Page 38 of Love Expert

“But, Billy?—”

“Women want marriage and forever. They want babies and Labradorsand white picket fences.” I shake my head. “I’m never marrying again, and I’mdefinitelynot making babies again. Even if I meetthemost amazing human on the planet, I won’t put a baby in her belly. The last woman I did that to, died for it.”

Maggie’s eyes glitter with grief. “Billy… that wasn’t?—”

“It’s a firm line for me, Magnolia. It’s never happening, so while you’re over here lecturing me about how I shouldjust try, you’re making promises to these other women I refuse to fulfill. That makesyouthe asshole. Brienne’s driving an entire hour to me,assumingthat our intentions align. But they don’t, and there’s only one person in this room right now lying about it all. That person is not me.”

With my palm still on her delicate shoulder, I extend my thumb across and drag her abused bottom lip from between her teeth. “You think I’m the biggest jackass in town, and that’s cool. I don’t mind the shitty reputation, and I especially enjoy pissing you off. But I am the way I am… that’s never going to change. You’d have more luck working with someone like Troop. He’s charming, he’s ready to settle down, and if you pull your focus off me, you could probably walk away from this mess without that one star review I’m half tempted to write.”

“But—”

“And since you’re single… and I’m single…”

Her eyes narrow to fiery slits.

“And since we live insanely close to each other, that means we could revisit the warm body discussion. I know things have been rough since you came back to town. You’ve been busy settling in, and I’ve been busy dodging your attacks on my general existence. I like to think that the way we argue is a good indicator of passion. We have heat, Magnolia, and you know what I’m looking for in a woman, which means no one’s feelings will get hurt.”

“You…” Nervous, she swallows and searches my eyes. “Y-you want…me?”

“More than I realized I would. More than I should.” I study her plump, kissable lips and the thunderous pulse pounding against her throat. “I had a crush on you in the second grade, and I was picking flowers from every garden between my house and school just for you. But then you ditched town without giving me a chance to say goodbye. I spent all of third and fourth grade wondering where you went, and fifth and sixth grade telling anyone who would listen that you’d be back soon. By seventh grade, those teenage hormones kicked in, and?—”

I stop and frown.

By the time I was in seventh grade, Aria Sinclair waseverywhere, and long, hot summers by the lake had become a staple of my everyday life. Bathing suits became indecent, shorts got shorter, giggles got louder, and my hormones took over where my brain went on vacation.

“And what?” Magnolia rasps. “Hormones kicked in and what?”

“I realized I really wanted to know what it felt like to touch a woman.” I brush the tips of my fingers over the column of her neck. “I’m not looking for love. And maybe… for the next little while, it’s possible you’re not looking for love, either. If that’s the case, why don’t we skip all the bullshit and not look for love together?”

“Dad!” Jeremy sprints along the hall. “I’m gonna get the Nintendo out, okay?”

Maggie bounces away, her face flaming bright red and her eyes impossibly wide.

“Okay, Dad?” He skids through my door and crashes against my hip so hard his teeth audibly snap closed. He knocks himself back and almost loses his footing, stumbling all the way into Maggie’s waiting arms—the little player—then he shakes his head and beams for his girlfriend. “My dadlovesto play the Crash Bandicoot game, and since you’re from the nineteen-hundreds, too, I thought maybe you’d like to play.”

Dad who? That motherfucker doesn’t exist as my son grabs Maggie’s hand.

“Do you wanna play Nintendo with me while my dad is out?”

“Uh… sure.” She draws a long breath, filling her lungs until her shoulders lift and her delicate collarbones jut forward. Her wary eyes flicker across to mine, her lips opening and closing, then just like Jeremy did, she shakes her head and returns his smile with one of her own. “I’d love to play.” She peeks at the clock on my bedside table and forces a fake ass grin. “It’s time for your dad to leave. It would be horribly bad manners if he were late, right?”

“Right!” Jeremy darts into the hall, yanking Maggie’s hand so she’s right here in front of me one second, then she’s gone, and all that’s left is the memory of her dress whipping in the air, and the scent of her shampoo cruelly twirling in my lungs.

Fuck.

ROUND SIXTEEN

MAGGIE

He picked flowers for me?

“Bye, Dad!” Jeremy waves from his front door. “You have to drive away now, otherwise it’s not goodbye, silly.”

He spent four years thinking about me?

“Rev the engine, Dad! That’s how you make the car move.”

He missed me? And now he wants me?