“Did you have fun tonight?”
Her smile seemed forced when she said, “Yeah. How was your week?”
Lonely. I’m miserable as hell without you.“Uh, good. Busy. How about yours?”
“Same.”
“You okay?” I asked, trying to get a read on her mood. She seemed sullen, almost depressed, and that wasn’t like Briar. She rarely let anything or anyone get her down.
“I’m just…” She sighed. “Feeling a little overwhelmed, I guess.” She tipped her head to look at me when I turned down her street. “Keeping up this ruse is a lot harder than I thought it would be, Rhett.”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, trying not to panic. If she was going to cut me loose, I’d have no reason to see her or talk to her again for months. Until her brother or family inadvertently brought us together at some function. And I couldn’t live with that.
“What are you talking about?” I had a feeling she was getting antsy because she couldn’t date. I knew it wasn’t fair of me to keep her tied up indefinitely, but I wasn’t ready to tell her I had feelings for her, because I wasn’t sure she was ready to hear it. But I couldn’t let her go either.
“It’s just weird, don’t you think?” She bit her lip as she studied me. “Living in this limbo, this fake reality. Pretending to be a couple when we’re not. Deceiving our family and most of our friends. I know you. That’s not who you are.”
It was true that I valued honesty and wanted the people who meant the most to me to know they could trust me. But this situation was complicated. There were too many layers to peel back in a couple of weeks. It could take months for us to sift through the messes in our pasts that made it tough for either of us to commit. But I was willing to try, for her, because I didn’t want to lose her.
I pulled into her driveway and cut the engine before shifting in my seat to face her. “Here’s the thing…” I knew I had to go slow with her. She spooked easily and if I tried telling her something she wasn’t ready to hear she’d bail on me. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you.”
“I have too.” Her smile was slight when she said, “More than I thought I would, actually.”
I frowned. “Thanks, I think.”
She laughed, slapping my leg. “I meant it as a compliment.” She bit her lip, looking coy. “I guess I kind of got used to having you around. It’s been kind of weird since you left.”
We were finally getting somewhere. “Oh yeah?” I tried not to smile when I asked, “Weird how?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Maybe kind of… lonely.”
I forced myself to breathe and count to five before I responded because with Briar admissions like this were rare and I wanted to keep them coming. “I can relate. It hasn’t been my best week either.”
“Really?” she asked, sounding surprised.
“Why do you say it like that?” I brought her hand to my mouth, pressing my lips to her soft skin as my eyes locked with hers. “You think you’re an easy woman to forget, Briar?”
“I just thought you’d be too busy—” She swallowed, making me wonder which words she was trying to repress.
“I have been busy,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t mean you weren’t creeping into my thoughts.”Every hour, at least.“I thought about calling or even texting, just to check in, but I wanted to give you some space.” I thought she might be wrestling with her feelings this week, same as I was, and I knew she’d likely be prickly and in denial.
“Space, huh?” She looked amused when she said, “I wouldn’t mind if you got a little closer now.”
I smiled, wondering if I was going to get lucky enough to earn an invite inside tonight. Maybe even an invite to spend the night. “It’s kind of cramped in here.” I glanced at her front door. “It might be easier to get a little closer inside.”
“Hmmm.” She gripped my chin, bringing me in for a kiss as her eyes sparkled with amusement. “How close do you want to get, Rhett?”
Inside you wouldn’t be close enough.“How ‘bout I let you take the lead? I promise to be a perfect gentleman… unless you don’t want me to be?”
She curled her hand around the back of my neck, resting her forehead against mine. “I meant it when I said I missed you. I missed the sex too.”
I closed my eyes, trying to tamp down my body’s reaction. Her voice was a breathy whisper, laced with need, and I was slowly losing my mind. “Why are we still sitting here talking?”
She huffed a laugh. “Good point. Let’s get inside.”
She reached for her door handle before I could hop out of my SUV and round her side, but I cared less about chivalry and more about taking care of her in other ways tonight. There was a voice in the back of my head warning me that we should talk before jumping back in bed together. Try to figure out what it meant, what our expectations were, but after six long nights without her the only words I wanted to hear coming out of her mouth for the next hour weremore, please, yes,and my name.
I rested my hand on the small of her back as she made her way up the stone walkway. She was wearing high heels and I kept my eyes on the ground to make sure she didn’t misstep. Never in my life had I wanted to protect a woman the way I did Briar. The thought of something happening to her, even something as small as a sprained ankle, made my gut twist painfully.
