“Trust me, that’s crossed my mind.” Lark sighs, looking down at her salad, poking at it with her fork. “I do love him, but enough to spend the rest of my life dealing with those narcissists? I don’t know.”
We’re quiet for a moment. I might not be as close to Lark as I am to Tori, where we literally know everything about each other, but I consider her a good friend. Which is why my heart aches knowing how conflicted she is. And it seems to be getting worse, not better, every time we talk about her boyfriend and his family.
“Has he said anything else about the future?” I ask cautiously. Lark nods, her eyes still downcast.
“Yeah, he keeps mentioning me giving up my apartment and moving in with him. But come on! His house is on the same block as his parents. We’d see them all the time. He already admitted his mom has a key to his house and comes and goes as she pleases. Do you know how terrified I am of her walking in on us when we’re together?”
“Damn. That’s some blurred boundaries if I ever heard them.”
Overbearing parents are a foreign concept to me, having grown up with a single dad who respected my space and independence. Don’t get me wrong, Dad and I were close, and not a day goes by that I don’t miss him, but Lark’s situation is proof enough of how fucked-up parents can be. Unbidden, my mind darts back to Ronan’s situation. Didn’t he say he lives with his mother?
All the more reason to stay far away.
“Before you say anything, yes, it’s half-caff, but I love you too much to let you have another sleepless night because you drank too much coffee.” I breeze into my uncle’s office and come to an abrupt stop when I realize he’s not alone. “Shoot, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in a meeting.”
Ronan’s blue eyes twinkle with amusement as I stand there frozen, two coffee cups in hand.
“Nonsense, you’re fine, my girl. Although, if anyone needs half-caff, it’s you, you little coffee addict. Come on in, Ronan and I were just discussing his housing dilemma.”
My uncle kisses my cheek and takes the coffee I hand over to him. “Actually, maybe Willow is the perfect person to help you.”
I’m already shaking my head, my eyes widening. “What? Me?”
But Uncle Mike just barges on ahead. “Yes. Maybe you can connect Ronan with one of the real estate agents our guys have worked with in the past. Oh, and give him a rundown on the good neighbourhoods since he isn’t familiar with Vancouver.”
What the actual fuck is happening right now? “Uncle Mike —” But I’m cut off as he keeps going.
“You were just saying how stressed you are about finding the right place for your daughter.” He gestures to me. “Willow grew up here. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind going with you to look at a few places.” He turns to me expectantly, and all I can manage is a dumbfounded nod.
“Great. Well, you’ll have to excuse me. I’ve got a call with the alumni association in a few minutes. Thanks for the coffee, darling.” He kisses my cheek again before sitting back down in his seat, and I know Ronan and I have been dismissed. “Ronan, why don’t you go to Willow’s office and she can get you that contact information for the real estate agency.”
Why the hell do I feel like a puppet being manipulated by someone who has no freaking clue what they’re meddling with?
I’ll get out of it. I have to. Maybe Ronan just didn’t want to turn down my uncle’s overbearing suggestions in front of him.
I walk swiftly down to my office, and when Ronan follows me in, I close the door, staring at it for a second to steel myself. But before I can say anything, Ronan speaks.
“Thanks for agreeing to help,” he murmurs, and I whirl around, my finger already lifted to point at him.
“This can’t happen,” I say firmly. But my resolve wavers when he smirks and slowly walks over to me, standing close but not too close. I can smell him, that rich, warm scent that transports me back to sunny days and one sex-filled night.
“You made that clear.” His voice drops even further. “But I gotta be honest, you’re not an easy woman to resist.”
I suck in a breath, my eyes closing as his deep timbre washes over me. “Too bad.”
“When did you last have a cherry?”
A breathy laugh bursts out of me. “With you. In Hawaii.”
“Good answer,” he rumbles. My eyes fly open to find he’s staring back at me intently. “Fucking hell, I want to kiss you.”
“No.” My whisper comes out ragged, but I have to be strong. I might have given in to his charm once, but I can’t,won’t,do it again. The sharp sound of my desk phone ringing breaks us out of the staring contest we’re in.
Ronan stuffs his hands in his pockets and steps back. “Right. Okay. I’m gonna go. Yeah.”
Staying away from that man is proving to beimpossible.
And now I have to go house hunting with him? Great. Just great.
