I’d fucked around for so long, though, I had a hard time imagining it. Dad used to ask me when I was going to bring a girl home to meet the family. I’d brushed him off, figuring I had time. Then he died, and something inside me broke. I was angry, and all I wanted to do was bury that anger. I didn’t take women home for the pure fun of it anymore. I took women home to forget, to feel something intense just long enough without needing to open up to anyone. Then I could walk away and try to work the rest of it out on my own.
Will was my insurance policy that made sure nothing serious ever took root. Because once someone shared a bed with the two of us, any potential for a real relationship dissolved. I tried to remember that when the need to see Liv gnawed at me, but being with her wasn’t fitting into any of those neat little boxes.
“Who’ve you got plans with?”
I hesitated, running my palm over my scalp. What the hell could I say to that?
“What’s going on, Savo? You seeing someone?”
“Sort of.” I frowned, because I had no idea how to describe the situation with Liv, even in the vaguest terms. This felt like the most dangerous conversation I’d ever had in my life.
He let out a short laugh. “No shit? Tell me about her.”
“I don’t know. She’s…amazing. Basically fucking perfect. But I don’t know where it’s going. I’m not really in the right place to be the guy she needs.” Jesus, I was rambling, but Darren’s smile just got wider.
“Sounds pretty familiar, actually.”
I shook my head. “Nah, it’s complicated.”
He had no idea.
Darren had done a complete one-eighty when he met Vanessa. For years he’d been my wingman, my go-to guy long before I’d run into Will. One week on an island with Vanessa, and Darren was a goner. I didn’t recognize him. I’d hated to watch him torture himself through the ups and downs, but he seemed happier now than he ever had doing the bar scene with me.
I refused to believe anything like that could be possible for me.
I tried to get back to work, but Darren wouldn’t let up.
“Do you care about her?”
My stomach seemed to drop out when I considered that. Never mind I was talking about my “feelings” for Olivia with her fucking brother. I’d taken feelings out of every hookup I’d had for years. But when I thought about Olivia, about how she responded under my touch, the way she seemed to seep under my skin, body and soul—that was a feeling I couldn’t deny.
“I do care about her. But even saying that sounds idiotic.”
Darren stopped what he was doing and leaned against the truck. “What do you have to lose, man?”
What did I have to lose? An uncomplicated lifestyle that I could rely on while I worked out the rest of my shit.
“I like to keep things simple. Straightforward. I don’t really have time for anything else.”
“You don’t have time because you’re too busy wasting it with a bunch of people you’re never going to settle down with. If this girl is different, you should be focusing on her and seeing where it can go.”
I widened my eyes. “Who said anything about settling down? For fuck’s sake, Bridge. We’re not all waiting to be you, Mr. Domestic Bliss.”
He laughed and slapped my arm. “Don’t knock it till you try it. Happier than ever.”
I shook my head and shoved him off with a laugh. We wrapped up and returned to the kitchen, where the other guys on our crew still lingered with their coffees. I could almost guarantee Darren wouldn’t be grilling me on relationships in the present company, so for now I was safe.
Because if Darren ever found out I was sleeping with his sister, our friendship would be anything but safe.
Chapter Eleven
OLIVIA
The studio was almost unrecognizable from the last time I’d seen it. The space had been aired out. All the surfaces had been dusted and cleaned. The mountains of boxes that had lined the walls were stacked in the hallway before I entered. The concrete floor was smooth and had been painted white.
“I like what you’ve done with the place.” My tone was teasing, but I had a feeling this fresh start was an important milestone for Ian.
He hadn’t opened up to me about the details, but the pain Ian carried from his father’s death radiated off him at times. So did his passion, his hunger for me. Whatever was at the source of it, a potent energy drew me to him, to soothe, to feel, to feed…
My heart sped up when he was near, and I couldn’t blame it all on the physical chemistry that pulsed between us. I ached for his presence, his tenderness. On the outside, he was perfection—tall, gorgeous, and strapped with muscle. On the inside, he was gentle and more thoughtful than I had ever imagined. Those stormy gray eyes could see right into me at times, as if he knew parts of me that I barely knew myself.
“I think you’re going to like it even more soon.” He moved across the room, systematically relocating several gallon-sized cans from the perimeter of the room to the center, two in each hand, his biceps flexing with the effort. He straightened and walked toward me, a secretive glimmer in his eyes. “I’ve been paying the rent on this place for months, but I hadn’t decided whether I should keep it or not. When you walked in here the other day, I knew I had to.”