From Ex to Eternity (Newlywed Games 1)

He tried to convince himself he stayed because of the challenge. But he had a feeling there was more to it than that, and the mystery of it kept him firmly rooted.

“Only because you think you’re going to get lucky.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here, Cara.” Frustration exploded through his chest and came out of his mouth, unchecked. Anger he didn’t have any trouble expressing. “I live to take advantage of crying, upset women. It’s a total turn-on. Can you please stop assuming all I care about is sex?”

Clearly stricken, she stared at him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t...Wait. You mean that’s not all you care about?”

Keith groaned. The trap had closed so neatly, he hadn’t even realized he’d set it up. And he had only himself to blame. Five minutes ago, sex was all he cared about. Or at least it was all he could think about. When had everything shifted around?

It made him mad enough to say exactly what was on his mind.

“Let’s examine this, shall we? I’m missing a party where alcohol I’m paying for is flowing freely. It’s raining and I followed you back to your room anyway. My pants are still wet.” Which he’d totally forgotten about until now, but he was too worked up to recall why it was important to mention. “You’re upset and in a crappy mood. I would have assumed the facts speak for themselves, but since they don’t, I’ll spell it out. I care about you,” he said honestly, though who the hell knew where that came from. “Or I wouldn’t be here.”

“Oh.” She processed that, a hundred unfathomable thoughts traveling across her face at warp speed. “I’m sorry I dragged you away from the party. And for being in a crappy mood. It’s not your fault, by the way. I’m just questioning every life decision I’ve ever made and you happened to get caught in the crossfire.”

“Good to know. By the way, I’m not here to stand in the way of your crisis. Question away,” he offered because it was the closest thing to support he could muster. “I’ll listen.”

She flung herself backward on the bed, legs still dangling off the edge. Staring at the ceiling as if it held the secrets of the universe, she hefted a sigh. “How did we get all the way to the point where we were about to march down the aisle and didn’t really know each other that well?”

“Uh...” You were pregnant clearly wasn’t what she was going for. “I think the better question is why it matters so much to you. We didn’t march down the aisle.”

“But I would have. I don’t even think I was in love with you. I convinced myself I was. But I don’t know that I was. How could I not know?” Her fists came down hard on the bed, but it didn’t seem to unload an iota of her frustration. The motion flung still-damp hair into her face, but she left it there in favor of cursing colorfully at the ceiling.

“Where is this coming from? The stupid newlywed game? That was supposed to be fun, not an opportunity to ponder the choices we made a million years ago.” He couldn’t help but reach out and stroke the hair from her forehead since she didn’t appear to be so inclined. Plus it was an excuse to touch her...and maybe communicate something he couldn’t with mere words.

“Yeah. From the game. But also from the elevator conversation. The kiss.” She bit her lip. “Never mind. Scratch that last one.”

His hand froze against her temple. “Not on your life. What about the kiss?”

She hesitated long enough for him to assume she wasn’t going to answer. But then she rolled to face him, effectively threading his fingers through her hair. “It was just...different. I’ve kissed you before. Lots of times. How could it be different?”

Before he answered that, he needed a critical piece of intel. “Different better or different worse?”

“Fishing for compliments?” At his eye roll, she shrugged with a faint smile. “It wasn’t worse. But it wasn’t like it used to be.”

That might be the best news he’d heard all day. Satisfaction flared to life and turned dangerously fast into an ache in his chest that couldn’t be explained. “Maybe because it was spontaneous, without all the pressures we had the first time around?”

“Maybe.”

Stroking her temple some more because he liked it and because he could, he weighed what he wanted to say versus what she probably needed to hear. This was important and he didn’t want to flub it up.

“We got serious really fast. And we’re at different places in our lives now. You’re a business owner. I took on the biggest consulting gig of my career and it came with hefty responsibilities.” Grasping at straws and totally out of his depth, he took a stab at helping her make sense of things. “Neither of us really has the luxury of a permanent relationship, and the kiss was about nothing more than being in the moment.”