“Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”
“Oh? Whatever about?”
He frowned at her. “About last night.”
Ah yes, he had started saying something about that earlier at the grocery store.
“I was a bit rough and wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said.
She opened the door, and he walked in. She went immediately to the kitchen to start on the dishes.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Besides, you said you liked it rough. Turns out, so do I. So don’t worry about it.”
“Penelope.” His voice was soft, and his hands cupped her waist from behind. “I never meant to hurt you. If I did—”
“I’m fine.” She spun to face him. “You think city girls are the only ones who can handle you?” She scoffed. “I may not look the part, but trust me, what you dished out last night was nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“Then why are you upset?”
“I’m tired. You know.” She gestured at the kitchen. “Baking and working today, only to have my friend come tell me that I need a date for the rehearsal dinner because everyone else has one.”
His eyes narrowed. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. You could have just told me. I know our little agreement has an expatriation, but I never took you for an over-lapper. You didn’t have to hide it.”
“I’m not hiding anything. I don’t have a date for the dinner per say.”
She paused. “But Jenna said that Colt said—”
“Well that sounds like a good string of logic.” He stepped toward her. “Colt and Jenna want me to occupy—”
“The third bridesmaid. I know. Jenna was gushing about setting you two up.”
“You could have just asked me. This whole thing we have is supposed to be built on trust.”
“Temporary trust,” she mumbled.
He stood still, a mask of some dark emotion on his face. Anger? Disappointment? She couldn’t tell.
“Are you setting up a date with someone else the day our time is up?” she asked. That’s what he’d said he wanted, for her to just come out and ask.
“You’re the one who came after me. Wanted something from me. I was honest from the beginning, and you agreed to the timeline.”
“Yes, you were honest,” she said. Yet somehow it didn’t make the ache in her stomach any less. She was falling for him. Hell, had fallen a long time ago. Now she was just falling faster. It was her own fault. Going against the guidelines they’d set up.
Bass ran the back of his fingers along her cheek, and she looked up at him. He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut.
“I’ll see you later,” he said. But there was a flicker of longing behind his eyes. Was there hope? Could the self-proclaimed bachelor for life maybe want more? Was it possible he was just afraid? Just needed someone to show him it was worth taking that single step outside his boundaries?
She hoped so, because now more than ever, she knew that’s what she wanted.
So why not go for it? She had just over a week left with him. If she was feeling something for him already, maybe he wasn’t completely immune to her. It was only when she’d pushed him that he’d let his true self out. And she liked that man. Wanted him.
If I want him, I have to push for more.
What did she have to lose? If she did nothing, he would walk away in two weeks anyway. Hurt now or hurt later. Or maybe prove to him that there was more between them than sex.
It was worth a try. This whole situation had started because she’d finally gone after something she wanted. And she wasn’t about to give up now.