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“And you waited?” I ask in surprise. I went into the church over an hour ago
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you—”
“It’s a lot of trouble to go to just talk to me.”
“Well given how you’ve been avoiding me, and I needed to talk to you, I didn’t see how I had much choice.”
“Um, do you have fucking amnesia?”
Annoyance flashes across her face, for just a second before her fake smile firms up again. But it was as noticeable as a skip in a record. And the insincere civility on her face annoys me. I glance around and scoff. “You know this isn’t Winsome, right? You don’t have to smile when you don’t mean it.”
She flushes and straightens. “Yes, I know. I’m just trying to be civil.”
“Why are you here, Clover?”
“Don’t call me that.” Her voice is quiet but firm, and she lets her smile drop. Her denying me the use of the nickname I christened her with pisses me off.
“How about I do what you asked originally, and I don’t call you anything at all?” I turn to leave. I regret the words as soon as they are out of my mouth, but there’s only so much a man can fucking take. My gut is churning as I turn to leave.
She grabs my arm to stop me and then runs to stand in front of me, plants her feet, and crosses her arms. I laugh. I’m nearly a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than her. “As if you can block my path.”
She widens her stance and narrows her eyes. “Why are you being like this?”
“You asked me to leave you alone. I was just respecting your wishes.”
She blows out an exasperated breath. “Of course, I know what I said. Clearly, I’m trying to move past that.”
“You make it sound like we couldn’t agree on who was paying for lunch.”
She sets her jaw and leans toward me, her eyes blaze with challenge. “I know I dropped a bomb on you. But dammit, turnabout is fair play. And at least I didn’t wait eleven years to try and make it right. We’re even. Unless of course, we’re not, and I can’t make it right because you’re too hurt by what I said or whatever. Tell me that and I’ll leave you be. Otherwise, you’ve had a week to lick your wounds. I hoped we could at least be friends. But the ball is in your court.”
This is not what I expected.
I’m as private as they come, but I learned in rehab that my family wanted to be there for me. The way I was for them. And so instead of getting drunk after she gutted me in the library, I called Jack and he added Nadia to the call, and I told them everything.
They did the dutiful sibling thing, and by the time I hung up I was convinced that while what we had was special, it wasn’t built to last. Too many challenges, not enough upside. We fucked, that was closure. I knew the whole truth, and I’d offered my heartfelt remorse. I haven’t allowed myself to look at her properly this week. So, it was easy to believe my brother and sister were right. But And the woman standing in front of me now, the one who is at once sweet, cutting, and sexy enough to stop my heart.
She said the ball is in my court, but I think we’re playing two different games. She wants to answer questions and be friends. All I want is to cup that glorious ass, palm those perfect tits, and fuck her where she stands while the whole world watches.
God, I wish she was close enough for me to touch. That hasty fuck in the library hadn’t given me a chance to explore all my favorite places on her body. Yet, as rushed and reckless as that day been it felt like heaven.
As if cued by my thoughts, she lifts a hand to her throat, and her diamond ring glints in the sunlight. It reminds me instantly we’re not in the library, and I’m looking somebody else’s heaven.
“Does Duke know you’re here talking to me?”
She narrows her eyes, and I can tell she wants to tell me to suck a dick, but she keeps that tight ass smile on her face. “No. He’s on a business trip. He’ll be gone for two more months, and I’ll be at the lake house by myself.”
Jealousy burns so hot I feel like my blood is going to catch on fire. I cross my arms over my chest. “So…what? You want me to spend the summer making you come before you settle down for a life of faking it with him?”
She narrows her eyes and draws back in affront. “That isn’t happening again.”
“Are you going to tell him you fucked me?”
She flushes but her jaw hardens. “I don’t see why he needs to know. It doesn’t change anything.”
That stings, and I lash out before I can think about what I’m about to say.
“So, he doesn’t wonder why you can’t have kids?”
