Текст книги "Throttled"

Автор книги: Elizabeth Lee

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“Hello, ladies,” Brett’s drawl was the first to cut through the tension I felt building around me. “Nora, good to see you again,” he added with a shit-eating grin. “Who is your lovely friend here?”

I couldn’t be sure if Georgia was waiting for me to introduce her or not, because at the exact moment I required my brain to fire instructions to my tongue, lips, and vocal cords, Reid scooted into the booth next to me. Being twice my size, he easily pushed against my body with his until my ass slid across the torn vinyl of the weathered seat. The casualty of his choice of seats only added to my frustration.

“Before you get any ideas,” he advised Brett. “This is not Nora’s friend. This is her baby sister, Georgia. And she’s off limits to you.” After giving his pal a warning, he greeted my sister. “Not so little anymore are you, Georgie-Pordgie? You look good.”

“Thanks,” she said, blushing like she was still back in junior high school getting attention from her big sister’s boyfriend.

“Nice to see you,” Hoyt said to Georgia, who scooted over in her seat—willingly—to make room for him. Brett was still standing there a bit dumbstruck by Reid’s hands-off admonition.

“Good looks run in the family,” Reid added, nudging his shoulder against mine. What in the great-wide-world was happening right now? Was my ex-boyfriend literally cozied up next to me in a booth and flirting with me like nothing had ever happened between us? Like he hadn’t been gone for the past seven years without so much as sending a Hallmark card on my birthday?

“You’re right about her looking good, RT,” Brett finally said, when he pulled up a chair to the end of the table. He didn’t even bother turning it around. Instead, he straddled it and folded his arms on the back rest. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was equally as tattooed as the man sitting next to me at the moment. “But I think it’s up to her, a grown-ass woman,” he added with a wink, “on whether or not she’s off limits,” he smirked. “Brett Sallinger,” he extended his hand, “nice to meet you.”

“You know,” Georgia contemplated her words and I could tell by the look in her eyes it wasn’t going to be the response that Brett was looking for. He waited for my sister to accept his handshake, but she gave him the once over and tilted her head curiously. “I’ve managed to make it a whole twenty-two years without contracting an STD. I think I’ll hold off on pressing my luck with you.” The laughter that broke free from Reid and Hoyt was enough to have at least half of the bar patrons looking in our direction. “Nice to meet you all the same,” Georgia added, firing a wink back in the same fashion he’d offered earlier.

“Oh, this is going to be a fun night after all,” Reid proclaimed, tossing an arm over my shoulders and leaning back into the booth to wait for Brett’s response. As funny as my sister’s declaration was, I couldn’t muster up a laugh. I could barely muster up the courage to speak, afraid that I might cry if I did. Concern was coursing through my veins with just how comfortable it actually felt to have Reid’s arm around me.

Too comfortable. He was too close.

It was irritating that he was sitting there, I knew that if I leaned into him, my body would fit perfectly in that little nook under his arm. My head could easily rest on his shoulder. The scent of him would wrap around me just like his arm would and I would feel like all was right in the world. At least that’s what I remembered. That was the way I used to feel when he held me. It was even more irritating that I had the desire to do just that—to lean into him and let his larger body engulf my much smaller one.

No. No, no, hell no. He could not pick me up and put me down and then waltz back into town and do it all over again for his own amusement.

I had to get out of there. Trapped between the wall and a man that I couldn’t seem to not be attracted to. My rock and a hard place felt like they were closing in on me.

“Let me out,” I said, feeling my lungs contract. The tightness in my chest a warning that I needed to get as far away from Reid Travers as quickly possible. He’d hurt me once, he was surely capable of doing it again.

“You okay?” he asked and he removed his arm from around me. I didn’t have time to answer him, so instead I pushed my hands against his arm and shoulder until he slid out of the booth and stood for me to exit. My feet hit the ground and his hand caught my arm to help me stand.

“I told you before,” I said, jerking free of his grasp. “I’m just fine.”

Had I done something wrong in the last five minutes? When Georgia had waved us over in the bar, I’d taken it as a sign that Nora was on board with talking to me, but apparently she was not. We were all laughing at Georgia’s complete shutdown of Brett’s advances when Nora fled the scene like she was wanted for murder.

“What’s got her in such a hurry?” Brett asked as we all watched Nora exit the bar.

