Heat colored his cheeks and he shrugged, a gesture that was as alien to Pearce as him passing up the opportunity to pull a prank on one of his friends.
“I’m serious.” My brows dipped into a frown, and I danced my fingers down his arm. “Why’d you say it like that?”
He pursed his lips before huffing out a breath. “You said that one of the reasons you didn’t give me a chance when I first asked you was because I was immature.” He rolled his eyes and smiled, but I could tell he wasn’t feeling it.
Guilt sliced through me. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel like shit. I loved that he was fun and playful. Loved that he teased and enjoyed time with his friends. “You were twenty-four when we first met. Twenty-six when we were in Australia, right?” He bobbed his head. “I thought you were too young for me—” I stopped him from responding with a squeeze to his forearm. “Please let me finish.”
“Okay.”
“Honestly, the thought that you’d be interested in settling down and want to be serious….” I trailed off, heat racing through me at putting this out there.
As if understanding the reason for my overheated skin, Pearce squeezed my waist. “We are serious.”
An embarrassed smile lifted my lips. “Well, back then, I just didn’t think you were ready. You’re so much younger than me. And then there’s Lottie—”
“And you know they’re all your concerns and issues, right? Not mine?”
I pinched my lips together as he spoke, not sure what he was getting at.
When I didn’t respond, he continued, “I have absolutely fuck-all cares about your age or mine, or the gap between us.”
While I knew that deep down, the relief of hearing it calmed a part of the concern that had been balled-up tightly in the pit of my stomach.
“And who knows… maybe you’re right. Maybe I hadn’t been ready. Not that I had wild oats to be sowing or anything.”
My lips twitched. “Wild oats?”
“Fuck off.” He grinned. “You know what I mean. You know I haven’t been celibate since you turned down my hot, young body.”
I snorted at his waggling brows, giving me a little distraction from the thought of him with other guys. I was the last person with the right to say anything considering I’d been with Wankface. I chuckled internally, refusing to let on that I’d adopted Pearce’s name for my ex.
“But I suppose the point is, I am absolutely ready for serious with a capitalS.”
“Is that right?” This man was so fucking adorable. “The capitalSis important…?”
“Because all important stuff has a capital letter.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter at his ridiculousness and was grateful as hell he had the uncanny ability to make me feel better about my own grievances and issues.
“And Lottie adores me, almost as much as I adore her.”
Of that I was sure. I also expected, and hoped like hell, she’d be happy about Pearce and me together as a couple. Based on her reaction to the news of me and Wayne splitting—a wide grin, followed up with a “He was the wrong kind of weird for us, Dad. Weird is awesome, but Wayne, not so much”—I expected she’d be supportive, especially knowing she’d get more time with Pearce.
“She does.” I also wanted to get back to his concern. “I know you can be responsible. Youareresponsible. Just because you have fun doesn’t mean you’re not those things.”
The way he stared at me, looking a mixed bag of relieved and happy, made my heart ache for this man. Hell, ache for me too, as I so desperately wanted this to work. The past two weeks or so had been a cyclone of fast, hot, and heady. But I wouldn’t allow the intensity of this time together to stop me from embracing something amazing with Pearce.
“You really think that?” Question filled his brown eyes as he looked for reassurance I’d rarely had to offer.
“I absolutely know so.”
I lost sight of his face when he buried it against my neck. He inhaled and kissed my sensitive skin.
“Okay,” I said, squeezing him to me. “Let’s get these dates sorted so we can sleep.”
CHAPTER16
PEARCE
