Page 65 of The Best Bad Decision

Since he still seemed comfortable with that, I nodded. “It’s necessary for a variety of reasons I shouldn’t talk about in a nice restaurant.”

That got a smile out of him. “Are you saying if it was a cheap restaurant you’d have behaved differently?”

Brat.

“No, but if we were someplace less refined, we’d be having a more hands-on discussion.” I knew a bar about an hour from us where the rules were much more flexible, but Atlee might not be ready for something like that. “I’m trying to be subtle.”

Oh, he wanted to laugh but he kept a tight rein on his self-control by just nodding. “Thank you.”

Well, if he was being an adorable brat he couldn’t be too stressed.

“You’re welcome.” I’d have to decide later how I’d make him second-guess teasing me. “But I’m going to have a different response fairly quickly if I don’t get the information I need.”

As he licked his lips, I could see at least part of his fascinating mind wondering what would happen if he played stubborn. Luckily for both of us, he wasn’t feeling the need to test me too much. “When I started the original sentence it was just giving you information, but by the time I finished it…”

He shrugged as his words trailed off, but after a moment he continued. “By the time I finished it, I think it was shifting toward wondering when I could ask what you’re thinking about…us.”

“That was very clear. Thank you.” Rubbing my leg against his, I did my best not to make him wait to hear how I felt. “I’m going to preface this by saying you are not responsible for my emotions.”

Oh, that stubborn look was sneaking in and I knew I wouldn’t like his thoughts.

“If we were someplace more private…” Letting the threat trail off had him swallowing hard and shifting in his seat. “But we’re not.”

He should’ve been on his knees for this conversation but Brandon had pushed it without realizing it.

“So what I’m going to say is that I know we started out just dating to make your life easier, but I’m thoroughly enjoying getting to know you and…helping you explore new sides to yourself.” I hated having to behave but the nice French restaurant we’d gone to wasn’t the place for me to use words like submission and BDSM.

Something tickled Atlee because his lips twitched, but he kept his thoughts to himself and simply nodded.

“That doesn’t mean we have to be on the same page.” Unfortunately. “I’m not delusional. You’re coming out of a long-term relationship. You originally were just asking for help. You’re exploring a new side you hadn’t recognized before. There is a lot going on.”

There were a thousand reasons I shouldn’t get my hopes up about how he would respond, but every time I saw him kneeling for me or just hiding his sexy grin, I wanted more.

Hope was very dangerous when it came to sweet, sexy men.

Letting out a long breath, Atlee nodded. “That’s true, but what’s also true is that when someone recently tried to remind me that dating you just because I was lonely would be stupid for both of us, my first thought was that it was ridiculous.”

Judging by Brandon’s nosy enthusiasm, I was betting that was one of our lovely neighbors who could worry about anything.

“You’re not a rebound relationship or something I’m going to regret when my head clears. You’re helping clear my head and to see things I should’ve realized before.” He was still frustrated about that judging by the way his face tightened, but he didn’t get distracted by whatever he was thinking. “I actually got very offended when Valerie tried to insinuate you were just a way to get back at her.”

“Really? That’s how she’s trying to spin this?” It was an interesting approach but not the best she could’ve come up with.

Nodding, Atlee rolled his eyes. “She’ll be waiting once I’m through punishing her.”

Good fucking grief.

“She’s turned finding new stall tactics into a new hobby.” But why? “Okay, I’m going to derail the conversation slightly.”

I waved my hand when he chuckled. “I can’t help it. Are you stupidly rich or something? Do you have Scrooge McDuck-level gold in your basement? A patent that’s going to make you millions? Winning lottery ticket?”

Why was she holding on to him so desperately?

Atlee was a great guy but she hadn’t appreciated that at all, and just getting pregnant couldn’t change it that much. Hell, just hiring a nanny would’ve been so much easier. She didn’t like him enough to be this much of a pain in the ass.

Blinking slowly, Atlee cocked his head and I could almost hear the files he was flipping through in his head. It was adorable, but I forced myself to sit still and behave while he considered the question. “I don’t think so, but let me know if you see any holes in this.”

I loved the way his submission and logical brain processed new situations almost as much as I loved what a cute nerd he was as he thought through a problem. “We had a simple prenup done when we got engaged that said her money is hers and mine is mine. The house is mine because she didn’t want to be tied to it financially since she’d been thinking about buying a rental property at the time. Um, I know she has a decent retirement set aside already because I managed that before I made her get a new advisor.”