“It’s my fault,” Georgia said, nudging Hoyt’s side to get him to let her out of the booth. “I’ll go get her.”

“Wait,” I stopped her. “I’ll go. I have a feeling it has something to do with me.” Georgia stilled herself in the booth and when she didn’t protest, I knew I was right. The guys each gave me a go-get-her look. I’d go get her all right. Go get her and tell her that I was sorry if I made her feel uncomfortable tonight and that I’d missed her. I had a whole lot of other things to tell her too, but I didn’t plan to have that conversation standing inside or outside a bar. That was a private conversation we would be having.

Did she really hate me so much that my arm around her had set her off? It wasn’t even a move. I was just casually sitting there. Okay, well that was a lie. I might have accidentally grazed her shoulder with my fingertips, but how could I not? Her sitting there all perfect and irresistible in that little dress. I had to test the waters.

Epic fail.

“Nore,” I called out when I found her on the sidewalk, leaned up against the wall a few buildings down. “Are you okay?”

“Am I okay, he asks now,” she mumbled sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest and anxiously rubbing her hand up and down her arm. I’m not sure if she thought she was speaking just to herself or if I was supposed to hear that part but I’m positive I wasn’t supposed to think it was cute. “You missed your chance to ask me if I was okay a long time ago,” she said louder. I’m positive I was supposed to hear that.

I leaned up against the wall next to her and let my head fall back. She was right. I’d screwed things up with her. I knew it. She knew it. Hell, everyone in that whole damn bar probably knew it now, if they didn’t already know it, especially after the way she ran out.

“Fair point,” I turned my head to look her in the eyes as I apologized, but she kept looking straight ahead. There was nothing or no one in front of us so I knew that she was purposely avoiding eye contact. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to ask. Whatever I did in there to make you get up and leave, I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” she said after a long pause. When she finally turned her head to look at me, her eyes were glassy and I knew it had nothing to do with the liquor she’d been drinking. She kept them locked on mine and looked anxious about whatever it was she was about to say. “Reid, you can’t just come back to town after seven years and sit down next to me like nothing ever happened. You can’t… touch me, Travers. I’m not one of your track bunnies and you can’t just—”

“I didn’t... I wasn’t trying to,” I placed my hands on her shoulders and turned her to face me. “I’m sorry. It just felt normal to sit next to you. I missed you.”

“Don’t say that,” she whispered shaking her head.

“I mean it.” Sincerely. Seeing her again had made me realize it. Telling her only made it that much more true. “You look great, by the way,” I added, hoping to smooth things over with her. “Your hair,” I wrapped a piece of it around my fingers. I couldn’t help myself. Touching her hair used to be something I had the freedom to do. “It’s darker, but I love it.” Her gaze trained on my fingers and for a moment I almost thought she was going to smile.

“You can’t flirt with me and put your arm around me.” She stepped back, looking away again, putting enough distance between us so that her hair slipped from my fingertips.

“I know. I shouldn’t have just assumed that it was okay to invade your space like that, but seeing you again... I just... fuck, Nora. There’s something about you. Always has been. I wanted to be near you.”

“Now you do,” she scoffed.

“I deserve that,” I conceded. She raised her eyebrows and turned to face me, her arm resting against the wall. I mimicked her stance. “It was never about not wanting to be with you,” I confessed. “I should have apologized for a lot of things the second I saw you. I hate the way things ended between us and if I could take it back I would.”

“But you can’t,” she replied with certainty. “You can’t take back anything that happened because it’s already said and done.”

“I know but—”

“But nothing.” She shook her head. “I’m going to go back into that bar and enjoy my evening with my sister. You’re here for what, a few weeks? A month?”

“Three actually.”

“Well for the next three months can you please just stay away from me? We’re both different people now. Whatever it is you feel, it’s just memories. Ancient history. There isn’t anything between us anymore.”

“If you’d just let me apologize then maybe we could move past this,” I countered, desperately. The way she was just ready to shut me out completely was not sitting right. Things should not be this way between us. “You know this is just like you, never letting me get a damn word in.”

“Whatever.” She shook her head as if she didn’t understand what I was saying. She knew damn well that she was real good at shutting me down before I had a chance to explain my side of the story. It was exactly what happened when we broke up. She wouldn’t let me explain then and she won’t let me explain now.

