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“You know damn well it is,” he says harshly.
When I open my mouth to fire off more questions, he presses his lips to mine. “We’ll talk more in the morning, all right? Go to bed. What you need right now is sleep.”
His words swirl madly through my head. Instead of trying to figure out exactly what they mean, I take the easy way out. “Thank you for the book. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I knew it would make you happy.”
My breath catches at the back of my throat.
Has anyone ever said that to me?
Such a small thing that means so much?
Instead of allowing the fear to take hold and strangle the contentment attempting to bloom to life inside me, I do as he said and drift off to sleep.
Held protectively in the warm circle of his arms.
Exactly where I want to be.
Chapter Thirty
Ford
I rap my knuckles against the thick wood and glance at the plastic bag with the campus bookstore logo emblazed on it. I’m beginning to feel like a cat constantly scratching at the backdoor, begging to be let in. That image alone is enough to make me snort.
And yet…I can’t say it’s not accurate.
The more time I’m with Carina, the more I want to be around her. I could spend 24/7 with that girl and it still wouldn’t be enough. Holding her in my arms every night, fucking her, has in no way dulled the ache that continues to grow inside me. If anything, it only feeds my addiction.
It’s totally messed up and not at all what I expected when I threw out the suggestion that we should sleep together. I’d assumed we would screw a couple times and I’d lose interest the way I usually do. Then we’d part ways amicably.
Well, sort of. Whether our parents are married or not, she’ll always be part of the fam. So, it’s not like ghosting her was ever a possibility.
I glance at the bag in my hand for a second time and hazard a guess as to what her reaction will be. No matter how much I try to figure her out, she always does the unexpected. The way she keeps me on my toes is part of her charm.
Just as I’m about to knock for a second time, the thick wood swings open, and I find Juliette on the other side of the threshold.
“Well, well, well,” she says, drawing out the words as she crosses her arms against her chest. “Look who it is.”
I flash her a charming smile. One that’s capable of melting female hearts. Not that I’m, um, trying to melt her heart or anything. Ryder would kill me if I even looked sideways at his girl.
Or, more accurately, he’d take me out on the ice.
I’d be nothing more than blood splatter.
And I can’t blame him for it. My guess is that he’s been secretly in love with her for years before he finally decided to nut up and do something about it.
It’s more like I’m trying to distract her, so she doesn’t ask any probing questions. Carina has been adamant that we keep our situationship on the downlow. I have no idea if she’s mentioned it to her bestie.
Which kind of irritates me.
“Is Carina around?” I pat my backpack. “We’re working on a project together.”
From the way one brow slinks upward, it would appear that my smile has zero effect on her.
“She’s in her room.”
When Juliette doesn’t budge from the doorway, I clear my throat. “Can I, um, come in?”
