“I’ll be right back.”
Mila walks off and I let my aching eyes fall onto Eric. It doesn’t take him long to read my mind.
“You don’t want to do this with me anymore, do you?”
“I don’t want her to think this is going to last.”
Or maybe I’m the one who doesn’t want to think that. Not after last night; after falling asleep on the sofa together. Not after he’s taken all these punches for me.
“She likes you.”
Eric smiles. “I like her, too.”
“She gets attached, you know? Like, seriously.”
Eric nods slowly.
“It’s hard to explain. My family is a nightmare, trust me.”
“Have you seen mine?”
He smiles again, and I really wish he hadn’t.
“If you want this to be over now, I get it. I won’t object.”
“Really?”
“I can’t force you to be with me if you don’t want to be. Not even if it’s only pretend. But I do want you to think about it, not to make a decision based on the last few hours.”
“Why? What difference would it make?”
Eric doesn’t answer, and I don’t push him. I think we’ve already dealt with enough emotion for today.
“I think I can do it.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
Eric smiles again. Even with a black eye and a bruised chin, he’s inarguably and dangerously handsome.
“Anytime, Mr. Quinn.”
24Eric
When I open the door to the apartment, Sean leaps up from the sofa.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
I close the door and head into the kitchen, leaving the shopping bags on the counter as Sean wanders over.
“What time is it?”
“Eleven.”
“I must’ve fallen asleep.” He glances behind him; his sister is curled up on the living room sofa.
“You both fell asleep about an hour ago, so I thought I’d get supplies.”
