe I was actually considering it. Must have something to do with the fact he was right—it kind of was the perfect solution. At least for me. “Your fortress isn’t gonna become my jail.”
He smirked. “I wouldn’t expect that. But no one would have reason to suspect you’re staying here, so they wouldn’t be camped out. Besides, they couldn’t even if they wanted to. This is a private road. No trespassing signs plastered everywhere and I wouldn’t hesitate to have their asses hauled in.”
I was beginning to understand why he liked rural living. Made it harder for people to stalk him. “So, I’d be able to come and go as I pleased, if I agreed to this?” I crossed my arms. “Still go jogging, to the gym, play gigs at night?”
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re playing gigs now?”
“Trying to line up a few.” I’d put out feelers and Max told me he had some promising leads. “Just for fun. I don’t expect anything to come of it, but—”
“You’re talented, Charli. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Can’t deny hearing one of my musical idols telling me I had talent gave me a little buzz. “Thanks, but I know the odds are stacked against me. Anyhow, about this offer of yours…”
“Yeah, of course, you’d be able to come and go as you please. Visit family, friends, go shopping, whatever.” He hesitated, biting his lip. “Although, I have to tell you, that Max guy, he’s not interested in bein’ your friend. That boy’s got a thing for you.”
I wasn’t blind, but Max was too much like the other guys I’d dated. He was living rent-free in a house his parents owned, working on his music, at thirty. Thanks, but no thanks. Didn’t mean we couldn’t be friends though, and I’d made it clear to him I wasn’t looking for more.
“Max is every guy I’ve ever dated, Dade.” I took a sip of my beer, trying to tamp down the bitter memories. Dade didn’t have the market cornered on bad relationship with letches. I’d had my fair share too. “I now know that’s definitely not what I want.”
He hooked the heel of his boot into the rung of the bar stool behind him. “So, what is your type?”
“Uh, aren’t we supposed to be talking about this job thing?”
“Yeah, in a minute.” His eyes were sparkling with amusement when he said, “But first I wanna hear about your type.”
“You go first.” I was beginning to realize Dade was used to getting whatever he wanted, and I wanted to be the one who made him work for it, who reminded him not everything came easily. “Describe your type.”
He chuckled. “Well, I can tell you the kind of woman who’s definitely not my type. I think I’ve nailed that.”
I smiled, appreciating the fact that he could still laugh at himself. “Okay, so it should make it easier to figure out who your ideal woman is, since you know she’s the opposite of everyone you’ve been with so far.”
“I swore off women. Publicly and privately. Just gonna focus on my music now.”
I rolled my tongue inside my cheek, trying like hell to bite back my retort, but it spilled out anyway. “Uh Dade, I was with you last night in that bed, or should I say, on that mattress. And it didn’tfeelto me like you were done with women.”
He laughed, dipping his head, as he pointed at me. “I didn’t say I intend to become a monk.”
“Ah, so casual sex with women who know the score.” I’d been that woman last night, and I had no doubt he’d have others lining up to take that deal all day long. “Gotcha.”
“Charli,” he said, his face falling into a pensive mask. “I tried like hell to have the fairy tale. I wanted the wife and kids. Wanted it so bad I kept trying over and over and over again, even when it became painfully obvious that dream wasn’t for me.”
“It wasn’t for you because…?” I knew I was pushing harder than I had any right to, but I was dying to know. “You didn’t think you could have it or realized you didn’t want it anymore. Big difference, you know.”
“If I found the perfect girl tomorrow, would I be willing to take that risk again?” He shook his head slowly. “No. I just couldn’t. Call me a coward, but this past year has been brutal. I don’t know, maybe I care too much what people think, but bein’ torn to shreds ‘cause you can’t keep a woman happy—”
“I call bullshit.” I heard what people said about him and would bet the last dollar in my bank account that no man could have kept those piranhas he called partners happy. “I don’t think you’d have any problem keeping the right woman happy.”
