Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“My dipstick, you mean?”
She stood with her own growl, stomping to the counter. I watched her, kind of enjoying her reaction. She was acting almost—jealous?
She opened the cupboard, grabbing a plate. “I’ll give you your pie and go get my things.”
Like an invisible thread drawing me to her, I followed, once again trapping her against the counter. “No.”
She looked over her shoulder, peering up at me. “No?”
I spun her, caging her in. “You stay in your room—in the house—from now on.”
She looked uncertain.
“I’m going to ask Brett to stay on. You said he liked the room. He can stay there. You stay upstairs.”
“Is that a good idea?”
I sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re safer there.” I really couldn’t believe I had made her stay in that room behind the garage. I should have given her a room in the house right away, regardless of the pull I felt toward her.
“We’re adults.” I pointed out.
“Sort of my point, Professor. We get to do whatever we want to do. Sort of like your time in LA.”
I touched her chin, running my finger back and forth along the soft skin. “I had nothing to do with any woman while I was there, Red. Nothing.”
“You didn’t?”
I wanted to tell her I had no interest as long as she was around. She was the only woman I could see. But I held back those words, knowing how she would interpret them.
“No. I did my job, I talked to a lot of people, and I came home.” Two more words slipped from my mouth without thinking. “To you.”
“Maxx,” she whispered.
I hung my head, then met her gaze. “I know there’s…something between us, Charly. But I think it’s different for each of us.”
“How so?”
“You’re looking for your life. Your place. I’m not it. This is just a stop on your road. This place is my life. I’m happy here. Alone,” I added before she could say anything. “You want a relationship.”
“What do you want?”
I shrugged. “Not what you deserve.”
“So, sex without attachments? No feelings?”
I couldn’t lie to her. Not anymore. “I do feel things. I think you’re amazing. Sexy. Funny. But I am not looking for that to be a permanent thing.”
“What if I’m not either?”
I cocked my head. “Are you sure of that?”
She jutted out her chin. “Yes. Maybe I just want you for sex too.”
I tapped her stubborn little chin. “Little fibber.”
She glared. “How do you know that?”
“You have a major tell when you attempt to lie. And I mean attempt because you’re horrible at it. It’s easy to tell when you try.”
“How?” she demanded.
I ran my finger over her cheek. “When you get upset, you go pale. Really pale. These little dots are like a Morse code on your skin, screaming your feelings.”
“What does that have to do with lying?”
“It upsets you to lie. I’ve watched you try—even to a customer. You simply can’t do it. You went as white as a ghost when you said you just want sex.”
“Well, fudge.”
“I’ll sleep with you anytime you want, Red. Say the word. Arch that sexy eyebrow my way, and I’m yours. But it’s only for now. I can’t make that any plainer.”
She chewed her lip, her silence saying it all.
“Go to bed, Charly. You must be exhausted with everything you’ve done. In fact, take tomorrow off. Sleep in, go into town shopping, see Mary. Take the day and enjoy it.”
“But I wanted to show you the website and the logo and everything.”
“Tomorrow night after supper. And no more eating on your own. If Brett’s around, he can eat with us too. If not, you and me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s nice to have someone to talk to while I eat.”
“Okay, we’ll see how it goes.”
“How it goes?” I repeated.
“You’ll probably get tired of me prattling on and decide you want to eat alone again.”
“I doubt it, but we’ll see what happens. Now, go. I’ll leave your paycheck on the desk. Grab it before you go.”
“All right. Um, I’ve been using the claw-foot tub at night.”
“Not a problem.”
She ducked under my arm, making me realize I had been touching her face throughout our whole conversation. She paused at the foot of the steps. “Night, Maxx.”
“Night…Charly.”
I wasn’t surprised she’d backed away after my honesty. No matter what she said, she wasn’t a love them and leave them girl. She felt deeply. Cared too much.
And I had already accepted far too much from her to let her think a physical relationship would change anything. We’d both wind up hurt.
Still, watching her disappear up the stairs was one of the hardest things I had ever done.
Chapter 18
MAXX
It felt awesome to be in my own bed, but I didn’t sleep as well as I thought I would. I tossed and turned a great deal in the night, finally giving up and heading to the garage around five. I wrote out some checks, including one to top up the petty cash. I would ask Charly to stop by the bank while she was in town. I also wrote out one for groceries because Charly mentioned she was planning on shopping today since she’d been too busy while I was gone. She could just give me the receipts—she had proven herself more than trustworthy on so many levels.