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Before she could respond, a second text arrived...
Come home, Catie-girl. I won’t hassle you. I won’t make you cry. I won’t even look at you if that will help. But that last one will be hard because you dazzle me. Come home...please...
The tight knot inside her chest loosened. She smiled despite her wildly vacillating mood. Harry might frustrate her and confound her, but she was drawn to him in ways she couldn’t explain.
When it came to men, she was zero for two so far. Jason apparently loved her platonically. Harry cared about her and had caredforher in some awful moments, but honestly, he was mostly interested in sex, no matter how charmingly he approached the subject.
Cate was tired of trying to keep her head above water. Maybe it was time to indulge herself. How much worse could things get?
When she unlocked the door to Harry’s apartment and stepped inside, he swept her up in his arms. “Thank God. I thought you weren’t coming back.” His embrace was so hard, she winced.
He didn’t even kiss her. All he did was hold her tightly as if he had been scared.
“Oh, Harry,” she said. “I didn’t answer your texts, did I?”
He pulled back, his gaze roving over her face with intensity. “No. You didn’t.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean tonotanswer. I was sitting in the car for so long, trying to decide what to do, I didn’t realize I never said anything one way or the other.” She frowned. “You look dreadful.” His hair was standing on end, and although he had changed out of his nice clothes, his casual shirt was buttoned wrong.
“What changed your mind?” he asked, the words quiet.
She shrugged. “I want to have sex with you. I want to feel normal again. I want to know that you and I are friends and not enemies.”
Harry closed his eyes for a long moment. When he looked at her again, she could have sworn his eyes were damp. “We’re friends, Cate. With or without the sex.”
“But here’s the thing,” she said. “I think I finally figured something out. If I have sex with you, I want tochooseintimacy. I want to choose you. Does that make sense?”
“At the risk of starting another argument, not really.” His smile was strained. “But I’m listening.”
“You and I could have a few drinks and start fooling around and lose control. That’s one scenario.”
“And?”
“And then things would get complicated. But if I tell you I want you, and we make a mature, rational decision to sleep together, everything will be neater, less emotional.”
Harry’s jaw dropped a split second before he snapped it shut and stared at her. “You want to have unemotional sex?”
“I want to have sex with clear expectations. You’ve already told me you don’t do serious relationships. And I respect your honesty. I think I need to be honest in return.”
“Oh, hell. I’m not sure I like where this is headed.”
“You’re trying to make a joke, but I’m serious. I can’t have sex with you if you believe I’m still in love with Jason.”
His face went blank. She’d seen it happen a million times. “And you’re not?” he asked, the words flat.
“No,” she said simply. “As hard as it is for me to admit, Jason did the right thing. We loved each other, but we weren’tinlove.”
“Why is that so hard to admit?” Harry asked, his big frame braced.
“Because it makes me look silly and foolish and blind. I’ve been trying to impress you, but this one for sure goes in the negative column. I was prepared to get married for all the wrong reasons.”
Harry exhaled. “That’s a lot of self-revelation for one day. Where do we go from here?”
“Well,” Cate said. “I think I’d like to take a shower, change into something nice and join you in your bedroom.”
Dark color stained his cheekbones. Gray eyes glittered. His breath rasped in and out as his chest rose and fell. “What happens if I get emotional?” he said. There wasn’t a trace of humor on his face.
“Don’t tease me. I’m already self-conscious.”