“Can we please just talk?”

“What’s the point? You moved on. I moved on. Can we please just let it lay? There is absolutely no sense in stirring things up. Let’s just call it like it is. We are strangers now.”

“Wait just a damn minute, Nora. We’re far from strangers.” I reached out to touch her arm and watched as her skin prickled beneath my fingertips. Her eyes narrowed in on my hand and I could tell she felt the spark between us. It was still there whether she wanted to admit it or not.  I took a step forward, closing the distance between us and watched as she held her breath and looked up at me. “I know you, Shutterbug. Always have, always will.” I leaned in until my nose was practically grazing hers. “And I can tell you want me to kiss you right now,” I whispered. Only a few inches separated my mouth from hers, I could have breathed her in if I tried hard enough. She smelled like wildflowers and home. I’d been so stupid to let her go. Her sultry pink lips were waiting for me, but just as I was about to claim them with mine, she stepped back.

“Don’t,” she said. “Please don’t,” her voice was shaky and I didn’t know how much further I could or should push her.

“I missed you so much,” I goaded, placing my hands on her hips, but she turned out of my grasp.

“Really?” she said sarcastically. “Do you have any idea what I have been doing for the last seven years? Did you know I graduated from college at the top of my class? That I got my real estate license and am one of the top selling agents in the area?” That explained why she was the one who delivered the land deed. “Maybe it doesn’t sound like much to you, but I do have a life here.”

“It sounds like a lot,” I answered. “These are things I want to learn,” I added, but she was uninterested in anything I had to say.

“It’s too late for that.”

“It’s not,” I insisted. If there was ever a woman who knew how to get under my skin it was her. She’d always been stubborn, but the grown up version of her was taking it to a whole other level. If she’d just hear me out. I reached out for her hand one more time, but the second I made contact, she folded her arms across her chest and out of my reach.

“Oh, and did I mentioned that I practically had to glue my sister back to together when Jamie died? Thanks for coming to the funeral by the way. It’s not like you grew up with the kid or anything.”  Nora’s frustration at my absence over the last few years was only matched by the contempt in her voice. She just went from under my skin, to punching me right in the heart. I did know about Jamie and I did think about how Georgia was doing. The two of them had been pretty much inseparable as kids and when I heard what had happened I knew she had to be devastated.

“I would have come, but I was trying to make things easier on you.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. You were trying to make things easier on you. You broke up with me. You left. You pretended like me, like this town, never even existed. Don’t deny it.”

I wanted to tell her that I hadn’t, but it would have been a lie. It was easier to pretend like I’d done the right thing by leaving her behind, but the truth was, I wasn’t so sure. If my leaving had caused her to become so jaded and bitter then maybe I’d made an even bigger mistake than I thought.

“Okay,” I agreed. If she didn’t want to let me apologize and try to make things right then I guess I owed her that much. She was right, I was only in town for a short time and the pained look on her face was killing me. “I’m not denying that I left this place all wrong.” As she walked away, I added, “But don’t think for a second that I’m not going to try to make things right with you.”

“It won’t work,” she promised as she pushed past me and made her way back to the bar.  I watched her go back inside and when the door closed, I let out the breath I’d been holding. That might have been one of the most painful things I’d ever experienced, and thanks to my career choice, I’d broken bones. Lots of them. At once.

* * *

When I finally picked my pride up off the sidewalk and went back into the bar, I found Brett and Hoyt racking the balls on one of the pool tables in the back.

“Guessing you struck out, Romeo?” Brett teased.

“What makes you think that?”

“She came back in and asked her sister to go to the bathroom with her,” he explained. “Haven’t seen them since. Man, you really know how to scare that one off. What’s that, twice now?”

“Yeah, she hates me,” I said, hanging my head briefly. “Apparently I did some serious damage when I left.” If she would have just let me explain why I thought what I was doing was the right thing then maybe I could have made her not so mad. So bitter.

“You tried,” Hoyt offered up. “If she doesn’t want to talk then maybe you should just leave her alone.”

“You’re right,” I said with a nod. “I tried.” I walked over to the table, where one of them had placed our bucket of beer and pulled a cold one out. Cracking it open, I held up my bottle to my brother and friend. “To trying,” I saluted, before drinking back half the contents. “And to being strangers,” I added under my breath. All I needed was a few more of these and I’d be numb enough to stop thinking about the way she’d looked at me outside. Like I was nothing to her.

