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Seven
Jayson took a bite of the cake and licked his fork. Gia crossed her legs beneath the table, memories of his mouth—and how good he was with it—assaulting her.
So he hadn’t slept with Natasha? Gia had to chew on that for a while. She did so with a slice of brie.
He scooped up another large bite of leftover wedding cake. “Is it about sex? Is that the appeal?”
Unwilling to confess anything, she claimed her own fork and ate a bite of cake. She was still sort of in shock that Jayson hadn’t slept with the beautiful woman he’d brought to the wedding.
“If it’s about sex, you can do better,” he pressed.
She met his eyes and in their blue depths recalled the way he used to look at her. Heated. Down to her very soul. Sex with Jayson had been exquisite. Unparalleled.
Too long ago.
“Who am I supposed to sleep with? You?” Her heart thundered while she held her breath. Waiting. Daring him to answer. He didn’t disappoint.
“Yes. If what you’re after is a physical release, I’m a sure thing. But not with some random guy who isn’t worthy of you.” The words were gravel dragged over concrete. Jayson was pissed. Which also made him hot.
If temptation was a grain of sand, she’d be standing on an island. He could deliver on a physical release—tenfold. And if any proof was needed, she had it. Her body had come alive the second he’d said the word yes.
But they’d learned that lesson, hadn’t they?
“We tried that already,” she said. “We’re good in bed but not outside of it. Look at us now. We should be in our separate rooms and yet...”
“And yet.” He let the words hang.
She had a heart to protect. Unraveling her marriage had been the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life. Away from him she’d finally felt like an adult who was in charge of her own life. She loved her family, but they had a way of coddling her that she didn’t appreciate. She understood that she was the youngest, but her reaching the pinnacle of adulthood should have quelled everyone’s urge to protect her.
The freedom of being married was eye-opening...until she’d realized Jayson trying to take care of her much like her father and brothers.
There was a certain amount of freedom that came with being single. She could eat dinner whenever she liked without having to take a vote about whether to order out or dine in. She could stay up too late, fall asleep on the couch, enjoy the shower all to herself...
Although that part had its downsides.
Jayson had washed her back and her front when they’d lived together. In the moments she was romantic with herself, she used some of those memories as motivation.
But.
Going backward was never the best way forward. Wasn’t that what all the memes on Pinterest said?
“It’s too late.” She stood from the picnic table.
He stood and blocked her path, hulking and dark, brooding and beautiful. “Too late for what?”
She put a hand on his chest to push him away but it settled there, content to touch him even as her brain urged against it. “It’s too late to get back together.”
He leaned in, the clean scent of his aftershave mingling with the crisp air from the vineyard. Lips close to hers, but still not touching, he muttered, “Who said anything about getting back together?”
Time stopped.
The only sounds came from the catering staff packing up the truck and the rustling of the leaves overhead. Chaotic thoughts dipped and weaved inside her head while she debated the very thing she shouldn’t be debating.
Was she delaying the inevitable? Or was she too tired to think clearly?
Too excited to think clearly...
“You’re right, G.” He dragged in a sigh and blew it out, his breath dusting her cheek as he moved his lips to her cheek. “It’s too late for this conversation.”
