Page 207 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Why should you know where I live? We’re not in a relationship. We haven’t made any promises to one another.”

I took a deep breath in and blew it out while she watched. “Well…I guess that’s the thing. There’s something about you,” I admitted with a shrug. “Something that makes it so I can’t stop thinking about you, and you and me together, and that maybe…I don’t know…maybe I want a relationship.”

“So it was me you were talking about last night.”

I felt my eyes pinch together. “Last night?”

“To the paparazzi. Not tonight, but maybe soon, I think you said.”

“That comment was nothing. Jesus. Someone printed that?”

“Yep. Someone other than me, by the way. Which I considered castrating you for. But, given the circumstances, I guess that’s the least of my problems.”

“Problems?”

“We’re not relationship people, Scott!”

Irritation crawled up my throat. “That’s not true. You were in a relationship with Brent,” I argued.

“Yeah. In college. And I told you that it didn’t end well. I don’t want to go there again!”

Instantly, I recognized talking about this shit wasn’t going to get me much of anywhere. If I wanted more from Harlow—and I did—I was going to have to make it happen with actions. Good thing I’m an action man.

“All right. Calm down,” I soothed. “I shouldn’t have bombarded you with this. Let’s start simple, okay?”

She looked skeptical, but she nodded her agreement. “Okay.”

“You like me, right?”

“Scott…”

“It’s an easy question. Do you like me or not?”

“Of course, I like you! I let you stick your dick in me on the regular, as you so eloquently put it.”

I chuckled and winced at the same time. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

She rolled her eyes. “So, yes. I like you.”

“Then let’s start there.”

“I thought we already started!” she whined.

I laughed again. “Well, in a sense, yes. But this time, I mean with an open mind. Can you do that?”

She shook her head in the negative, but it wasn’t because her answer was no. She was just scared. I’d have to figure out how to change that.

“Are we sleeping with other people while we keep an open mind and like each other?” she asked and scrutinized my face for a reaction.

Resolutely, and with nothing to hide, I held her gaze. “No,” I admitted honestly. The truth was, I hadn’t had sex with anyone but her since this whole crazy thing started. And more than that, I didn’t want to.

She stayed quiet for a brief moment, and then, surprisingly, said, “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I said okay, fuckface. Move on,” she demanded, and I couldn’t stop myself from grinning.

She wanted to move on.