Page 47 of A Little Bit Uncertain

“I gathered that. So, you broke his heart?”

“No. He broke mine. We broke up almost three years ago.” Those words tasted like acid in my mouth. I wasn’t going to get into the nitty gritty of him using me for six months and then sleeping with me a final time a couple of months ago, so I settled on the simple explanation.

Donovan’s eyes got wide as they snapped to me. “Three years?” He asked with surprise and dismay in his voice. “Has he been acting like this since?”

“No, this past couple of months is the first time he’s been like this.” I felt the need to defend myself. “And we’ve both been in town since it all happened. I’ve seen him plenty because he’s Eli’s best friend.”

He looked at me incredulously. “Your dart partner who wants to get in your pants is your ex’s best friend? Holy shit. You are a world of chaos, you know that, Audra?”

My defenses shot up immediately, and I indignantly replied, “Eli doesn’t want to get in my pants; he’s just a friend to me. His sister works with me at the hospital and convinced me to do it. Plus, not that I want to get into this with you, but it had the bonus of proving to myself that I could stay strong against Theo, because I wasn’t always able to keep my distance.”

“That’s a hell of a plan there, Audra. Did it work?”

“Yep.” I popped the P for emphasis. He raised his eyebrow at me, calling me out.

“Ok, we slept together one more time at the beginning of darts, but haven’t since.” I took a long drink of my water. “Did you give me truth serum here, Wright? Because I’m not one to air my dirty laundry.”

“No judgment here, Audra. I’m just trying to make sense of things. I have another personal question. Have you dated anyone since?”

“I have. I’ve casually dated, nothing too serious or too long. And I’ve had a couple of hookups, and that includes some repeats. Gossip gets around this town, so I’m sure he got wind of it. At no point did he act like this.” Good Lord, was I seriously time-lining my sexual history for this man?

“That makes things seem even more strange. If you’ve been with other people, but this is just happening now, what flipped the switch? How are you feeling about all this?”

God, it felt like he was just looking into my dark corners. “I mean … I … in full disclosure, I’m a little creeped out. The domineering behavior is new for him, and the fact that he keeps just showing up gives me a real uneasy feeling in my gut.”

“Okay, should we call the cops?”

“I don’t know. I think for the first time since we split, he actually feels threatened by…” My voice cut out, and I looked at Donovan. I didn’t want to insinuate anything between us, and I certainly didn’t want to put any thoughts in his head. Lord knows I was trying to make sense of a lot of things with him.

“By me.” He finished for me.

I nodded at him. “I’m sorry...”

“Nope.” He held his hand up, cutting me off. “No more of that. You have done nothing wrong. How about I show you the guest room? Maybe we can save the full tour for the morning.”

Smiling at him as I yawned. “That would be great, Donovan, thank you.” He wove me through his giant house. There was no way a man decorated it. There was art on the wall and beautiful accents. Everything was perfect. I noticed a lack of photos, but maybe in fancy houses, you just do art? But no, Cora’s house had a ton of photos everywhere. “Since we’ve gotten into some of my uncomfortable laundry, can I ask you a question?”

“We’re almost to your room, so better make it quick,” he smirked.

I couldn’t help myself. “Do you have visitors? Like in this house. It’s just, it’s a huge, huge house.”

“You can’t make that make sense, huh?” He chuckled. “No, I have no frequent, recurring visitors, a secret family, nor do I throw Great Gatsby parties. An opportunity to get this place arose, and I picked it up as an investment. Honestly, I didn’t intend to love Savannah Springs, so the plan was to flip it, but it didn’t quite work out like that. I know it’s big, but I really like the house.”

“I’ve only seen a few rooms, and I can see why you love it. We’ll do the whole thing tomorrow?”

“Yep-the whole thing. There is toothpaste and a toothbrush in the top right drawer in the bathroom vanity and ... oh shit, do you want sleep clothes? I don’t even know what I could give you that would fit. I can get the smallest pair of shorts I own.” And off he ran before I could even answer him. Sleeping in jeans wasn’t ideal, but I’d done it before, and I wanted to be an easy guest. Heading to the bathroom, I got ready for bed. Unsurprisingly, the bathroom was pristine as well, and looked like it belonged in some luxurious spa, not a bachelor’s house. Opening the drawer he told me to, I saw three individually wrapped toothbrushes. What a weird thing to have on hand for someone who didn’t have company. When I came out, he stood in the door with a pair of rugby shorts and sweatpants that were so big I’m sure even my ass wouldn’t hold up, so I reached for the rugby ones.

“Did you play? Bennett did in college.”

“No way, how funny. I’m shocked that hasn’t come up yet. I played a season or two for fun in college when I wasn’t off being a lunatic. But, that’s an oxymoron because most of the rugby players I know are good guys, but are off their rocker. I guess it’s no surprise Bennett and I get on well.” He laughed as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the door, lost in a memory.

I stopped to turn to him and he just effortlessly exuded sexiness. Even him standing there leaning on the door made fangirl a little bit. “Thank you again for tonight, for driving me, and for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”

“The pleasure is mine, Audra. I mean, I’ve heard I have this huge house that no one visits, ya know? I should make use of it, so I’ve been told.” Mirth was dancing all over his face as he ribbed me.

I couldn’t stop the smile or chuckle that followed. “You should. It’s a beautiful house, Donovan.” I smiled at him. “Good night.”

He closed the door, and I continued getting ready for bed. Sleep didn’t come easy that night, though. I couldn’t relax because I was feeling every emotion under the sun. I was freaked out about Theo, but I still wasn’t sure I wasn’t overreacting. He’d never done anything like it before, so maybe he was grasping at straws because he was losing me? Did I want to go to the cops?

And Donovan freaking Wright. He sure came out of nowhere. How far we’d come from me not thinking he even liked me. He was unequivocally one of the kindest and most thoughtful men I’d ever met, along with a plethora of other wonderful attributes, including the world’s best kisser. Somewhere in the house, he was lying in his bed. If I were braver, like Jules, I would’ve gone to find him. Because she was good at just sex. But I didn’t think the just sex thing would work for us. Christ, if that kiss were any indication, sleeping with him once would screw me for life. Ugh, I shouldn’t have been feeling anything for him, but I couldn’t help it. There was a magnetism there that made those feelings hard to ignore. My brain and my heart definitely wanted two different things.

At 1:30 in the morning, I picked up my phone and lamented what time it was, but fell asleep soon after..