“How about we try and pick up a few of those locals,” Brett said, giving a nod to the group of women sitting a few tables over. They had definitely seen us—all giggling when Brett raised his drink and fired a wink in their direction. Two of them looked familiar, but I couldn’t be sure if I knew them from high school or not. It wasn’t like I looked at any other girls back then. I only saw one.

“Why not,” I said, clinking my bottle against his. “Might as well find someone in this town that will give me the time of day. Otherwise it’s going to be a long three months.”

Brett waved the women over about the same time Georgia and Nora came out of the bathroom. Georgia offered up a sympathetic smile as she walked with her sister, but Nora didn’t even cast a look in my direction. If this was what she wanted, to act like the other didn’t exist, then I’d accommodate her request. I refused to be some little bitch that sat around pining over a girl that didn’t want him.

But I was going to need a few more drinks if I was going to even begin to think that that was true.

“All right, ladies,” I said as I wrapped my arm around the waist of the cute little brunette standing next to me. “Who’s up for a game?”

The night blurred on—a haze of alcohol and avoidance. I flirted, I drank, my new pool playing partner was more than happy to keep rubbing up against me, and Nora never once made eye contact with me. At first, I felt saddened by the fact that she was hell bent on ignoring me, but the more I drank, the less I cared.

I’d be out of this town in no time and I’d never have to see her again. The air had been cleared. She hated me, but I could feel someone staring in my direction and I was pretty sure it wasn’t Georgia. If she was really as over me as she pretended to be then surely she wouldn’t have been worried about me flirting with some girl at a bar.

“Wanna take a shot?” she said with a giggle that would have normally driven me insane. I’d make the sacrifice if it meant giving Nora something to think about. I glanced in her direction and finally managed to catch her staring. She turned her head quickly, but I was already on to her. I smirked, knowing that I could still affect her.

“You bet, doll,” I answered, handing my new drinking buddy some money. “Make it a double.”

When she returned with two shots in her hand, I’d just started to feel like maybe there was a still a chance for me and Nora. Then I saw a familiar face walk through the door and make his way over to where she was sitting. Beau Gregurich. I couldn’t stand the guy in high school and just seeing him again made me want to pick a fight. Fuel was definitely added to the fire the second I saw Nora stand up from her booth and wrap her arms around his neck like she was actually happy to see him.

What the fuck?

I tossed back my shot and felt the burn of the liquor coat my throat simultaneously with the rising bile. I watched Beau put his lips on Nora’s and actual pain shot through my body from the proverbial knife I felt her sticking into my back.

“I’ve moved on,” she’d said. I grabbed the other shot from What’s-Her-Name and brought the glass to my lips. Nora had failed to mention that she’d moved on with the one person in Halstead that I couldn’t stand. Tossing back the second shot, I knew that the next few months were going to be torture. Complete and utter fucking torture.

“So what did he say?” Georgia asked when I dragged her into the bathroom.

Telling Reid that I didn’t want to hear his apology and that I’d moved on should have been liberating, especially after all the nights I cried myself to sleep after he left, but it wasn’t. I’d waited years to give him a piece of my mind, but when push came to shove I couldn’t say that I hated him for what he’d done. Not when he looked at me the way he did. The regret and sincerity on his face had pulled the rug right out from underneath me. As easy as it would have been to forgive him, I had more pride than that. I mustered up the best “I’ve moved on” speech I could manage and left him on the sidewalk.

“He tried to apologize,” I told her. I felt the tears welling in my eyes and I knew if I blinked it would be game over. I’d start crying. Then Georgia would cry because I was. Then we’d be a couple of nut jobs crying in the bathroom together. I touched the corners of my eyes and tried to push back my emotions. “I told him it was too late for apologies and that we shouldn’t waste our time talking about it.”

“You didn’t even let him say he was sorry?”

“Honestly,” I sighed, “I’m not really sure what he said exactly. All I know is that it’s hard to talk to him and I don’t have the energy to revisit the past, G. I just want him to stay away from me and let me live the life I’ve been living. There’s a lot of baggage I’m not even close to being ready to unpack.” If Georgia even knew half of what it had been like when Reid left she wouldn’t be so quick to root for a reconciliation.

