He nodded. “That all sounds good.”
“I don’t date much either. Haven’t had time, but I want to find the time. With you.” She waited for him to panic, but he just sat there. “I need you to commit to the same.”
“Done.” He started speaking almost before she stopped.
He was so clear. So sure. And she believed him. Still, she needed more than a quick one-word answer. Romance dictated that he at least show some excitement. “Really? That’s all you have to say?”
He cleared his throat. Also sat up straighter, taking her with him and making them both groan.
“Except for Shauna who already knew it, I’ve never told another woman my real name. Never set out all the details of my past. Certainly never admitted to almost killing my father. With you, I felt like I could. After only a few days, I opened up and I don’t regret it.” He caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I trust you. Weirdly enough, I also really like you.”
Other men might have said it prettier and skipped the word weird, but he found the perfect words for him. They actually choked her up a little. “Believe it or not, that worked.”
He winced. “It did?”
“Honesty is hot.”
Interest sparked in his eyes and he started getting hard again. “How hot?”
“Hot enough to start round two.”
“We’re going to need to buy more condoms.” With that he turned them over. When the room stopped spinning she lay under him with his rock-hard body pressing against her, over her.
“How could a woman resist that line?” She couldn’t and she was done trying.
CHAPTER 28
Wren barely had been in the office for two days, which never happened. No one said anything because they wouldn’t dare. He ran the office with an iron fist. It was not a democracy. His poor personal assistant handed him a stack of messages then scurried away, clearly afraid of his wrath over the pile of work ahead of him.
No one said anything to him about his absence except Garrett. Now he stood on the other side of Wren’s desk still talking. “You looked pretty cozy with Emery the other night.”
“We were eating.” Wren kept on signing the paperwork that needed his attention. Contracts, checks. People deserved to be paid and the work needed to keep moving. He also hoped half ignoring Garrett would make him go away. Not that the option had ever worked before.
“Together. At the table. At home.”
With an extra person. That’s the part Wren remembered and wanted to forget. “I’m told normal people do eat dinner.”
“But you?”
Wren put his pen down and sat back. Garrett clearly wanted his attention. Now he had it.
“I take it you don’t like Emery.” Which sucked because, despite the back and forth, Garrett was his best friend. Wren never had a brother, but he guessed the bond they shared was about the same.
They’d been through some terrible shit together. They both had histories they wanted to forget. He talked tough, but no one else could take a shot at Garrett. Wren would do anything for him. That was the unspoken promise.
“Oh, I do. A lot. I like her in general and I like her with you.” Garrett moved up until his legs almost touched the edge of the desk. “Some of the questions she asked made me laugh. I love how interested she was, how engaged in the topic. Of you, I mean.”
That all sounded good, but Wren sensed a change in mood. Something was coming. Either in what Garrett said next or in the file he kept tapping against the side of his leg. “Okay.”
Garrett nodded. “So, there you go.”
What the hell did that mean? “I’m assuming you’re trying to make a point.”
“You have it bad for her.” Garrett stopped tapping the file and the strange scratching sound in the room ceased.
Wren would have preferred some background noise. Anything to cut through the tension and help with the sudden tightening in his gut. He’d always been so clear—no relationships. Not after he blew the last one so badly. He didn’t want any woman to go through what Shauna had to endure with him.
Yeah, he was different now. The anger had subsided, or at least he managed to control it. But he lived in a web of secrecy and danger. The idea of pulling anyone into that mess with him struck him as selfish. No matter how much he wanted to be with Emery, and that feeling kept growing, he couldn’t imagine her agreeing to live his life. Even if she did, she’d grow to regret it. He knew that from experience.
He was not a forever guy. No question.
Still, the idea of saying “no” out loud to the question made bile roll in his stomach. It felt like a betrayal of Emery in some way.
“I don’t . . .” Jesus, he couldn’t even deny it. Garrett stood there, his friend and a person Wren never lied to, and the words sputtered out on Wren.
He did have it bad for her. How had that happened?
Garrett put a hand behind his ear. “Huh?”