She didn’t think she’d push him away if he tried.
Wasn’t that all sorts of messed up. Not only was he AJ’s best friend, but he also happened to be the furthest thing from her type. Reed Miller was a bad boy to the core—oh, she’d heard plenty of stories about him from AJ. Apparently the guy possessed an anything-goes attitude when it came to sex. He also smoked cigarettes, cursed like a sailor, and drove way too fast in that black Camaro of his.
Sure, he was a business owner, too. And he had his own house, so she imagined he must be somewhat responsible since he was able to pay the bills. But she was leery of men like Reed, with their unpredictable nature and innate arrogance and those seductive grins that made a woman forget all the reasons why she shouldn’t get involved with him.
On the other hand, nobody said she had to date a bad boy. But hooking up with one would definitely be a surefire way to inject some passion into her life.
Though preferably, she needed a bad boy that wasn’t AJ’s friend.
Reed cleared his throat, jerking her from her thoughts. He shifted awkwardly as he said, “I’ll wait out here to make sure you get inside okay.”
Darcy blinked. His sudden preoccupation with her safety made absolutely no sense to her, and it was what prompted her to finally address the enormous pink elephant that seemed to stomp through every room they were in.
“Why don’t you like me?” she blurted out.
Surprise flooded his expression, accompanied by a crease of visible discomfort that cut into his forehead.
“I…” He cleared his throat again. “Who says I don’t like you?”
“Your behavior says it,” she retorted. “Before tonight, you’ve barely said a single word to me. You don’t look me in the eye, you don’t laugh at my jokes—when I know for a fact that I am hilarious—and every time I come to the club, you run away faster than my friend Shannon’s husband does whenever American Idol is on. Ergo, I’m pretty sure you don’t like me.”
“That’s not true. I, ah, I like you just fine.”
Gee, how encouraging. She’d never heard a more lackluster response in her life.
“Okay. Whatever,” Darcy muttered. “I guess it was too much to hope that you would give me a straight answer. It’s good to know you like me ‘just fine.’”
Gritting her teeth, she climbed the first step to the stoop, but Reed grabbed hold of her hand and tugged her back. “Darcy…” His voice came out raspy. “Look…I really do like you.”
She shifted her head, locking her gaze with his. “You do?”
“Yeah. I think you’re pretty damn awesome, actually. But…”
It suddenly became hard to breathe. “But what?”
His hand was warm against her skin, his thumb sweeping a light caress over her wrist. “But I…” Torment creased his face. “I have to act the way I do, okay? It’s the only way for me to—” A strangled noise popped out of his mouth. “Forget it.”
“Reed—”
“I’ve gotta go,” he interrupted, keeping his gaze downcast. “Make sure to lock your door the second you get upstairs.”
Before she could open her mouth to protest, he was gone.
Darcy stared at his retreating back in disbelief, tempted to run after him and demand he finish that cryptic sentence.
It’s the only way for me to…
To what, damn it?
She watched as his long strides briskly ate up the sidewalk, and once he’d fully disappeared from view, she just stared at the empty street, unable to control the pounding of her heart.
What had just happened? If Reed were anyone else, she might think he’d almost admitted to having a thing for her, except the man had never shown even a smidgen of interest in her in the past.
The logical part of her insisted that she’d misinterpreted this whole night from start to finish, but Reed’s enigmatic behavior lingered in her mind and followed her all the way up to her apartment.
And haunted her for the rest of the night.
…
Reed showed up at the club earlier than usual the next evening. Sin opened at seven o’clock, but he was in his office by six, hoping that the mountain of paperwork on his desk would distract him from thoughts of Darcy.
Christ, he’d come so close last night to telling her how he felt about her. Standing outside her building, with those big blue eyes focused earnestly on his face, he’d nearly spilled his guts. Blurted out just how badly he wanted to kiss her. Confessed to all those nights he’d lain awake thinking about her. Admitted that seeing her with AJ triggered a burst of crushing jealousy he’d never experienced before.
But at the last second, he’d swallowed the confession, knowing it was one he could never, ever voice.
A man didn’t hit on his friend’s girl—or his friend’s ex. Period.
And AJ’s friendship meant way too much to Reed to risk throwing away.
“Hey, you’re here early.” Gage Holt appeared in the doorway, his eyes flickering in surprise to find Reed at his desk.