“I’m sorry that I called them over to the table,” she said, wrapping her arms around me. “I should have known it would be uncomfortable for you. I really thought it would help for you to talk to him.”

“It’s fine.” I hugged her back. “Can we please just go back out there and act like he’s not even here?”

“Of course,” she promised, dropping her arms from around me and taking her hand in mine. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

“I want to drink.”

“Done,” she said, as we made our way back to the table. I didn’t even have to look at him to know Reid was still in the building. I could feel his eyes on me, and as much as a part of me wanted to tell him that I didn’t hate him, I couldn’t. I would not let myself be vulnerable to him again.

Three months.

I’d made it seven years pretending he didn’t exist, I could keep doing it. I was suddenly very understanding of the “out of sight, out of mind” concept. It was easy to ignore his existence when he was gone, but here, standing in the same room as me, it wasn’t that simple. He was drinking and laughing with his friends and letting Tally Westbrook hang all over him. Tally was a year younger than me and a typical Halstead barfly, out every night and went home with whoever would buy her the most drinks.

I should have known that he’d immediately seek out someone to replenish the ego I was sure I’d knocked down after our conversation. I’d meant to hurt him with my words, or at least wound him, but it had backfired. Typical Reid behavior, he sought out comfort after a loss. Anytime he lost a race, he’d beat himself up until I managed to convince him that he was a great rider. Pissed me off now that I thought about it. He was probably doing it on purpose back then just like he was now. He knew he was great. He just loved people fawning over him. Fucking asshole.

Georgia ordered us a round and I took a drink as soon as the waitress handed me my glass. Reid was doing exactly what I’d asked him to do. We were strangers now. He could do whatever—or whoever—he wanted and so could I.

I avoided looking over at the pool tables for the majority of the night, but every now and then I’d sneak a glance. I’d expected the booze to help me forget, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect. Why couldn’t he have just gotten fat or went bald? Why did he have to get better looking? Or better yet, why couldn’t he have just stayed away from me and pretended I didn’t exist like he had for the last seven years?

“What is he doing here?” Georgia suddenly asked, disdain laced in her voice.

“Yeah,” I agreed. What was Reid doing here? He could have left after our conversation. He didn’t need to stay in the bar and rub in my face that he could have whoever he wanted. That he could totally be a stranger. “What is he doing here? He could have went anywhere else.”

“Nora?” Beau’s voice let me know that Georgia was not talking about Reid. She was talking about the fact that my boyfriend had once again interrupted my night out with my sister.

“Oh, hey Beau,” I said, painting on a smile and standing to greet him. It was perfect timing, really. I was getting a little too caught up in the fact that my ex was groping a girl he barely knew. “I missed you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. Much to Georgia’s dismay, Beau showing up was exactly what I needed.

“You too,” he said before pressing his lips to mine. I held our kiss for a few seconds longer than normal, and I could still feel Reid’s eyes locked on me. I’d told him I’d moved on and I wanted to make sure he could see for himself. “You really missed me.” Beau laughed when he broke our kiss and slid into the booth where I had been sitting.

“Why are you here?” Georgia asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” Beau rolled his eyes and she returned an equally sarcastic glare. The two of them seemed to have mastered the exchange of dirty looks. I ignored my sister and Beau’s general dislike of one another. I had other things to focus on at the moment.

“You want a drink?” I asked, gaining Beau’s attention. “I’ll grab it.”

“Okay,” he answered.

“Be right back.” I smiled, as I pulled some money from my back pocket and walked over to the bar. I caught a reflection of myself in the mirror and I straightened my posture. I could do this. I could not let Reid being here affect me. I’d said I wanted to keep living the life I’d built for myself and I was going to do it.

I ordered Beau a beer and while I waited, I looked back at him and my sister, now involved in a deep conversation that I was sure included the lines “you always do this” and “this night was for me and my sister.” One day Georgia would like Beau, I just knew it. I’d make her see that he wasn’t the same guy he was back then. He was the guy that wanted me. Who was interested in a life with me. Which was a whole lot more than I could say for Reid.

“Beau fucking Gregurich,” his voice said into my ear. A shiver ran across the back of my neck from the heat of his whisper and the proximity of him to my body. “Tell me you’re not seriously with him.”

