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“Oh, sorry. I heard some noise,” Dorian said as she came into the kitchen.
Maisie inhaled. “Dorian, this is Rhys Wainwright. Rhys, this is my best friend, Dorian.”
Rhys shook Dorian’s hand. “Thank you so much for putting the ad in the paper for Maisie.”
“Yeah, no problem. I’m just going to refill my coffee mug and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Oh, his son and dog are in the living room.” Maisie smirked.
Dorian looked at Rhys and Maisie with a raised eyebrow and quickly made her coffee before disappearing down the hall.
“Are you mad I didn’t tell you about Fenway?”
“Fenway being your dog?”
Rhys nodded.
“No, although I am curious where he or she was while we fucked for two days.”
Rhys closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. When he looked at Maisie, she had her arms crossed under her breasts, propping them up for his attention.Fuck.Hereallyliked her. More than he should.
He stepped forward until her back was against the counter. Rhys leaned down and placed his hands on either side of her, gripping the lip of the counter. “Maisie, I am sorry for not telling you about Trey. I should’ve at dinner the other night, before we went back to my place. I was wrong. As far as Fenway is concerned, she was with my dad, out on the yacht.”
“Wow, you have a yacht, too? Do you have a plane as well?”
He shook his head. “No, we don’t have a plane. And yes, we have a yacht. Two of them, actually.”
Maisie looked away until Rhys gently moved her chin upward. His eyes bounced back and forth between hers intently. “Hi, I’m Rhys Wainwright the second. My family is stupidly rich, and we live in this giant monstrosity of a house. I own a business that started because I posted some really awesome photos of my dog, and I created an entire line of merchandise with my name on it. I attended a private school and graduated from Harvard.
“Four years ago, I had a one-night stand with a woman named Celeste. She knew exactly who I was, even though she didn’t let on. She messaged me eight weeks later and told me she was pregnant. We tried to date, but that didn’t work out. Technically, we share custody, but he’s with me 90 percent of the time. She used me and because of that, I’m jaded.
“I thought you knew who I was in the grocery store and put my guard up. For that, I’m sorry. After our Valentine’s dinner, I knew you had no idea and, as I told you, I liked feeling normal for one night. I was in the wrong when I didn’t tell you about Trey.
“I like you, Maisie. A lot.” He finally paused and cupped her cheek and stepped closer to her. “I lie awake wondering how I’ve fallen so damn fast when I’ve had so many walls up. None of this makes sense to me. You’re in every thought of mine all day long.”
“It’s too soon,” Maisie told him. “It’s been a week.”
“I don’t care if it’s been forty-eight hours. I can’t get you out of my head.” Rhys leaned in. “And I can’t get the taste of you off my tongue.” He tugged on her earlobe, causing her to shiver.
Maisie pushed him away, but he only took one step back. “I’m an open book. I don’t lie or hide things from people. This is me when I’m home. I’m not fancy. I’m not someone who does my hair every day or someone who gets my nails done. Sometimes, I’ll sleep for a day because I’m exhausted after my rotation. I come home and cry because I lost a patient, or I sit in the dark and eat ice cream because I don’t want anyone to see the bags under my eyes. I’m never going to be the type of person who wears a dress to the grocery store. You saw me. That’s my normal attire.”
He cupped her cheek again. “Did I ask you to change?”
She shook her head.
“Did I ever give you the impression that I cared about what you wore?”
Another shake.
“Then why would you bring that up?”
“You live a fancy lifestyle. I don’t.”
“Maisie, at least once a week, Trey and I eat at McDonald’s for dinner. I live with my parents because it’s free and easier to leave Trey with my mom when I go to work. Fenway loves the thirteen acres she gets to roam. I don’t have to worry about landscaping, paving, cleaning or anything. Believe me, I’m lazy.”
Maisie let out a small chuckle.
“Aside from who I am and what I own, I’m as common as they come. Would it make you happier to see me in gray sweats?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
