Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
My embarrassment grows. “Um.” I lean forward and grab the coffee he brought me. The mug is warm against my chilled hands. I sip from it slowly, letting the hot liquid warm me from the inside out.
“Um…”
I lick my lips and divert my gaze to my lap. “It’s a long story.”
“One you’re not going to share, huh?”
I shrug, and he huffs out a laugh.
“You’re a tough nut to crack, Frankie.”
“Not all nuts need cracking.”
He regards me with an amused expression. “They do if you wanna get to the good stuff.”
“The good stuff?” I ask, already regretting it. Curiosity killed the cat, and yet here I am, as curious as ever.
“You know…” He pins me with a loaded look. “The insides.”
Something about his tone has my insides clenching with anticipation. Which is a no-go. Because friends don’t evoke these kinds of feelings in each other. And that’s all he can ever be to me.
If only my heart could fall in line. Stupid traitorous organ.
“Nuts are gross,” I finally mutter, when nothing else comes to mind.
“Not mine.” Orion’s chest puffs out with the kind of confidence only men of caliber carry.
“Pervert.” I force myself to sound disgusted, when really warmth is pooling low in my belly.
You’d think being a single mom, I’d have more experience with men. But I don’t. I’m wildly inexperienced when it comes to men, and the thought of being anywhere near his nuts is enough to have my libido kicking into gear.
“Bet you’d like it.” He keeps his voice low and his tone even, but my heart rate triples like he screamed it.
“Orion!” I wheeze his name, cutting my eyes his way.
“What?” His face is the picture of innocence. “I’m just speaking the truth.”
“The truth?”
“Mmhmm.” He licks his lips and leans forward, bracing his forearms on his knees.
He’s looking at me like he wants to eat me alive, and if I hadn’t just spent the last half hour lamenting every reason he and I would never work, I’d be tempted to offer myself up on a silver platter.
“Yeah, Frankie. The truth.”
I know I’m going to regret asking him, but he has me enthralled, and he knows it. “What truth?”
“That we’d be good together,” he says without missing a beat.
He’s wrong though. So, freaking wrong. If given the chance, we wouldn’t be good together, we’d be a ticking time bomb. A disaster waiting to happen.
And it wouldn’t just be my heart torn to shreds in the aftermath—my son’s would be, too.
Without a word, I stand on shaking legs and hightail it back inside.
“Don’t run from me, Frankie!” Orion hollers after me, but I keep going.
I stumble as I cross the threshold, barely keeping myself upright, and my fingers and toes burn as the cold air gives way to the warmth of the house.
My whole body is vibrating—with anger, fear, longing, and a whole lot of want—as I creep down the hall toward my room.
It’s the anger I choose to zero in.
Who does he think he is? What right does he have to go and say things like that to me?
Mercifully, Mav is still sleeping soundly when I slip back into my bedroom. I decide to take advantage and pad into the bathroom for a nice, long shower, hoping the hot water can somehow rinse away all of my lingering doubts and fears.
It’s unlikely, but I crank the knob anyway and wait for the water to heat.
I brush the snarls out of my hair and then step beneath the scalding spray. I still have about an hour until my alarm is set to go off, so I take my time, washing my hair twice before slathering it with a deep conditioner.
While it sits, I wash my body with my favorite sugar scrub and then shave everything in need of shaving—after all, nobody likes a hairy stripper.
Once I’m squeaky clean, I cut off the water and wrap myself in a fluffy towel, already feeling lighter.
This thing with Orion doesn’t have to turn into some debacle.
He’s a good guy, and once I lay down some clear-cut boundaries, I know he’ll respect them. And then, we’ll be able to be roommates. Easy peasy.
Maybe even friends.
Liar, my brain taunts. You can’t be friends with a man like him.
“You’re wrong.” I speak the words out loud, glaring at my own reflection. “I can do anything I set my mind to.”
I tug on my robe and roll my shoulders back, faking the kind of confidence I long to feel, before stepping back into my room to wake Maverick.
Except, he’s not in the bed anymore. He’s not even in the room.
Looks like it’s time to put that so-called confidence to the test.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FRANKIE
Dressed in a pair of thick leggings and a chunky-knit sweater, I make my way out into the hallway, following the sounds of their hushed voices.