“I can’t do that,” I answered, looking to my left and straight into Reid’s eyes. The usually inviting chocolate brown of his stare appeared dark and ominous. He could be as mad as he wanted about my choice in who I dated. He had zero say in the matter. “I am seriously with him. Have been for a while now.”

“You really know how to kick a guy when he’s down, Bennett.”

“I could say the same about you,” I replied. “For a guy that was just missing me so much, you’ve rebounded quickly.” I rolled my eyes at the self-congratulatory smirk he gave me. “Tally Westbrook? She’s a real peach,” I jabbed. “I’m pretty sure she’s already made her way through everyone in town, might as well add the tourist to the list.”

“Tourist? This is my hometown too,” he reminded. “And who the fuck cares about Tally? You jealous?” he asked. I shook my head.

Jealous? Hardly.

“Was she your mortal enemy in high school?” Reid continued.  “Did she do everything she could to ruin your shot at the pros? Like cut the brakes on your bike right before the final race of the season or purposely run you off the track when she knew the sponsors were watching.” Listening to him list off all the reasons he’s hated Beau rendered me speechless. I hadn’t forgotten about why Reid disliked him, but there was a possibility I had activated my selective memory skills. I swallowed hard as he continued to stare down at me, but I couldn’t answer him. “Yeah. I didn’t think so.” His eyes went wide. “Is that why you’re with him? Just to get back at me?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I answered quickly.  “Nothing I do has anything to do with you. Period.” Mostly. The crowd standing around us was oblivious to our interaction—the music and the conversation forming a bubble around us where only we could hear the words and see the looks that were being exchanged. How could they not feel the hot tension radiating around us? I wouldn’t be surprised if the place burst into flames from it. “I haven’t thought about you in years,” I assured him. “And mortal enemy? That’s a bit of a stretch.”

Dramatic asshole.

“Really?”

“Really. What is this the Old West? You going to ask him to meet you in the parking lot next for a show down?” I chuckled at my observations, but Reid’s serious expression said he didn’t find it funny.

“I might,” he said. “But that’s not what I’m thinking about. You really haven’t thought about me at all?”

“Nope.” I continued to stare him down, refusing to let him believe that for one second I’d missed him. I tried to steady my breathing the best I could, but when he leaned in, practically resting his nose against mine, I felt my chest still the same way it had earlier when we were outside. The sudden urge to feel his lips on mine… or slap him once again overcame me. If I didn’t hate him before, I did now, because no matter how hard I resisted, he seemed to be reeling me in. His hand grazed mine and I felt my knees wobble. The scent of whiskey on his lips tempting me to taste them. “Not... one... bit,” I said, between breaths.

“Keep telling yourself that,” he said with a wicked smirk, as he stepped back and stood straight. His shoulders and back straightened proudly as if he’d just taken back control.

“Reid Travers,” Beau said, breaking the trance I’d found myself under. I turned to find him standing directly behind me. I faced Reid again as Beau drew his arms up around my waist and positioned his head next to mine. He must not have heard anything going on between Reid and I or he would have surely been a little less comfortable. “Halstead’s very own celebrity. How nice of you to grace us with your presence.”

“What’s up, Gregurich,” Reid greeted him. “How are you?” He extended a handshake to him.

“Not too bad.” Beau answered, placing his hand in Reid’s. The awkward sensation of being trapped between the two men felt like it was crushing me. “You?”

“Never better,” Reid replied, not an ounce of the anger he’d just shown me reflected in the smile he was giving Beau. “Nora here was just catching me up on what I’ve missed. You two together, definitely didn’t see that in the high school yearbook predictions.”

“Sometimes things don’t work out exactly how you’d imagined,” I interjected. “Sometimes they work out better.” I added, turning to place a kiss on Beau’s cheek.

“And sometimes they don’t,” Reid replied under his breath and took a drink of the beer in his hand.

“What brings you back to town?” Beau asked.

“A few things,” Reid explained. “Building a house for my parents. I bought back the land they sold a few years back. Mom and Dad are back in Texas right now and don’t have a clue.”

He was building his parent’s a house? Okay, well… that was really sweet. Damn it.

“That’s really nice of you.” I hoped that explained the smile on my face, not wanting him to think it had anything to do with our conversation.