“No.” He’d meant to convince her to move to Nashville, become a part of his life. At the time he’d been spending so much time in Sawtooth that more and more of his things had ended up at Melissa’s. When she’d asked him to move in, it had made sense to let his apartment go, rather than continue to drive back and forth.
Because she hadn’t been willing to budge on where she belonged. In Sawtooth.
Her hands fell to her sides and she paced across the room. “I see.”
Somehow James doubted she did, at least not the truth. That their relationship was too precious to allow it to be treated as an afterthought, there for her convenience and nothing more.
She spun, pinned him with an angry glare. “So I was right?”
Color stained her cheeks and her eyes glittered. She looked more like the woman he’d fallen for than she had in months. Alive, vibrant, aware that he existed as a man.
She was aware. He felt it in her radiating energy, saw it in the way she looked at him with hungry eyes that said she saw a desirable man, one she’d like to tackle right here, right now.
God, he wanted to kiss her, touch her. But if he did, he’d lift her onto the countertop, peel away her clothes, and make love to her. One touch and he wouldn’t be able to stop.
He shoved his hands into his scrubs pockets. “About?”
“You and Dr Weaver.” She sounded jealous. “You looked—what’s the right word?—close when I arrived.”
Possessiveness shone brightly in her dark eyes and, despite his body’s protest at his denial of its yearnings, his spirits lifted.
“We are close.” Which was true enough. Kristen was one of his best friends. Until moments before Melissa had arrived he hadn’t known she’d wanted more, but that didn’t change the friendship they shared. Neither did it mean he had to reveal to Melissa that there would never be anything more than friendship between Kristen and him. Melissa’s brown eyes turned green went a long way to soothe his bruised ego.
“You’ve moved in with her?”
“No, I’m staying with one of the residents I had in class last year.”
“A female?”
He bit back a smile. “No, the one I stayed with on the nights I worked late. Ted Jefferson. You’ve met him.”
Melissa paced across the room, her whole body screaming with agitation and tension.
“Has she—” the pronoun came out high-pitched “—offered to let you stay with her?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Which means she has.” Her tone bounced between defeatist, determined, and accusatory.
He had to make a stand, to play hardball, otherwise he and Melissa would both end up losers. So, praying for strength, he reminded her of the basic facts. “When you opted not to come home the other night, you ended our personal relationship. Where I stay isn’t your concern.”
She sucked in a deep breath. Her face grew ghastly pale and guilt hit h
im. Why feel guilty? He’d spoken the truth. He was a free man and could sleep anywhere he liked. Do whatever he liked. Not that he would even if she weren’t pregnant.
The baby. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Was that why he’d run so quickly? Kristen had accused him of giving up. Had he given up or run scared? No, Melissa had pushed him aside. The baby had had nothing to do with him leaving.
He’d been taking a stand, a difficult but necessary one.
“I’m not rushing into anything, but make no mistake—” he stared straight into her dismayed eyes “—I have no intention of remaining celibate. There will be other women in my life.”
She stepped back, leaned against the counter. “I made a mistake, coming here.”
“What did you expect? That you could say you were sorry and I’d come running back to be available whenever you had time to fit me into your schedule?”
The look on her face said that’s exactly what she’d thought. No. Hell no.
“As the mother of my baby, you’ll always be a part of my life, but you willingly gave up the right to any say in what I do.”