“Actually,” the man from Guru said, “we have a few contract details to go over. Noah, do you mind taking Julia?”
“Not at all.”
Goddammit. She should have guessed she’d never get out of here that cleanly. But she smiled and shrugged. “Okay, then. Nice to meet you all.”
Noah was a little shocked at how well Julia played this game. She’d probably saved him from telling the Guru team what they could do with their precious video—and prevented Noah from throwing away millions of dollars.
He waited in the garage, staring at his boots while turning over the next month in his mind—specifically, having that time to experience the woman’s heady brand of smokin’-hot sex.
He’d never stayed with one woman that long, and he wasn’t sure how that would pan out. But she’d seemed cool with it all last night, and if she was living in the guesthouse, they really could stay out of each other’s way if things between them went south.
Instead of coming out of the house, Julia had exited the front and came up behind his SUV through the open garage door. She had her duffle and her backpack with her, and opened the back hatch to throw them in.
He pushed off the car and gripped the handle as she came forward, but didn’t open the door. When she paused and met his gaze, he said, “Why’d you bring those?”
“So I can leave from town,” she said in a hushed voice and a quick glance at the door leading to the house where the Guru team was still talking to Drake.
“You’re—”
She pressed her fingers to his mouth before he yelled leaving? “Shhh. I just got you out of a tight spot. Don’t blow it.”
Noah’s mood took a dive, and he ground his teeth as he yanked open the passenger’s door. If his anger bothered her, she didn’t show it.
As soon as he dropped into the driver’s seat, he said, “Why are you leaving? Last night was—”
“Amazing. Unforgettable. And, we agreed, only one night. Please, Noah, I don’t want to miss this tow.”
Grinding down his molars, Noah shoved the car into reverse and backed onto the street, then put it in drive and started toward town. There had been a break between storms, and the sky was a vivid, crystal blue. Sunshine made the fresh snow sparkle, but Noah couldn’t appreciate the beauty.
“I don’t understand you,” he said, trying to hold his temper. “Explain why you’re not staying.”
“Explain why you didn’t think to mention a business meeting with half a dozen guys—including Drake, for God’s sake—last night. Or, hell, woke me this morning so I could get out of your bed before they showed up.”
“I didn’t know they were coming. They were supposed to show yesterday, but it got canceled because of the storm. Drake just showed up on my damn porch this morning. By the time I could tell you about it, they were sprawled in my living room.” He cut a look at her. “Come on, Julia, calm down and reconsider.”
“Nothing’s changed. You have no intention of allowing someone to rehab you.”
“Goddammit.” He pounded the steering wheel. “You are so stubborn. Why didn’t you just let me hang myself with those guys?”
“Because I hated the way they cornered you. Besides, I really do have to get my car.”
He made a series of turns, trying to get into her head. Getting into a woman’s head was not something he’d ever thought he’d want, but he just couldn’t understand this. She was completely into him last night. She’d lain draped over him for hours between rounds of religion-altering sex—many of which she’d instigated. She’d let him stroke her back, kiss her forehead, run his fingers through her hair—all the sweet stuff he never did with other women. Never even wanted to do with other women. Now, she was bolting, as if last night never happened.
She was acting like…like…
Like him.
And it sucked.
“Why didn’t you tell me about your degrees?” he asked.
“It wouldn’t have made any difference. Your mind was made up long before I got here.”
Noah merged onto the main road and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “What if, you know, I agreed to let you rehab me?”
She pulled on gloves and made a bullshit sound in her throat. Her mouth was pressed into a tight line, her expression intense. “Don’t lie to yourself, Noah. You don’t have any respect for what I do. If you did, you’d give over control of your rehab to me like you gave over the design of your video game to Guru.”
Frustration percolated beneath his skin. “It’s not the same.”