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“So,” Andrew said between bites of food, “you must travel around a lot to take pictures of different sites. I mean, being a nature photographer, you must have been to some amazing places.”
She shook her head as she swallowed a bite of food. “You would think, but I’ve mostly stayed around here, so far. Jake saw my photography as a ‘little hobby’ so he never supported trips or anything that would have meant investing time or money in it. Luckily for me, living in Connecticut meant I could drive to the beach and the mountains and take advantage of all four seasons. I do want to start traveling now, though.”
Andrew’s jaw hit the floor. He couldn’t believe anyone could look at Jill’s photographs and not see the incredible talent in them. Not want to support that talent, to help it grow. “You’re kidding, right?”
She grimaced. “No. Sadly, I’m not. I didn’t really see his lack of support as an issue when we were married. I had blinders on to all these faults Jake had. After we separated, it was like coming out of a fog and realizing how one-sided our marriage was. He controlled everything and our whole world was about him.”
“Wow. You married an ass,” Andrew said bluntly. “Sorry, I guess that’s rude, but you really married an ass.”
He couldn’t stop himself from saying it again. Her ex-husband couldn’t be described as anything other than a first-class jackass.
Jill smiled ruefully. “I know. I thought we had this perfect marriage and perfect life but when I look back on it I realize I was fooling myself the whole time. All that mattered to him was his career and how I looked on his arm as his wife. I was an accessory. You know what’s sad? He didn’t even know how I took my coffee. After seven years of marriage, he didn’t even know the most basic information about me like whether I take cream or sugar in my coffee.”
Cream. Two sugars.
He couldn’t understand how the Jill Walsh he remembered let this happen. Maybe the fifteen-year-old Andrew had put her on a pedestal. Maybe she hadn’t been as strong and independent and smart and funny and confident as he thought. She’d let this guy treat her like shit.
“You do realize you’re lucky he left you, right?” He finally asked.
Jill winced but then gave him a small smile. “I know. I really do, but it doesn’t make me feel like less of a fool. Sometimes I just feel so stupid.” She blinked back tears. She looked so vulnerable.
“Oh, Jill, it wasn’t your fault.” Andrew felt helpless watching her.
“I know. Intellectually, I know it wasn’t my fault he cheated, but I can’t help feeling like maybe I...” She let the thought drop off, as if not able to voice her fears.
“Ah. That’s where the rebound guy comes in.” He smiled, bringing them back around to her drunken confession of her rebound plans for him.
Andrew watched as Jill’s face flushed and he smiled at her embarrassment. She was really cute when she was bashful. He set his plate down on the coffee table in front of them. He took Jill’s empty plate out of her hands and set it down as well.
Andrew turned to face her and placed his hands on her thighs, squeezing just enough to get her attention. He buried a smile when he saw her squirm under his gaze.
He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Jill’s cheek. He pulled back and locked eyes with her. Then, slowly, giving her a chance to stop him if she wanted to, he let his mouth graze her delicate jaw line. He dipped his head to her neck and nuzzled her soft skin. Jill gasped and the hitch in breathing matched his own.
Andrew stopped and held his forehead against Jill’s, then spoke quietly.
“Then we have a problem. Because I don’t think I can watch you rebound with another guy.”
She pulled back, her eyes rounded in surprise. The look only lasted a second before she blushed and tried to look away but Andrew placed his hand under her chin and tilted her eyes to his.
“I’ve tried to resist this, Jill. God knows I’ve tried, but I just can’t. When I’m with you, it takes all I have to keep my hands off you. When I’m not with you, all I’m thinking about is how and when I can get back to you. I want to make you understand how wrong your husband was. I want to be the one to give that to you. To give you back your confidence.”
He watched a rush of emotions play across her face. Before she could answer, he dipped his head to hers and brushed his lips softly over her mouth.
God what he would do to this mouth when she let him free on it. When he had permission to go further.
“Say yes, Jill. Please say yes. Yes to completely no-strings-attached sex for as long as we both want – and to not sleeping with anyone else while we’re together.” He paused and looked at her as he laid out the terms and watched her turn an even deeper shade of red. “For safety’s sake.”
He kissed her again, more firmly this time. Gently exploring the full softness of her lips, the sensual curve of her mouth, delving in to touch her tongue with just the very tip of his.
“If either of us wants to end things, we walk away with no ties, no hard feeling, no obligations. Just complete fun, guaranteed to bring back your confidence. And carefully designed for us to remain good friends even after it ends.”
He smiled and waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to break into laughter that diffused the tension.
He was attempting to keep things light, but the few small kisses had pushed his control to the brink. He was hanging on by a thread as he waited for Jill’s answer.
“I don’t know, Andrew. I know it was my idea, but I’ve never done anything like that before.” She lowered her eyes as if she couldn’t look him in the eye. It dawned on him that she might not have been with anyone other than her husband.
He reached out and brushed a finger down her cheek, causing her to look back at him. That single touch shot right to his groin and he knew if she didn’t say yes, he needed to get the hell out of there. He’d need to run fast and far in the other direction if she said no. Shit, he should probably run like hell even if she said yes.
