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She purses her lips and pushes hair behind her left ear. Except there's no loose hair to push back there.
Interesting.
I made more than a bit of money playing poker in my misspent youth and I learned a thing or two about tells. I've noticed Clover doing this before. Usually when her knee hurt and she didn't want to admit it.
"Of course I'm not jealous. You can fuck whoever you want to fuck, it's nothing to me." Again she pushes nothing behind her left ear.
I lean in close. "I thought I was clear on this, baby. I don't fuck, I make love."
Her cheeks flare red. "Fine. Make love with whoever you want to make love with, then."
"So you and I aren't meant to be?" I'm going to have to test my theory about her hair behind her ear, but I don't know enough about her yet.
"Of course we aren't meant to be." She pushes nothing behind the ear, again. Damn, I hope I'm right about this tell.
"What's your favorite food."
She lifts her chin and looks away like she can't even be bothered to entertain the thought. "Haven't you ever heard of opposites attract? Favorites have nothing to do with whether or not two people are meant to be together."
Honey delivers our food and we dig in. I don't know about Clover, but I'm starving and need to fuel myself after our workout.
When I come up for air, I try a different tack. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
She lifts her chin and sets down her fork. "Owner of a flourishing fitness center and changing the lives of everyone who walks through the gym doors. How about you?"
I sigh. "I'm talking about your personal life, Empress. What do you want for yourself?"
"I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my personal life. And I won't. Not until I have my professional life squared away."
"C'mon. I want to get that gym and build on it, but I also know I want to be married in five years. I want to have three kids and I want to be able to give them everything I never had." I've been where Clover is, always wanting more, always fighting to prove myself. That's what landed me in jail.
Clover's still too hungry, and likely willing to stab me in the back to get what she wants. I should listen to her and back off. Stick to my plan for a simple life focused on family and replacing what my father lost.
It's been a long time since I've wanted someone who's made my heart race like Clover does, a long time since I've been tempted to reach for more than I deserve.
She studies me. "Weren't you the guy who hated growing up in a small town? You want to do that to your kids?"
I shrug and refocus on the conversation and the moment. "Catalpa Creek isn't the small town it used to be. There's a ton more to do here now, a ton more opportunities. As much as Ihated growing up here, I loved being so close to the mountains and the forest. I grew up outdoors and I wouldn't trade that for anything."
She stares at me like I've surprised her. "I guess if I really think about it, I want to get married some day. Maybe not in five years, but some day. And I want to have kids. And I want those kids to grow up near their aunts and cousins."
"Family's important. That's something else we can agree on."
She takes the last bite of her meal and pushes back her chair. "I've got to run." She drops a twenty on the table. "See you Thursday for a trail run."
"Unless I see you sooner."
She stares at me for a moment, looking a bit lost, before she nods and hurries out of the diner, Barley trotting behind her.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Clover
"Going to meet up with Asher again?" Honey asks. She's standing next to the kitchen table, wearing jeans and a worn t-shirt, both covered in dried clay, and placing Bigfoot mugs into a large cardboard box to take to the diner.
I stuff an energy bar into my running belt and strap it around my waist. "We're running together. We aren't meant to be a couple or whatever. You shouldn't tease him like that, he actually thinks we should date."
And we can never date. Not only because only one of us can win the gym and my father stole from his family, but also because the photos and videos I posted from our gym workout have gotten more attention than anything I've ever posted before. I don't mix business and pleasure ever. No matter how good a kisser Asher Aldridge is.
