Page 41 of Reckless (Adventures in Love 3)
“Shit, did I forget last night?”
“You did.” I grab my bag. “Are you two good here?”
“Yep.”
“Cool, I’ll see you both tomorrow.” I head around the counter and meet Maverick halfway across the room. As soon as I’m in front of him, he leans in like he is going to kiss me but stops himself.
“Can we talk?” he asks, his eyes scanning my face, and I nod.
“Sure.” I lead the way outside and feel his hand against my lower back as we walk down the sidewalk toward where my car is parked.
“I need to apologize about last night.”
“Okay.” I peek up at him and try to read his expression, which is pretty pointless. He’s not a man who is easy to read.
“I was angry.”
“I noticed,” I say quietly.
“I wasn’t angry with you; I was pissed that I have to keep you like a dirty secret when that’s not what you deserve.” He stops at my car, and I turn to face him with my chest feeling funny. A lot of men would be more than okay with having a secret relationship with a woman, but I guess I’m learning that he’s not like most men.
“I don’t want that, either, but I also want a little time to figure out what is happening here.” I motion between us. “Before we involve other people.” I wrap my arms around my middle and decide to be honest because, again, I do not need one more man to agree with me until he no longer likes what he’s agreed to. “I’ve had really bad luck when it comes to dating, and things with the men I’ve gone out with tend to end before they really even start.” I drag in a deep breath, then let it out, holding his gaze. “I don’t want to tell people that you and I are seeing each other, then next week have to tell them that we are not anymore. Not only would that be embarrassing for me, it might be really uncomfortable for everyone else.”
“All right.” His eyes stay locked on mine, and I frown.
“All right?”
“I get where you’re coming from. So for now we will keep things just between us.”
“You said that before, but you got angry at me for reminding you that that was the deal we made,” I point out softly, and his expression gentles.
“Yeah, but you just explained your reason for us keeping this quiet.” He steps toward me. “I’m not saying I like it, but I get it now.” His hand comes up to wrap around the side of my neck. “I just want you to know that I’m not going to keep us a secret forever; that’s not going to work for me.”
My heart pounds as I look into his eyes. I’ve never had someone look at me the way he is right now. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m in over my head?”
He grins at that question, then dips his chin and brushes his lips across mine without answering me. When he pulls back, he keeps his face close. “Are you good with me stopping by your place this evening?”
“I’m good with that,” I tell him quietly, and he kisses me once more before he steps back, letting his hand slide away.
“I’ll send you a message when I’m on my way.”
“Okay.” I turn to open the door to my car, and then once I’m inside, he shuts it for me, then watches as I back out of my parking spot. I wave as I leave, then head out of the parking lot, hoping like heck that for once my instincts are right and that he’s not too good to be true.
After changing into a pair of sweats and a cutoff sweatshirt, I take out my contacts and put on my glasses, then walk out of my bathroom. Maverick sent me a message ten minutes ago letting me know that he was on his way and that he was bringing a movie, so I decided to get comfortable.
I go to the fridge and grab a soda, then put a bag of popcorn in the microwave and start it. As it pops, I clean up my dishes from this morning, then pick up the living room. When I got home from work, Cybil was still in her office, so I hung out there with her, helping her cut fabric while we talked about the conversation I’d had with Liam. Like I’d figured she would do, she agreed that we should move forward but make sure that we have a lawyer draw up the contract between us so that we are all safe.
After that we sat on my couch with my computer and went over the shelving layout for the store and decided on a paint color for the walls, along with a wallpaper design for two accent walls, a very pretty black, gold, and floral design that is timeless in style. Honestly, while she was here, we both lost track of time, and it wasn’t until Tanner called to check on her that we both realized it was already seven in the evening. Time for Claire to take her nightly bath, then get to bed after a story and bottle.
