“Oh, yeah.”
“Let’s get this over with. What are they?”
“Your cell phone needs to go, along with credit and debit cards. We’ll have to negotiate who knows where you are and how much they know.”
“Negotiate?”
“My position is that no one knows anything. I can’t imagine you’d be okay with that.”
“I have to tell Aine something, and I’d prefer to tell her as close to the truth as I can.”
“Anyone else?”
“As long as I don’t have to be the one to tell them, I guess it’s okay if Pen and Tara think I’ve gone MIA because you and I can’t keep our hands off each other.”
“I wouldn’t mind turning that into the truth.”
“Tabon…”
“Can’t have it both ways, Avarie. Either I’m honest or I’m not.”
It was her pride that made her issue the edict that she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, have sex with him. While her brain knew it was for the best when she said it, and even knew it now, just being next to him in the car was a struggle to keep her mind off just how amazing he’d look naked.
He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “I’m not going to lie or pretend that I don’t want you.”
“But…”
“Go ahead and say whatever is on your mind.”
“What happens if we do, and then you don’t want to again?”
“I’m going to fill in some of your blanks. What happens if we have sex, and then I don’t want to have sex with you again?”
Ava nodded, more than a little mortified that they were having this conversation.
“Tell you what. Let’s wait until we get back to the house.”
“Okay.” That was fine with her. Never would be okay too.
“We need to finish the other conversation, though.”
“Rules?”
Tabon nodded. “You didn’t object to not using your cell phone or credit cards.”
“How will I pay for anything?”
“You won’t.”
“What if—”
“Whatever you need, I’ll take care of.”
Never in her life had she been put on a budget, especially one so austere. However, she could handle it. It would probably be good for her to go without for once in her life.
“Good with getting rid of your cell phone?”
“I can’t talk to anyone anyway, so I don’t know what difference it makes.”