Page 42 of Imperfect Match (Imperfect Match 1)
I cross my arms over my chest. “And I’m calling bullshit. We both know you have feelings for me.”
“I do not!” She rises from her stool and straightens her back, giving me a clear shot down her blouse. What I wouldn’t give to rip it off her again.
“Well, that’s another thing I’m calling bullshit on.” I know I’m pushing her way too hard, but she’s driving me crazy. It’s one thing to deny she wants me like I know she does, but to try to set me up with someone else? It’s fucking sadistic!
“I don’t have feelings for you,” she snaps. “Not those kinds of feelings. But I do have a dinner date with someone I’d much rather be around right now.”
She tosses a twenty down on the bar and then starts to walk out.
Oh, no, we’re not done here.
I throw another ten bucks down, drain my beer, and head toward the door after her. “Willow! Stop!”
She halts on the sidewalk but doesn’t turn around. I move closer to her, waiting for her to look at me.
“What do you want, Reid?” There’s an edge to her voice that throws me.
My chest is to her back, and I bring my hands up to her shoulders. I wish we weren’t on the busy streets of Chicago. I would give anything to be in one of our apartments, where I could strip her down and feel her soft skin again. But more than anything, I need her to know how I feel—without getting angry about it.
“Why did you run away?” I ask, tempering my tone. “This morning.”
She shakes her head as I close my eyes, inhaling the light scent of lavender from her shampoo. “Why does it matter?” she asks.
Because you matter to me. “I want to know.”
Willow’s body is tense, as though she’s hanging onto the same fraying end of the rope I am. “It’s not important.”
“It is to me.”
She turns slowly, her eyes lifting to meet mine. “We can’t do this. I won’t do this. You’re my best friend. You and I can’t date because we know exactly where it would end up. We’re nothing alike! And we’ve got problems, Reid—I hate that you’re a temperamental jackass, and you can’t stand my nagging. You have commitment issues, and I want a baby. What part of that sounds like a promising start?”
I find myself unable to argue back. Nothing she said is wrong. We’re not right for each other on paper. I’ll be the first to admit that, but then why does my heart refuse to agree? Because while there are probably a hundred good reasons to walk away, I can’t make myself do it.
I want her too much.
I want to see her all the fucking time—I wanted it even before we slept together. Can’t she see how good it could be?
“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t feel anything more than friendship?” I ask. “Can you look me in the eye and say that you feel nothing? Have you been able to think of anything else since that night I tackled you in your towel?”
Willow breathes in and out softly. Her lips part, but no
sound comes out. I know what that means.
She doesn’t want to lie to me. She feels the way I do, but she’s thought about it all too much and it’s freaking her out.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Reid, I have to go.”
“In a minute.” I place my hands on her shoulders again. “You said you wanted things to change. It was me who wanted them to stay the same.”
“I don’t want them to change like this.” Her lower lip trembles. “There’s too much at stake.”
I’m so frustrated with her I could scream. I’ve never been a sit-back-and-wait-it-out kind of guy, but I have a feeling that’s what I’m going to need to do. Pushing Willow is only going to make her retreat further. But I can’t resist moving in to press my lips to hers like I’ve wanted to since the minute I saw her. Only then do I pull back, letting her go. “I’ll see you soon, Wills. Enjoy your dinner.”
Then I walk away, hoping she’s standing there, still gaping at me.
Twelve
