Lucky in Love (Southern Bride 4)

There was no doubt about it, I was falling in love with Truitt. I was almost positive he felt the same way about me.

Oh, help me.

Liliana fell asleep with Truitt reading her a book. Rus also fell asleep, and I was almost positive if I left him there, Truitt would have dozed off.

He handed me the book and carefully slipped from the bed. I tucked the covers around Liliana and kissed her gently on the forehead. She let out a contented sigh, which made Rus do the same. I almost laughed as I turned and saw Truitt glaring at his dog. When our gaze met, he shook his head.

“Can Rus spend the night?” I asked.

That made Truitt’s brows jerk up before he rolled his eyes and nodded. When we got to the living room, I poured us both another glass of wine.

“I can’t believe my dog gets to spend the night and I don’t.”

With a giggle, I sat down next to him on the sofa.

“Liliana adores you.”

He placed his hand in mine and rubbed his thumb over my skin, causing a million little bolts of electricity to pulse through my body. I loved this feeling. It was all so new and so amazing.

“I adore her, too. I think I fell for her the moment y’all came bounding into my office. She stole my heart right then with Muke.”

“Just her?”

He squeezed my hand tighter. “No, not just her. You stole my heart when I was sixteen years old.”

I stilled but then looked up at him. “Really? Why didn’t you ask me out, Truitt?”

With a laugh that sounded forced, he shrugged. “Ryan was my best friend. I thought you were off limits. Plus, I was older than you.”

“Not by much!” I argued. “A whole year!”

He smiled. “When I got up the courage to ask you out, it was too late. Tim beat me to it.”

Tim’s words from earlier today came back to me. “He told me he found out you were going to ask me out and that’s why he did it first.”

That made Truitt’s body go rigid. “What? When did he say that?”

I moved back some so I could look at him. “Today, he stopped by the house and asked me if we were seeing each other. I, of course, told him it was none of his business, but he went on to tell me he asked me out to save me from you because you only wanted…”

My voice trailed off.

“I only wanted what?”

“To have sex with me.”

A look of pure anger flashed across Truitt’s face. “So that was the reason he asked you out? What in the hell did you ever see in him, Saryn?”

I laughed. “I’m not sure, but I know what he said isn’t true.”

He lifted a brow. “Really? Because you don’t seem like you believe that.”

“Was it true? Did you see me as some sort of quest to conquer?”

He answered instantly. “No. I saw you as a girl I was extremely attracted to. One of my best friend’s sisters, someone I was afraid would turn me down if I did ask her out.”

“Turn you down? Why in the world would you think that?”

“You were…and you still are…very beautiful. You could have had your pick of any guy at our school. Of course, your brother threatened to kill anyone who looked at you the wrong way. Tim was the only one with enough guts to ask you out, so I guess I can’t fault him for that. But I didn’t just want in your pants, Saryn. I liked you. A lot.”

I swallowed hard. “I liked you, too, and always thought you were out of my reach. You were, and still are, so very handsome. Truitt, you could have dated any girl at that school. I heard them talking about being with you. You never hid the fact that you were a bit of a player. It used to make me so insanely jealous. Are you still?”

His eyes locked with mine. “Most of those rumors you heard are not true. Half the girls in this town have said I’ve slept with them and I haven’t. I’m not a saint, Saryn. I played the bachelor role in my early years, but I’m not that guy anymore and I haven’t been in a long time.”

“Why haven’t you settled down and gotten married?” I asked before I took a sip of my wine. My heart suddenly felt like it was racing in my chest. I feared he would say he had fallen in love once. He had wanted to marry someone, but it hadn’t worked out for some reason. I prayed Shay wasn’t the woman he’d fallen for. A jealous energy rushed through my body and I knew I had no right to feel that way.

He gave me a half shrug. “I guess I never met the one. Or maybe I had met her, and she left town with an idiot for a husband, and I could never find another woman to fill her shoes.”