Page 60 of His to Seduce
I went to the door first and when I saw Trina through the window, I hesitated to open it.
Then I saw her phone at her ear, her eyes dark with worry as my phone continued ringing in my purse.
I wasn’t getting out of this, either.
Perhaps I’d try forgiving two people this week. Dr. Gryle would be so proud.
I unlocked and opened the door, taking Trina by surprise with the forceful pull of the door. “You want to come in?” I asked, stepping back.
There was no point in asking why she was here. Nervousness was evident in her worried eyes and the way she chewed her bottom lip. Trina was pretty, with blond hair and blue eyes, and she had a soft southern accent. I’d seen her terrified and timid. I’d seen her afraid and filled with of joy. I liked the joy more than I liked the nerves making her movements jumpy as she entered my house.
“Thanks,” she said. “I was afraid you wouldn’t let me talk to you.”
I attempted a smile and failed. For once in my life, I wasn’t going to make someone work for what I knew the person needed.
“Let me guess,” I started, and stepped back into my living room. “You feel bad because you knew David was a doctor and then you heard me say I’d never date a bartender, so instead of telling us all the truth, you decided you’d make assumptions that may or may not be true, and now you’re here to explain so I’m not mad at you.” Her eyes widened and her tanned skin paled with every word I spoke. I leaned in and grabbed her hand, and held it between us. “It’s okay, Trina. I understand. Can we let it go?”
“But—”
“I really want to make this easy on you—can you let me?”
Her smile shook and her hand in mine trembled before squeezing me tightly. “He’s a good guy, Camden. As good as Declan, and I didn’t like that you blew him off so easily.”
“I know.” I nodded. Choosing to be honest with myself, and my friends, I pushed forward despite the pain it seared in my throat to do so. “I was born to a single mom, a mom who got knocked up as a teenager and got kicked out of her house. My dad took off only days after I was born, and from then on, my mom struggled every single waking moment trying to provide a life for me. I have a lot of issues, a lot of drama that follows me, and I took that out on David.”
Her eyes grew wet with unshed tears. I hated seeing them. I knew the drama Trina had recovered from. I knew the problems she’d had in her life and they were so much more recent than mine.
My eyes matched hers, and she went blurry before me. “How do you do it, Trina? How do you stay so strong?”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “I’m not strong, Camden. I lean on people when I need to and they hold me up. It gets me through another day.”
Squeezing my eyes closed, I blocked out the pain her words caused me. “I need security. Ihaveto have it. It doesn’t have to do with the size of a man’s wallet, Trina—I swear it. And besides”—I winked, my vision beginning to clear— “I hear David’s loaded anyway.”
Her eyes jumped open in surprise before a bark of laughter escaped her. “Yeah…Declan told me.”
“Come here,” I said and pulled her toward me. I wrapped my arms around her and whispered, “I’m trying to get over my past, and it’s not pretty and it’s not easy. I’m going to need all the friends I’ve got to help me.”
“You’ve got me.” She pulled back and smiled, holding up her keys and shaking them. “You’ve also got a ride to Fireside if you want it.”
