Upstairs Downstairs Baby (Sweet Tea And Scandal 1)

“You and I have a connection. I want more than just a sexual relationship with you.”

For a moment, she had the audacity to grin at him, but when he continued to regard her in all seriousness, she sobered. “I get what you’re trying to say, but it’s the way things have to be.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Be realistic, Linc. You can’t trot me out as the woman you’re sleeping with—”

“Seeing.”

She made a face and shook her head. “Because I will never fit in.”

“That’s not true. Not one of my friends gives a damn who I choose to date as long as I’m happy.”

She cocked her head. “Really? So they supported you marrying London?”

He considered his conversation with Knox. “That’s different. They were worried that she wasn’t right for me.”

Claire’s expression said it all.

Linc snorted in disgust. “Not because she wasn’t from an old Charleston family, but because they weren’t sure she loved me.”

“Has it occurred to you that they’re going to be even more skeptical of my motives? London has a lot of money and she runs a successful business. She’s a gorgeous trendsetter and well connected. I’m your housekeeper.” Claire’s expression twisted into disgust. “We’re nothing but a cliché. They are going to see me as nothing more than an opportunist.”

“Not once they get to know you.”

She shook her head. “I won’t fit in.”

“You don’t even want to try.”

“You’re right. I’m afraid.” Color spilled into Claire’s cheeks. “One of the things I’m terrible at is standing up for myself. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve let people bully me.” She paused and met his gaze with eyes as hard as granite. “This town is elitist, judgmental and cliquey. Why would you want to be with a woman who won’t fit in?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to insist that he didn’t care when he realized that didn’t matter. Claire cared. For her own peace of mind as well as for his reputation and how this would affect his mother.

“I wish you could trust me,” he said after a short pause. The throb in his voice made her flinch.

“It’s not a matter of trusting you.” But she didn’t sound convincing.

From the little she’d shared about her past, he was pretty sure that every time she needed to rely on someone, that person had come up short. He thought of what had happened to his mother when Linc’s dad had first gone to prison and then divorced her. What if Linc and Sawyer hadn’t been there with their love and support, making a tough time a little easier?

Often Linc had thought it odd that Claire had moved to Charleston and put the entire width of the country between her and her family. Maybe she didn’t have anyone who made her life easier or better.

“I’d never do anything to hurt you,” he told her.

“I’m not worried about that.” She sucked in a lungful of air and then expelled it on a harsh sigh. “It’s not you I don’t trust, it’s me. Sometimes I don’t protect myself well enough and get hurt because of it. I know you aren’t going to hurt me. It’s not in your nature. But you can’t control everyone or everything.”

He was starting to understand her concerns. “So it’s okay for us to keep sleeping together as long as no one finds out.”

“For now. It’s working for both of us at the moment.” She shrugged. “When that changes, it will mean a cleaner finish if we keep things in perspective.”

Basically, what she was saying was that she didn’t want to get emotionally entangled with him. He’d been right to think that she wasn’t over her late husband. And wasn’t he the perfect guy for her to take up with? In her mind, their relationship had a built-in countdown. A few weeks. Maybe a month. Some palate-cleansing sex for him. A bridge between London and the next woman he became seriously involved with.

Linc wanted to punch something. This wasn’t what he’d signed up for when he pursued Claire, but it seemed that it was all she intended to offer.

“How very practical of you,” he said. “I guess I’d better head to the gym and get my workout in before the party.”

After waiting a heartbeat for her to say something more, Linc realized she’d emptied her conversational basket of all its goodies and he would get nothing else. Turning on his heel, he exited the kitchen.

By the time he returned home, Claire was gone and the house had the same empty feeling it always did when she and Honey were out. Funny how he didn’t get the same vibe in his Fort Worth home. Maybe because his housekeeper there didn’t live-in, so her presence in the house didn’t have any impact one way or another. Or perhaps because during baseball season his head was filled with the game and he had little downtime to notice that he was lonely.