Page 117 of Perfect Satisfaction

“I really, really do. Now go jump on Brendan for me while you’re hot and sweaty. Tell him that hug is from me.”

“After he throws me in the pool—which I’ll thank you for—he’ll send his love. You know that.”

“Same to him. Again on Friday?”

“No can do. We’re flying to Sconset. You’re on your own.”

I frown because I’d be invited to go under any other circumstance, and I know it. It’s just because of the man lying in wait across the gym I’m being left out of family activities. Dani shoots me a sympathetic look.

My sigh reflects my jealousy and sadness. “Travel safe.”

“Always.” Her lips take up the entire screen as she blows me a kiss.

Then she’s gone.

Then it’s just me and Arek. Alone.

Things have been so different since that night in the kitchen. He’s been more affectionate—touching me casually. A hand here, a casual brush of lips on my cheek. It’s as if he’s trying to rebuild bridges.

I’m just afraid to cross them.

I’m terrified of what will happen if I accept the invitation in his eyes when we lie in bed and stare at each other before we fall asleep. I’m no longer unaware the warmth I feel is his body curled against mine. We’re seeking each other out. Proximity or something more?

As I climb off the elliptical, he says, “Let me see if I can translate the end of that conversation. If it wasn’t for me being around, you’d be on your way to Sconset—which I know is on the island of Nantucket and where Danielle Madison and Brendan Blake own a beach home.”

Refusing to lie, I admit, “Yes.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

Reaching for a towel, I begin to dry the sweat off my face and arms. “Because I made a promise. And I keep my promises. You and me, three hundred and sixty-five days.”

“They don’t have to be consecutive,” he reminds me.

“But they have to happen.” I drag the towel over my face in frustration.

“You’re looking for them to finish sooner rather than later.”Is it my imagination, or does Arek sound disappointed?

I yank the towel down and cock my head at him quizzically. “Aren’t you?”

“I find I’m enjoying getting to know who you are all over again.”

I roll my eyes and hold up my shields. “You want to get paid.”

He just gives me a reproachful look before saying, “You have other assets that are far more interesting than money, Sula.”

“Ah, I see. You want my body.”

“Is that such a crime? It’s a fairly remarkable one.” His eyes rake over my sports bra and workout shorts. Despite the pounding workout I just punished myself with, I know all it would take is Arek touching me once with intent, and I’d be on the floor—hell, against a wall—with this man’s cock buried inside me. “Besides, we both know promises are only worth something if both parties believe in them.”

It’s then I realize how little protection I have from the man in front of me, how quickly he could devastate me again after I’ve built a life from the emotional scraps of nothing I had.

There’s a part of the woman I was that wishes I could share the details of my life I’ve kept hidden from him. Without thinking of the consequences, I step forward and lay my hand against his cheek. “Do you really feel like you know me better now?”

“Did you feel like you knew me then?” he counters before touching his lips against mine, causing static electricity to surge through me. He pulls back as I instinctively lean forward to deepen the kiss. “Maybe we’re just supposed to live in our now.”

With that, he turns and saunters out of the gym, leaving me confused and even more devastated by his presence.

Frustrated, I take out my burgeoning emotions on the punching bag all the while pretending it’s every woman he slept with. Abruptly, I end the workout with a roundhouse kick that would be right in the area where Arek’s nuts should be.