Page 116 of The Path to Loving Him
“Hence your sisters coming to help.”
“Hence the sisters coming to help. It will be good to get things set up and make it look more like her home. More normal. Homey.”
“I know that feeling, which is why I spent a good amount of time making sure I was comfortable in this apartment. If I wasn’t in a bad spot with my legs, I’d offer to help.”
He waves me off. “It’s fine. We got it handled.”
I tilt my head to the side. “If I wasn’t hurt, would you have let me help?”
“Probably not,” he answers.
“Why not?”
“Because my family would be annoying. You saw what happened the other night with Abel and Hayes. Imagine that times ten with my sisters involved.”
“Do they meddle?”
“They didn’t used to,” he says. “But ever since they found loving relationships, they think I need the same thing.”
“You don’t think you do?” I ask, surprised.
He shakes his head. “Not for me.”
Huh.
Interesting.
I mean, not that I’m looking for anything from him, but it’s good to know where he stands. Maybe that’s why he’s been so hot and cold.
“So you don’t ever see yourself in a relationship . . . getting married, nothing like that?”
“No,” he answers matter-of-factly. “I wouldn’t be a good partner. I know that for certain. And I need to give my attention to Mac and make sure she’s taken care of.”
“And who takes care of you?” I ask.
“Myself,” he says. “Like you, I don’t need someone taking care of me. I’ve done it all my life.”
“I can understand that,” I say even though it hurts me because I know how lonely it is to take care of yourself and everyone else around you. “I never considered I’d ever be in a relationship either.”
“You haven’t?” he asks, seeming surprised by that.
“Nope. I’ve been so set on ensuring Bennett gets what he needs that I haven’t thought about it before.” Not to mention the abuse I suffered through from my one and only boyfriend. “But I guess if I found someone who changed my mind, I’d consider it. Until then, I’m good just fucking.”
His brow rises. “Just fucking, huh? You going to continue to scratch that itch?”
I smirk. “I don’t know, maybe. Would you be irritated if I brought another man back here?”
“No,” he says with a tense jaw.
I chuckle. “You are such a liar.”
“You’re not mine, so I can’t tell you what to do, and...we’re friends without benefits.”
“Yeah, but if we weren’t, you’d be the one fucking me, right?”
His eyes match mine with a steely, hungry gaze. “I’d make sure you woke up every morning still feeling me between your legs.”
I wet my lips and look away. “Good thing we’re just friends then. I’m not sure I could handle feeling you between my legs every morning. I might become addicted, and as we both just established, you don’t do relationships.”
