Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“Not that I can think of. Just if you’re ever in the city and need a tattoo, I’ll get you in without an appointment. Any friend of Brayden’s is a friend of mine.”
“Well, that’s very generous of you. It would be my first tattoo, if that ever happened.”
“Then we definitely need to rectify that.”
“It was nice talking to you, Billie.”
“Same, Alex. Bye.”
I handed him back the phone.
“Thanks, Billie.” After he hung up, he crossed his arms. “Did she have anything interesting to say?”
“She deems you trustworthy.”
“See?” He winked. “Don’t get me wrong, Alex. I like that you might’ve been a little jealous.”
“It wasn’t only jealousy. It was also…fear.”
“Why are you so afraid of me?” he asked. “I swear, I’m not out to hurt you.”
“I know you’re not looking to hurt me, Brayden.”
“But you’re still looking for reasons this can’t work.”
“I’m not gonna lie…sometimes you seem too good to be true. I do believe you’re a genuinely good person. The way you’ve been helping Charlie, your work with kids—both with the prosthetics and volunteering. You never brag about anything or try to use it to your advantage. All of that stuff makes you even hotter than the way you look.”
“If that kind of stuff makes you more hot for me, I should let you know I helped a little old lady across the parking lot today.”
I cackled. “You’re funny, too. That’s another thing in your corner.” I paused, trying to collect my thoughts. “My fear, though, relates to whether I am the right woman for you.”
His expression turned serious as his tone grew softer. “Let’s talk about it, then.”
“I think sometimes in life you have to look beyond the present moment. There’s not a single reason why you and I don’t work right now. But there are things that will come up in the future and cause us to end badly. For example, you want kids. You said it yourself. That’s not something I would likely be able to give you. So, essentially, isn’t that a deal breaker?”
“Of course not,” he said.
My eyes went wide. “How can you say that?”
“There are ways to have kids besides biologically. Unless you wouldn’t be open to that, either?”
“I don’t know.” That was the truth.
“While I understand you thinking ahead about the potential problems we could face many months or years from now, that’s not how I operate, Alex. If Ryan’s death taught me anything, it’s that we need to live every day like it’s our last. I could get hit by a truck tomorrow. And you know what? The thing I’d regret most is not getting to see where things went with you.”
My heart lurched. “You’re unbelievable,” I mumbled.
“Come back to my room tonight, and I’ll show you unbelievable.”
“That’s dangerous, and you know it.”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t think so.”
“How about if I promise to be good? Not try anything. Seriously, I hate that our nights end so early because you’re afraid to be alone with me. We have such limited time as it is. Why can’t we be in a room alone together and not have sex?”
I was still pondering that question as we headed back to the hotel. Tonight, we didn’t get lucky with an empty elevator, so I never got my kiss. After we stepped off, I still hadn’t decided whether to go back to his room.
Brayden stopped me midway down the hall, wrapping his hands around my waist and backing me against a wall. A shiver ran the length of my body.
“How about this…” he said. “I swear on Ryan’s soul that I will not make a move on you if you come back to my room. I won’t touch you.”
I nodded. “Well, now I know you’re telling the truth. But I’m still going to my room.”
“Why?”
“I don’t trust myself not to make a move on you.”
His eyes filled with mischief.
“Goodnight,” I called as I once again ran off to my room alone.
“It’s a good thing your favorite color is blue, because it matches my balls perfectly,” he yelled after me.
CHAPTER 10
Alex
I couldn’t seem to relax. Not even after a hot shower. Unlike the other night when we’d had a little window peep show, it wasn’t my body that needed settling. It was my mind. Though anytime I was around Brayden, my body hummed with desire, so it wasn’t like I couldn’t get into a round of self-care. Yet while I was certain it might relax me a bit, I also knew I’d be staring at the ceiling in the dark after. I needed to talk out what I was feeling. Picking up my phone, I looked at the time. It was almost eleven, but Wells would definitely be up. I was the one in our friendship who went to bed early.
I scrolled down to the last name in my contacts and hit the video button to FaceTime.