Wry laughter sounded in the enclosed cabin. “They would crush you.”
“Try me,” he shot back. “I’m pretty strong.”
“Sasha.” I sighed.
“How about this? We make the same deal as last time.”
I pulled back enough to meet his eye. “What deal?”
Those pearly whites peeked at me as Sasha’s grin grew. “The one where you agreed to one date, and if you didn’t enjoy our time together, I’d leave you alone.”
He failed to mention the part where I tried to let him down gently after that one date, and he’d worked his way into my bed instead.
“Not sure how that translates to this situation,” I argued.
“It’s simple. You meet my friends. If you don’t have a good time, we never have to hang out with them again.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re telling me you would pickmeover your friends?”
Shrugging, he replied, “Sure, why not?”
“Why not?” I scoffed, repeating his words. “Maybe because they’re not just your friends, they’re your co-workers?”
“More like brothers, but who’s keeping track?” Oooh, there was that smirk again—the infuriating one.
I pulled my head from his grasp and leaned it against the headrest, my heavy exhale sounding loudly in the tight space. “You make it sound so simple.”
Fingers turned my face until I was staring directly into his eyes. “Because it is. You’re the most important person in my world, Gemma. What’s it going to take for you to realize that?”
The only way to hide from the intensity of his stare—the one that told me he believed every word he said—was to close my eyes. “You can’t say things like that.”
When he ghosted a kiss over my lips, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“What am I allowed to say? Is there an approved list? I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy, baby.”
“Can we—after today, that is—can we keep this more surface level?”
When I cracked an eye open, I caught a rare frown tugging at the corners of his mouth. It twisted me up inside, knowing I was the one dulling his shine. That’s exactly why I had to pull back and set boundaries if we planned to continue doing whatever this thing between us was.
“What does that mean, surface level?”
Chewing on the corner of my lip, I finally worked up the courage to explain, “I don’t have it in me to offer you something deeper than a purely physical relationship. It’s clear you’re hoping for more, but I just can’t. I’m sorry.”
“So, you’ll meet my friends?” Hope lit up his face.
My hands flailed as I tried to make sense of his reaction. “Did you not hear anything I just said?”
“Sure, I did.” Sasha nodded. “You’re only interested in sex.”
I sputtered. “And you’re okay with that?” Honestly, I thought that was going to be a dealbreaker.
“Mm-hmm. Ready to go in?” He didn’t wait for my response before shifting the car into gear and pulling into a parking space.
I was still reeling when he jumped out, rounding the trunk to open my door and offering me his hand.
Once again, he’d rendered me speechless.
Is there something in the water?
